Psychological And Social Impact Of Broken Family On Children

However, even the parents themselves do not seems to take into consideration the devastation that can impact their children. Some researchers argue that people do not terminate their marriages for reasons of escaping a disruptive relationship or abuse but only for a quest for personal growth, (Amato, Sep. 2001), then the issue should be the concern for the well being of the child and what that separation and subsequent divorce would affect the children. That same research also included a longitudinal study and incorporated evidence that indicated that a majority of recent divorces were not preceded by an extended period of

    On Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the need for belongingness and love ranks only below the need for survival, making it one of our most basic needs (Weiten 267). Many people fill this need for affection by participating in a family unit. However, as the 20th century continues, the emphasis on family in America is decreasing. Divorce rates, single-parent households, and children born out of wedlock are all increasing. Furthermore, instead of the network of aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and other relatives that was prevalent in early America, Americans today are more distant from their extended family. As sociologist David Elkind said in a 1996 interview with

   The emphasis on family in America is decreasing. Divorce rates, single-parent households, and children born out of wedlock are all increasing. Furthermore, instead of the network of aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and other relatives that was prevalent in early America, Americans today are more distant from their extended family. As sociologist David Elkind said in a 1996 interview with Educational Leadership, "Instead of togetherness, we have a new focus on autonomy. The individual becomes more important than the family" (4). This means that one of the basic needs of humanity, belongingness and love, is very likely going unfilled in many people.

In further investigation, Barnard discusses the emotional and social damage that could potentially effect family members, as

talk about their feelings or express their wants and needs. They learn to manipulate through indirect

Divorce is comparable to an epidemic since it has been filtering through many societies at an increasingly alarming rate. According to the most current statistic, there are more than 2.1 million marriages in the United States (“Children of Divorced Parents”). Out of those, almost half end in divorce. Divorce nowadays is extremely common. In fact, in America there is one divorce every thirty-six seconds (National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends”). Each year over a million American children suffer from the divorce of their parents (Amato 24-26). Even though it might be shown to benefit some individuals in their own personal case, for the majority it causes a decrease in an individual’s life and puts many people “on a downward trajectory from which they might never fully recover” (Amato). Over long term, the United States divorce rate has been on a rise since 1980, which means more children being affected (Macionis). These children that are affected are faced by emotions of anger, confusion and even fear. These emotions affect their academic performance, social interactions, behavior, self-esteem and other negative effects. This literature review is important in calling attention on the current research studying impacts of divorce on children. The topic of divorce is a wide-ranging topic. However, this particular literature review focuses only on the effects that divorce has on children. The data presented in this paper is collected from

According to the Administration for Children and Families (2013), there are one million verified cases of childhood maltreatment reported annually in the United States. This constitutes approximately 35% of the childhood population in the United States. Of these cases, 79.5% were the result of neglect, emotional abuse, and abandonment. Over 3% of these children attempted or completed suicide (Administration for Children and Families, 2013).

However, family members that also do not display the same viewpoints as the majority often are shown directed negative feelings. It seems though that the family has a general conscientious about taking care of each other, supporting

According to the Encyclopedia of Psychology, one half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. With these one million children are affected each year. Eighty five percent of these children live in single parent households, with the mother being the head of the house. The father is usually distant or does not speak to the children at all. These children are highly affected and experience a great deal of emotional and academic problems. Especially when you compare them to children with non-divorced parents. During adolescence, these children have twice as high as a rate of dropping out of high school, having teenage pregnancy, and experiencing deliquiate behavior. I am not a child of divorce, but a child dear to me is. I have seen firsthand the emotional tear that it can play into a child’s life, and the way it affects a family. Divorce may cause children to grow up anxious and scared. Children may even ask themselves “why me?”, “what can I do?”, and “where should I go from here?”.

Kaakinen et al., (2015) stated that trauma is a vital experience that affects the family system. It is an emotional reaction to a terrible occurrence such as; rape, accident, or natural disaster (American Psychological Association [APA], 2016). Its effects transcends an individual family member to affect other members of a family resulting into secondary trauma, based on the severity of the trauma ( Kaakinen et al., 2015). Trauma is acquired or could arise as a result of disasters, which are oftentimes unexpected. Some of them include; floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, transportation accidents or wildfires and more (APA, 2016). Effectively coping with the effects of trauma and recovery is largely dependent upon understanding the responses

Separation and children: How it affects your kids. States “When children are secure they thrive because they feel safe enough to explore, develop, learn, and grow”. Children must feel secured by their parents so that they can feel safe enough to explore, develop, learn and grow. It is important for them because in this way they can feel that they are loved by their

The findings are consistent with the claims that close caregivers tend to experience emotional stress (Servaes, Draper, Conroy, and Bowring, 1999). Caregivers exhibit feelings of anxiety, anger, guilt, depression, frustration, loneliness and other emotional problems (Anderson, 1995; Draper et.al.,2007; Luterman, D., 2008).

My family has always been very close. We spend a great deal of time together and express our deep feelings and emotions with one another. If one of us has an issue, every member of the family is aware of it and shares the burden. When a person in the family does not share significant information about one’s life with the rest of the members, there is hurt feelings. Also, if a member cannot attend a family event, the family feels disappointed and misses the absent member. It is evident that connectedness is held as extremely valuable.

My working hypothesis is that all the family members in their own positions, internalizing the dominant culture narratives are rejecting themselves and blaming other family members.

When a family decides to have a child, everything changes. That child becomes a number one priority. In order for a child to lead a healthy, functional life, a family needs to be strong and functional. When a family becomes dysfunctional, the most effected is the children. The children forget their children and act out which makes them difficult to live with. If a dysfunctional family, let alone the children, knew that therapy and help was available to them, more families would become healthy. In this paper, I will prove that children in dysfunctional families can self-diagnose and be encouraged to seek help and treatment so that their future can be affected by their own mistakes and not the mistakes of their families.