Good Example Of Research Paper On Children Of Divorce

Pre-Writing

The topic focus on finding an appropriate response to the research question: Does divorce naturally impact the children on a negative light; especially bearing significant adverse consequences on the psychosocial and academic performance?
The primary audience would include individuals that have experienced divorce of parents, as well as educators, and family support practitioners. The audience would equally share one’s opinions and values; yet be open to embrace new information and knowledge that could emerge from the research.
The thesis statement is: Depending on the situation and relevant factors, children may not always be affected negatively, especially in terms of psychosocial well-being and academic performance, as a result of having divorced parents. My angle on this issue will be that there is an initial adjustment period in which children will go through when their parents divorce. As such, depending on the situation, children may not always be affected negatively as a result of having divorced parents.

The topic sentences that would be used as the foundation of my communication are as follows:

Divorce continues to pervade contemporary societies.
The current research study aims to explore potential consequences of divorce from the perspectives of children.
The problem stemmed from one’s personal experience as a child of divorced parents.
Statistics on children of divorced parents disclosed relevant and glaring impacts.
Introduction
Alessandra was a consistent honor student in primary school. She was gregarious, fun-loving, and an active member of three extra-curricular programs: the school’s Glee Club, the literary writing organization, as well as a volunteer for the local community’s environmental protection program. It came as a mystery to her seventh grade academic adviser, Ms. Samantha Smith, when she unexpectedly became reclusive, withdrawn, and isolated

Body:

Divorce continues to pervade contemporary societies. At the onset, people advocating
for the conservation of the nuclear family oppose any form of marital separation, including divorce.

The current research study aims to explore potential consequences of divorce from

the perspectives of children. Most of the negative effects focus on manifestation of behavioral problems, emotional imbalance, psychological dilemmas, and low academic performance.
The problem stemmed from one’s personal experience as a child of divorced parents.
My parents divorced when I was twelve years old after seventeen years of marriage. The experience definitely made me question my own desire to get married.
Statistics on children of divorced parents disclosed relevant and glaring impacts.
Some of the effects include emotional and physical damage, long-term effects, peer-related problems, tendencies to commit suicide, and significant drop out rates for high school students (Children Divorce Statistics, 2013)

Conclusion:

I propose to achieve a validation in my thesis that children may not always be affected negatively, especially in terms of psychosocial well-being and academic performance, as a result of having divorced parents.
Alessandra was a consistent honor student in primary school. She was gregarious, fun-loving, and an active member of three extra-curricular programs: the school’s Glee Club, the literary writing organization, as well as a volunteer for the local community’s environmental protection program. It came as a mystery to her seventh grade academic adviser, Ms. Samantha Smith, when she unexpectedly became reclusive, withdrawn, and isolated. Concurrently, results of her first periodic examinations revealed drastic failure in almost all of the major subjects. When asked what could have been her problem, Alessandra reasoned that her parents are in the midst of applying for divorce. She said that she is exposed to life changing circumstances as she quipped that her life would never be the same again. Like Alessandra, children of divorced parents share similar fears and anxieties. As emphasized, “children of divorce often experience expectations of failure, fear of loss or abandonment and fear of conflict throughout their lives” (Doares, 2014, p. 1).
Divorce continues to pervade contemporary societies. At the onset, people advocating for the conservation of the nuclear family oppose any form of marital separation, including divorce. The notorious impacts were perceived to include instigation of behavioral problems to children which consequently affect academic, psychosocial, and holistic well-being. But like any social problems, ways to solve the dilemma could be found.
As such, the current research study aims to explore potential consequences of divorce from the perspectives of children. Most of the negative effects focus on manifestation of behavioral problems, emotional imbalance, psychological dilemmas, and low academic performance. One contends that depending on the situation and relevant factors, children may not always be affected negatively, especially in terms of psychosocial well-being and academic performance, as a result of witnessing the divorce of parents.
The problem stemmed from one’s personal experience as a child of divorced parents. My parents divorced when I was twelve years old after seventeen years of marriage. The experience definitely made me question my own desire to get married. As such, I would like to explore whether other children experienced similar traumas and how their parents’ divorce impacted on their psychosocial well-being and academic performance. The study seeks to identify areas that preclude children of divorced parents from keeping an open perspective on the relevant decisions in life. This is crucial since the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry revealed that “children often believe they have caused the conflict between their parents. Many children
assume the responsibility for bringing their parents back together, causing them additional stress” . Despite the apparent knowledge of parents on the impending negative impacts of divorce, statistics revealed that “there were about 20 divorces for every 1,000 women over the age of 15” . The reported factors that contribute to the problem include increasing awareness for both men and women who apparently acknowledge not needing each other for economic support. In addition, easy access to birth control techniques makes bearing and raising children a decreasing option.
Concurrently, statistics on children of divorced parents disclosed relevant and glaring impacts. Some of the effects include emotional and physical damage, long-term effects, peer-related problems, tendencies to commit suicide, and significant drop out rates for high school students . There are short-term effects that were reported to be exhibited by children of divorced parents such as: emotional imbalance veering towards exemplification of sadness, anger, aggression, interpersonal conflict, economic hardship, difficulties in social adjustment, among others. The emotional damage was disclosed to be significant; especially as it manifests repercussive effects on the psychosocial well-being of children, as well as in academic performance. 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). In addition, Kim (2011) confirmed negative effects in terms of influencing academic performance and interpersonal skills.
Likewise, the long-term effects include persistent feelings of anger or longing, moderate to severe levels of depression, poorer physical health conditions, social imbalance, and delinquent behaviors, to name a few . A famous study conducted by Wallerstein (1989) revealed that the negative impact persists for some children even after more than 10 years after the divorce of parents. Figure 1 summarized statements asserted by children after their parents’ divorce.
As asserted, “children can sometimes experience what might be called the “sleeper effect”. They recover rather quickly following the divorce, but because of denied feelings at a subconscious level, feelings about the divorce may emerge at some point later in life” (North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, 1998, p. 3).
Figure 1: Statements Asserted by Children After their Parents’ Divorce

Source: North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, 1998

Some factors which were deemed contributory to the increased ability of children to recover are as follows: mother-child or father-child relationship manifesting mutual respect, positive relationship with grandparents who met the children’s needs, and children who became testimonies to more positive and solid relationship of any of the parent and a new partner (Wallerstein, 1991).

References

Children Divorce Statistics. (2013). Retrieved February 2, 2015, from Children-and-Divorce.com: http://www.children-and-divorce.com/children-divorce-statistics.html
Divorce Statistics. (2013). Retrieved February 2, 2015, from Children-and-Divorce.com: http://www.children-and-divorce.com/divorce-statistics.html
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2013, December). Children and Divorce. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from aacap.org: http://www.aacap.org/App_Themes/AACAP/docs/facts_for_families/01_children_and_divorce.pdf
Doares, L. (2014, July 8). Is My Marriage Doomed if My Parents Got Divorced When I Was a Kid? Retrieved February 1, 2015, from PsychCentral: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/11/09/is-my-marriage-doomed-if-my-parents-got-divorced-when-i-was-a-kid/
Kim, H. (2011). Consequences of Parental Divorce for Child Development. American Sociological Review, 76(3), 487–511.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. (1998, August). Long-term effects of divorce on children. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from ces.ncsu.edu: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/fcs/pdfs/fcs482.pdf
Potter, D. (2010). Psychosocial well-being and the relationship between divorce and children’s academic achievement. Journal of Marriage and Family, 933 – 946.
Wallerstein, J. (1991). The long-term effects of divorce on children: A review. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30(3), 349-360.