The Story of Kyle: Little Boy Lost Kyle is a 12 year old boy. He is the youngest of three children. His brother is 17 and his sister is 15. Kyle’s father has been physically abusive to his mother. She divorced her husband. Kyle’s mother has left her husband and oldest son. She has full custody of Kyle and his sister. Kyle’s mother has moved back with her parents. Kyle’s grandparents are helping Kyle’s mother raise them. Kyle adjusted well at his new elementary school and made friends easily. Kyle’s mother has started to date again and is spending more time with her boyfriend. According to Reinhold, Kneip, & Bauer (2013), “There are three main explanations for the negative effect of divorce on children’s outcomes (Amato and Keith 1991): first, …show more content…
Kyle is not getting the attention he wants at home and it is interfering with his transition into middle school, which is difficult for many children. Kyle has started misbehaving in school. He does not like his new school. He believes he does not fit with any of his old or new peers. He has been talking about moving in with his father and brother. Kyle has been more disobedient at home. He was even caught stealing. Charges have been made and he will have to go to court. Worried about his behavior and consequences his grandmother has made an appointment the school’s counselor because she is worried about him. She is unsure about what will happen in court. Moreover, she wants to report to the court that Kyle is doing better. This manuscript will discuss the presenting problems, application of theory and personal values that will impact the execution of …show more content…
This is the time that Kyle and his sister need their mother the most. However, she is spending more time with a guy. The role of an existential therapist is to assist the client’s own relationships with themselves, to work together in the job of exploring and understanding the client’s values, assumptions, and ideals. Kyle also has to accept personal responsibility. According to Corey (2013), “Existential therapists are especially concerned about clients avoiding responsibility; they consistently invite clients to accept personal responsibility. When clients complain about the predicaments they are in and blame others, the therapist is likely to ask them how they contributed to their situation” (155). Kyle and his mother will have to develop a positive outlook on their situation and their life. Kyle’s case could be applied by using the propositions that are beneficial for this case, which are the basic dimensions of the human
The impact of divorce on children has been associated with lower academic scores, behavioral difficulties, and depression. Therefore, it is important to make compromises that benefit the
The Effects of Divorce on Children Based on the Application of the Psychological Developmental Theories
Four areas of primary influence are: academic achievement, prosocial, internalizing problems and externalizing problems. Out of these four areas, academic achievement is most sensitive to family stress. Children from intact families often demonstrate higher mental aptitude than children from broken families. Compare to boys from intact families and girls from broken families, boys from broken families exhibit significantly poorer academic functioning. Boys from families which would subsequently divorce exhibit multiple behavioral problems prior to the divorce, which will naturally lead to poorer school functioning. One possible explanation for this is that boys may be more sensitive than girls to the events in home during the predivorce period. Interparental conflict might disrupt the parents’ attention to and monitoring of schoolwork. Poorly monitored boys, but not girls, have lower GPAs than adequately monitored boys and girls. Boys also perceive angry situations more negatively than do girls. In contrast to boys whose parents would divorce, girls showed a decline in GPA over the entire divorce period. One explanation for this is that puberty changes might have bigger effects on girls than on boys. The decline shown in girls across years may primarily have been a function of cumulative stressors. Furthermore, since the father is usually the one who leave the house, the absence of the male role-model makes it ever more difficult for boys to adjust to divorce. By late adolescence, (ages 15-18) teenagers are awakening to romantic relationships. The loss of parental love and the broken parental vows may cause children to find it difficult to make commitment to long lasting love, especially for boys. There are some evidences that children tend to show more problems if they are in the custody of a parent of the opposite sex than a parent of the same
The likelihood of a person’s marriage ending in divorce presently stands at fifty-percent in the United States. As a consequence many children will go through the divorce process as well. What is important to note is that many children go through divorce before the age of six and this is very significant to their development. Most importantly from infancy through the early years of life (preschool years), children are working on forming secure attachments. There have not been many studies done about the impact of divorce on children younger than six years old. Only one study was found where child participants were aged 3 to 6 years (Nair, & Murray, 2005). The few that have found interesting results, discuss how divorce prior to the
A major consequence of parental divorce on children is the negative effects on their psychosocial well-being. In his study, researcher Daniel Potter (2010) studied how divorce affects children’s psychosocial well-being and their academic achievement. Taking data from the “Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten cohort” (ECLS-K), his study spanned from the spring of 1999 to the spring of 2004 (Potter, 2010, p. 935). Potter looked specifically at academic levels of Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 3, and Grade 5 (Potter, 2010). Out of a total sample of 10,061 children, 870 children had parents who were divorced. Potter measured their psychosocial well-being based on reports that were taken from their
Divorce is a stressful events that can lead to an unfolding of failures to resolve developmental tasks and increase susceptibility to mental health problems and impairment in developmental competencies. Studies has indicate that post-divorce stressors have a more important influence on children's mental health because of stressful interactions between children and their environment as the family restructures following parental separation. However, not every child is affected equally by these stressors, and understanding their differential effects is an important research issue. The strategies that children use to cope are one likely source of children's differential vulnerability to the effects of stress.
In modern day society, many people are finding it is becoming more and more acceptable to get a divorce. Even the word family itself has changed so drastically, it’s no wonder divorce is so high. What many people don’t realize is that divorce can possibly have a serious effect on children and their behaviors. Many studies have been conducted and have shown a variety of long term, as well as short term effects that children have developed after they’ve experienced going through divorce, one effect divorce could have on children is the risk of the child developing behavioral issues.
Divorce can have a significant impact on the children involved in many different ways. Studies show that the effects of divorce on children can also continue throughout adulthood. These children are more likely to have failed marriages themselves, have children out of wedlock, and earn lower salaries. It is common for the depression of the parents and their relationship to pass on to their child. Children who grow up with depression symptoms are more likely to eventually experience divorce in their own marriage. Research also shows that teenagers who experience divorce are 50 percent more likely to abuse alcohol than those of “Two-parent homes”.
“Divorce isn’t a child's fault; I had a really good childhood up until I was nine, then a classic case of divorce really affected me”- Kurt Cobain. More than 30 years of research is continued to reveal the sides of divorce and the effects it has on children. The risks is steady rising, and just because you think that the effects won’t occur to your child the odds do greatly increase.
This study was completed by The Child and Young Adult Supplement (CYAS) that consists of the children of the female respondents from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979 (NLSY-79). The assessments have been conducted every 2 years, starting in 1986. As of the 2006 round of the survey, there were 11,469 children in the CYAS for 4,924 mothers from the NLSY-79. Of this multitude of children, 4,279 had their parents divorce or separate after they were born. Although these data have been used for numerous studies on the effects of divorce on children, this author used this information to conclude her findings in this
Small children sometimes blame the divorce on themselves, they also have difficulty in focusing in school. Younger children are usually more violent, dependent, whiny, and aggressive. Adolescents feel little sense of blame for the separation of their parents, but they feel hatred. Divorce affects boys and girls differently. Boys usually have more trouble concentrating and more difficulty with math. Boys are also more aggressive with their mothers, teacher, and other boys their age; while girls tend to cry more and whine to vent their sadness. Temperament is different with girls than with boys. Boys won’t have the father figure as well as girls lack the mother figure. Relatives, teachers, friends, and community services are resources for support for these children. The long term impacts of divorce on children include, loss of self esteem, anger directed both towards others and themselves, drug and/or alcohol abuse, frequent rule breaking and destructive behavior, depression, isolation, or withdrawal from friend’s/family, suicidal thoughts, increased or early sexual activity. The probability that subjects whose parents have a tertiary education will receive a university degree is 53 percentage points higher than that of
In these cases, divorce may lead to less distraction, fear, or confusion for children, ultimately resulting in a healthier home environment. This, in turn, may not result in children experiencing less academic success and even may have the opposite effect. Guinart and Grau argue that divorce may ultimately result in a positive change in some cases, as children of divorce are shown to “adapt” and achieve a “reasonably harmonized psychological profile” (Guinart and Grau 2014: 410). While this is an extreme scenario, the harms of divorce may still be observable, however they may have a more diminished effect on the child compared to prior
These include academic deterioration, antisocial and delinquent behaviors, anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression. Early promiscuity, relationship difficulties, and illicit drug use are also noted. Other studies correlate resiliency in adulthood as one product of living in a conflictual family system”(Rich et al., 2007 p.164). The effects of divorce vary depending on the situation and the child. “Hess and Camara found that many children of divorce suffer severe emotional consequences such as depression, anger, anxiety, and withdrawal, any of which, if prolonged, can have a negative impact on the child’s overall emotional development. It is also reported adjustment problems in the area of cognitive, emotional, and social development among children of divorce as well. In addition, parental separation has been found to be particularly stressful for adolescents”(Bornstein and Walters, 1988 p.248).
In order to explore my topic and answer my inquiry question, I began by searching through a variety of website articles. I then searched through the articles and narrowed it down to two that had opposing views. Lastly, I conducted interviews with two primary sources. All these sources gave me a better understanding of my topic, and how to answer my question. 1.5 million children deal with divorce every year. Researchers have found that only a relatively small percentage of children experience severe problems in the wake of divorce. Also, they have found that most children, after the initial blow of divorce, only suffer for a short period of time. Many children experience short-term negative effects from divorce. For example some of the effects include: anxiety, anger, shock and disbelief. These effects often disappear after the end of two years. In a quantitative review of the literature in 2001, a sociologist, Paul R. Amato, examined the possible effects on children several years after divorce. The studies compared children of married parents with those of divorced parents. The researchers followed kids into later childhood and adolescence. They assessed their academic achievement and emotional and behavioral problems. On average, the studies found only a small difference between children of divorced parents and those of married parents. Though, not everybody agrees on those premises. During the 70’s when the psychological literature first discussed the
Divorce and its effects on children are common issues that are on the rise in the world today. Divorce affects more than just the married couple. Children often bear the brunt of divorce, which makes divorce a complicated decision for most parents. Understanding the effects divorce has on a child is important to know exactly why a child acts a certain way. A divorce can affect a child psychologically, intellectually, and even behaviorally. Children can suffer physiologically from things like depression, intellectually by having trouble in school and behaviorally by having trouble in social settings. Legally, a divorce is a single event, but from a psychological standpoint, it is a complicated,