Effects of Divorce on Children

This article interested me because I wanted to understand how children would consider the issue of divorce from their perspective since most articles consider the adults of social scientists’ perspective. The article written by Wong surrounds the issue of divorce and how this affects the life of the kids henceforth. The surprising thing is that the seven implications come from children themselves and how they feel about the matter. Wong starts the article by suggesting that divorce makes the children act in school but take greater responsibilities at home because of having to live with a single parent. Such a situation increases the aggressive tendencies among the children. Secondly, divorce may make some children experience some form of relief particularly when their parents’ marriage was the rock and the struggles were evident. Some children wait and wish that their parents would divorce. Additionally, since the divorce means reduced hands to bring food to the table, the children experience the financial strain of the marital relationship gone sour. When parents divorce, the character of the child also deteriorates as blame games thrive. For example, some children have admitted not taking responsibility for their actions and citing the parent’s divorce as the cause of the bad behavior.

Wong continues to assert that parental divorce also hurt children even as adults since most children would not take it in one parent badmouthing the other. In most situations, each parent would like to appear good and thus tarnishes the name of the other parent. Finally, some children were happy that their parents thrived following a divorce. Some children agree that when their parents are living together they may be experiencing hardships that are irreconcilable and could only be addressed through divorce. As such, when such parents are finally able to take the bold step and enjoy some peace of mind, and grow in career, business or relationships, the children are happy for the decisions of their parents.

Theory

The inter-generational transmission of divorce would be the ideal theory to be used to elaborate on the conclusions drawn. For example, the assertion that divorce of the parents affected the children even as adults would be properly explained as divorce having significant implications for the marriages of the children when adults. Additionally, when children see their parents’ divorce, it affects their persuasions about the permanence of marriage and commitment for the long-term. Therefore, children may consider not fighting so hard for their marriage such that when difficulties arise, they officially execute a divorce. 

I chose this theory since it is the one that seems to best explain the long-term negative effects of children on adulthood and their own marriage. The other effects of divorce are felt more while the children are dependents but once they leave their parent’s home, the adverse effects are significantly reduced. A social scientist using this information would term it as good but not credible since there are no available facts and figures that justify that conclusion.

Methodology

The author does not specify the research methodology used and one could only imply from the information availed. It is possible that Wong could have used secondary sources from other research findings or could have carried out interviews to find out the children’s perceptions about divorce. The fact that such information came from the children themselves means they voiced their views. The author implies that the article findings affect both the children and the parents and could help consider ways of reducing the negative implications of divorce.

 While the content and research findings are helpful, they pose various limitations. For example, the overgeneralization assumes that the effect of divorce on children falls under the seven categories suggested. Also, the article does not provide enough information regarding the methods used that would increase validity and reduce biases. Therefore, the credibility of information is put to question. It is also notable that important information is missing regarding the age brackets of the children and the methods that would be used to find the predisposing factors that make children vulnerable such that it heightens the negative implications and reduces the positive ones. Thus, the means to drawing the named conclusions remains something that can be explored further.

Meaning and Relevance of Information to Families

            This information is relevant to families because divorces continue to happen and their effect from the children’s point of view cannot the over-emphasized. The understanding that divorce can result in long-term effects on the lives of the children may make people think through before committing to a marriage in order to reduce the possibility of divorce. Additionally, when parents, for example, understand that divorce will have to consider the impact on the character of their children, they would consider involving the children in the divorce even if it means providing counseling sessions.

The relevance of this information to families could also be seen in the fact that some behavior of the children following divorce is notable. For instance, the children being shy increased stress levels and aggressive tendencies. Since the parent or teacher will have a clue of the source of conduct, they will know how to handle the children so as not to heighten the challenges. In fact, that understanding and information could be helpful to the teachers in knowing how they can assist or look for professional help. Nonetheless, the accuracy of the information can be verified but it seems to be high since from time to time these impacts are seen in children. The information could affect the policymakers in various ways. For example, they may propose the age groups below which parents may or may not divorce to safeguard the well-being of the children

Conclusion and Summary

            It is clear that the article is relevant to family matters and people in the context of making policies that affect the welfare of children. In reading the article, I have noted various interesting thoughts and considerations. One of the things that would help increase the validity of this article to use credible and well-outlined methods before coming up with a conclusion. For further research, social scientists may consider why some children experience positive outcomes following a divorce while others experience negative outcomes. Also, is there something that can be done in schools and social set-ups to prepare the children to be able to deal with divorce with minimal negative impacts? Nonetheless, although the questions remain unanswered, this article would be termed helpful and relevant in the family contexts. The fact that this matter has been considered from the perspective of children themselves adds some weight to it and also presents new insights.

References

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/28/kids-and-divorce-_n_5730980.html