Social Learning Theory: The Effects Of Divorce

Divorce is one of many controversial subjects in family and human development research. What inspired me to critically analyze the article “Does Divorce Create Long-Term Negative Effects for Children?” is the challenge it would be for me to put my bias aside considering I am from a divorced home. After reading the article and analyzing it over and over, I can’t help but think that the writer answering “YES” to this controversial question overlooked many variables and over generalized his findings and research. With Zinsmeister overgeneralizing his research, not considering enough alternate explanations for long-term negative effects divorce, and his lack of relevant information needed to assess reliability and validity are why I find this article to be insightful but not accurate and hope to show why.

The scholarly article “The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children: A Review,” by Judith S. Wallerstein, explores various studies conducted by psychologists over a twenty year span, about the long term social and psychosocial difficulties experienced by children of divorce. The majority of the research for this particular topic discusses how the problems for these children began long before the actual separation of the parents, a theory that had not been previously researched in full until these studies. After reading the article, it is evident, that often the divorce itself is the last resort of the quarrelling parents. By waiting several years before finally breaking off the failed marriage the parents are unintentionally

The Effects of Divorce on Children Based on the Application of the Psychological Developmental Theories

The key research question in this study is what are the long term effects of parental divorce on a child’s relationship between their parents and their siblings? They took into consideration variables such as age of divorce, gender, and living arrangements so they can see what influence they may have on the present study results and compare it with previous studies. They gave 3 different surveys to 102 students with married parents and 107 students with divorced parents to be able to observe the differences in relationships between the two types of families. Some of the key findings of this study are that females actually have better adult relationships with their siblings and that divorce caused the children to have better relationships with their mother, and worse relationships with their father. They noted that the age when their parents got divorced was not a variable that affected whether or not they had a good relationship with their siblings. For the relationship between their mothers, it was better unless there was a variable of pre-divorce or post-divorce conflict between them. For their fathers, it showed that daughters had worse relationships with their fathers compared to sons. Living arrangements showed effects for both of the parents depending on which parent they lived with. When it comes to remarriage, it had a positive affect on mother-child relationship when the father got remarried and no affect when the mother was remarried.

There are instances where divorce is essential. In cases such as verbal or physical abuse of a spouse or child, divorce may be the only solution. However, the negative effects of divorce have a large impact on family structure. Divorce can be very stressful for young adult children, with a sense of increased responsibility to their parents and a vulnerability to loyalty conflicts with both parents. In addition, this article proclaims that young adults may experience a sense of loss of their family home, abandonment by their parents, and a concern

The statistics for divorce in the 1990's suggest that nearly sixty percent of marriages end in divorce. Given this startling figure, the assumption can be made that many children will experience some effects caused by the life-changing event called divorce. What is it exactly about divorce that causes negative consequences for these children? In what ways will these children be effected? Will these effects show outwardly? I will attempt to uncover some of the complexities surrounding these psychological questions in the following text. The unsettling fact is: young children of divorced parents face great psychological challenges due to the environmental conditions and changes associated with divorce (Wolchik and Karoly 45).

Another significant two-part longitudinal study took place over a 17 year period and examined a sample of 85 children of divorced families. Parents were initially interviewed in 1980 regarding marriage quality. Interviews later determined which marriages dissolved and the conflict levels of those that had not. In 1992 and 1997 interviews with the children of these divorced families were given to determine their physiological well-being,

Strengths of social learning theory include the ease of implementing an optimistic and appropriate behavior modification to counter maladaptive behaviors in place, it is applicable to various behaviors, it is easy to understand, and it integrates social and cognitive skills through observation and practice. This theory is considered empowering as it helps individuals identify for themselves appropriate behaviors through observation and practicing the desired behavior. Weaknesses of this theory are that it does not take into account individual interpretations of situations, it does not relate to all behavioral differences, and it focuses more on what is happening in the situation rather than explaining why the situation is occurring.

Chapter fourteen of the Marriage and family textbook by David Knox, covers divorce and remarriage in today’s society. It discusses how the attitudes towards divorce have changed dramatically from how it was viewed by our parents and grandparents. Not only have society’s views changed on divorce but also on the functioning roles of the family and its structure. The author also goes into how the child custody issues have changed and what things affect children who have divorcing parents. He then goes into remarriage for divorced couples and the effect it can have on the children.

Since I started this paper without a specific, for or against argument on the matter, I have gained more knowledge about how exactly divorce affects the family. However, my position on this social problem has not wavered very much. While I do agree with most of the scholars that addressed the issues surrounding divorce and how they affect children and single-parents, I could not find many arguments that undeniably agreed with the notion that divorce could have positive effects. Although, a persuasive argument that was introduced was that relationships that are unhealthy could be ended with the help of divorce. More than one of the resources stressed the importance of more research into if divorce was the only cause of single-parent household hardships and evaluating whether there were more positive effects of divorce since less research on this subject has been done in comparison to the negative effects of divorce. I recognize that I am speaking about a fraction of the problem and that other issues under this topic need to be addressed. In other words, it is imperative that all facets of divorce be investigated in order to truly understand all parts of the social

Healthy, loving, stable marriages are good for the couples in them; for the children of those relationships, their emotional, physical, educational and social wellbeing depends on a harmonious union between their parents. The effects of parental discord and divorce on a child’s development are far reaching. In fact, studies show that the divorce greatly impacts the intergenerational transmission of attachment styles. The grim reality is that fifty percent of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. On any given day an average 6,646 marriages end (Ruane, 2013), leaving the children of those relationships at risk for academic, behavioral and psychological problems. Further, research indicates that children of divorce experience

There are many facets to all divorces. Why did a divorce happen, who is affected, and how do you move on? All of these questions are at the forefront of not only the couple’s mind, but also their families. Answering the question of who is more likely to get divorced is a way to dive in to see why divorce happens and whom it affects. Next, diving in even deeper to issues of divorce, the question of how children are affected plays a large role in the problem of many divorced families. Children can have many different reactions to a divorce that can trouble them for their entire lifetime, not just the few years after making a family adjustment. Finally, divorce takes on a negative connotation in our society and rightly so; however, people fail to recognize that the divorce rates of America are actually decreasing since the 1970s and 1980s. Although divorces are still to frequent in America, it is encouraging to know that the sanctity of marriage is still engrained in our society, and thankfully over the next decades we can hopefully see an even greater decline in divorce rates.

This paper will present an overview of the impact of divorce on children and some of the ways that are intended to help children of divorce to successfully function in society. The impact of divorce on children takes many different forms. From mental and physical health concerns to financial instability, children suffer the most in the divorce situation. When a couple, who have children, divorces it affects the whole family. Children of divorced parents experience school and social related problems. Their routines are disrupted and they feel disconnected from one or the other parent. Custodial arrangements are another factor of impact for the children. This causes emotional stress and

After a divorce, these adolescents experience the feeling of insecurity, and they have low esteem (Glenn & Kramer, 1985). In essence, the psychological being of those from happily married families is found to be higher as compared to that of young ones from divorced families. In addition to psychological effects, many studies have confirmed that there are long term effects. For example, adolescents from divorced families are likely to divorce when they grow to the age of becoming parents as related to those from intact families. Analysis of surveys have revealed several negative impacts that are long term on their psychological well-being, such things as: satisfaction, happiness and excitement during their adult developmental age (Glenn & Shelton,

Divorce is a plague that is destroying numerous families across the United States of America. Sadly, when husbands and wives divorce, the children are often caught directly in the middle. Throughout the years divorce has been becoming more and more common. In the 1920's it was a rare find to know a person whom had been divorced, today it is a rarity not to know of one who has been, or will be divorced. Divorce has numerous effects on the structures of families, and many devastating effects on the children that must experience it, although sometimes necessary, divorce radically changes the lives of adolescents and adults alike.