Free Children Of Divorce Essay Sample

Carrie A. Miller

Devry Institute of Technology
Source Summary Prewriting
Theme: Family
Intended audience: Based on what one can tell about the publication, the intended audience is primarily professional practitioners in family education, including educators, school administrators, and even parents.

Part 1: The one-sentence summary

Potter (2010) explored the consequences of parents’ divorce on the overall psychosocial well-being of children; as well as in related evident and synonymous decline in the children’s academic performance.

Part 2: The one-paragraph summary

The impact of divorce had been the subject of previous research particularly focusing on changes in parents’ and children’s behavior in the home setting. In the current discourse, Potter (2010) explored the consequences of parents’ divorce on the overall psychosocial well-being of children; as well as in related evident and synonymous decline in the children’s academic performance. Through data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K), a total of 10,061 children were included in the study. The findings confirmed Potter’s (2010) assertion that divorce significantly diminishes the psychosocial well-being of children which further impacts academic performance in equally similar negative trends.

Part 3: The multiple-paragraph summary

Divorce is evaluated in terms of contending it as an act of marital dissolution, as well as a process of instability. As such, their impacts on the behavior of divorcing parties, as well as children of divorced parents, were noted to be wide-ranging and encompassing in nature. Potter (2010) explored the consequences of parents’ divorce on the overall psychosocial well-being of children; as well as in related evident and synonymous decline in the children’s academic performance. The methodology necessitated delving into the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K) where a total of 10,061 children, 870 of whom experienced parents’ divorce, were included in the research. Potter (2010) intended to address two questions, to wit: “first, is divorce associated with children’s psychosocial well-being; second, if so, do changes to psychosocial well-being help explain the association between divorce and children’s academic achievement?” (p. 934).
The findings from the study confirmed the significant impact of parents’ divorce through evident decline in the psychosocial well-being of affected children. Likewise, as further stipulated, “the decline in well-being helps explain the poorer performance of divorced children at school” . The author acknowledged that there are limitations in the current study in terms of the level of education of participants belonging predominantly in the elementary level, as well as focusing only on the effect of decline in psychosocial well-being to academic achievement. Future research was noted to be possible through exploring other factors that could be contributory and influential in the divorce process.

Part 4: Your reaction

First and foremost, I strongly believe that the topic remains to be relevant as a social dilemma that continues to pervade contemporary societies on a global scale. At the onset, observers and family education practitioners would agree that divorce, despite the obvious negative impact to the divorcing parties and to affected children, is still being resorted to in order to relieve spouses of physical, emotional, and mental anguish. It was therefore commendable that Potter (2010) effectively disclosed the negative impacts of divorce, especially on the psychosocial well-being of children, as well as repercussive connection to academic performance.
In retrospect, I share similar contentions that as spouses evaluate the pros and cons of divorce, before actually deciding on the painful process. I am sure that they have exhausted all possible means to prevent marital dissolution. This is especially true for parents with children, who are identified to be significantly affected by the divorce process. However, parents could only protect them up to some restricted levels. In the end, the mere fact that divorce is allowed and legalized in many states, as well as in other countries indicate that the benefits far outweigh the costs of trying to save a futile marriage.
As such, the implication for the study is relevant to have been asserted by the author. Aside from merely disclosing the findings which clearly affirmed and validated direct relationship between divorce and the decline in the psychosocial well-being of children, as well as in analogous decline in academic achievement, the author could have presented recommendations to avert drastic outcomes. For instance, the rationale for the decline in children’s academic performance could have been deduced to come from the inability of the parent to assist their children in academic concerns. In addition, educators could have designed mechanisms to gather information on children of divorced parents so that they could provide additional academic support and prevent the anticipated decline in educational achievement.
Overall, the information and lessons learned from the study were beneficial to the intended audience. The methodology effectively enabled addressing the research questions which validated the results. The language used, as well as the structure of presentation assisted in enabling the readers to comprehend the main points of the research. Likewise, it was also commendable on the part of the author to have acknowledged the limitations of the research which would provide other interested family education practitioners to pursue similar studies in this particular field of endeavor.

Part 5: References

Potter, D. (2010). Psychosocial Well-Being and the Relationship Between Divorce and
Children’s Academic Achievement. Journal of Marriage and Family, 933 – 946.