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How Divorce is Affecting the American Culture Essay

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Over the past decades, the patterns of family structure have changed dramatically in the United States. The typical nuclear family, two married parents with children living together in one household, is no longer the structure of the majority of the families today. The percentage of single-parent families, step-families and adopted families has increased significantly over the years. The nuclear family is a thing of the past. Family situations have tremendous influence upon a child’s academic achievement, behavior and social growth. The present structure of the average family in America is changing, mainly due to the growing number of mothers who now work outside the home. The current mark of dual-earner families stands at 64 percent, …show more content…

Step-parent families are formed when one or both partners have separate children and marry. The formation of the step-parent family introduces a second authoritative figure into the household (Sweeney, 2007). Step-parent families offer more supervision and monitoring in the home as well as additional role model (Sweeney, 2007). In many cases, a step-parent can be an emotional release for parents who may be overwhelmed with raising the children, running the home and being the sole provider for the family. In many instances step-parent families have positive outcomes, but there are some negatives such as retention and socialization skills that children in these homes face. Researchers believe that step-parent families have some of the same outcomes as single parent families. Some researchers believe that children in step-parent families are at a greater risk than those children living in single parent homes. Children in step-parent families have a greater risk of “suicide attempts, developmental difficulties, early sexual behavior and having a premarital birth” (Sweeney, 2007). Step-parent families may consist of conflict due to resentment. The children of each partner may dislike or disrespect the step-parent because they feel the parent is attempting to take the place of the absent biological parent.
Although having two parents may be more beneficial for children, single parent families are becoming more common. A single-parent

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