Sample Essay On A Hard Diction

English

In a span of less than 30 years, the social phenomenon called divorce has gone from the suspect unusual to the common socially accepted. Corresponding figures on divorces and marriages trends have been on a back and forth vacillation as skeptics have over time predicted a long term demise of the institution of marriage. Since the start of the 20th century and most especially the 1970s, America recorded one of the highest rates of divorces especially after the institutionalization of the no-fault divorce. However, although statistics indicate that 50 percent of marriages in the country end in divorce, the truth about divorce rates is in fact surprisingly optimistic.
Divorce is a painful process of separation of two individuals initially married that ends in a legal dissolution of their marriage in a court of law. While it may take some time before adults regain their psychological equilibrium, there is still a debate on whether or not children ever recover a stable perspective (Clarke-Stewart & Cornelia 10). The adverse and devastating effects of divorce extend to not only the parties undergoing a separation but also to their children, close relatives, friends and work colleagues just to mention a few in a growing list of victims. As a student, I closely identify with divorce as a painful process judging from the increasing number of friends with psychological issues arising from the divorce of their parents. Current estimates have it that one out of every five families with children under the age of 18 years is headed by single parents. Moreover, fluctuations in the rate of divorces and marriages in the country inform us that the general social fabric of the adult life is slowly changing as new varieties of patterns are emerging in the society. For instance, notwithstanding the high rates of divorce in the country, there has been a steady increase in the total number of adults who are divorced. In the long term, this high number of divorced individuals may create a fall out whereby there is a greater number of older individuals lacking social support or greater numbers of individuals finding it difficult to provide care for both the older and the younger generations. Research evidence has it that divorce has a huge potential of interfering with the support that is provided by adult children to their dependent parents (Clarke-Stewart & Cornelia 21). These difficult transitions of separation, divorce and sometimes remarriage are therefore still a constant reminder of the failing societal fabric.
After a temporary surge in the overall number of divorces after World War II, when soldiers would return home after war, there was a period of stability that was experienced during the mid -1950s. However, from 1957-1977 divorce rates more than doubled for persons 44 years and younger as the numbers of marriages gradually reduced. These converging rates of divorces and marriages at the time were one of the most significant factors that heralded the impeding obscurity of marriage in America as was agreed upon by social scientists (Chiriboga & Linda 5) Doom prophecies enhanced this fact as divorce would be seen as more prevalent among those who were least protected from its impact including the young, impoverished and the minorities. Statistics figures continued to indicate inconsistencies as marriage rates began to climb again during the late 1970s before resuming to the normal gradual decline. More recently, the trend has been on a downward spiral between 2009 through 2010. It is during this time that divorce rate dropped from 5.1 to 4.7 per thousand according to data from National Center for Health Statistics in 2010. Despite the fluctuations, divorce has still remained high with estimates that almost 1, 163,000 couples well into the 2 million mark were divorced in just 2011. If consideration is taken into both the children and the parents who were divorcing, then an assumption figure of almost 6 million people were directly affected by divorce in that single year (Chiriboga & Linda 6).
Today however, the future of the institution of marriage and family looks optimistic. Using data from the U.S Bureau of Census, age cohorts’ groupings are the key determinants used to determine the probabilities of divorce rates in the future. According to the 2005 census data for instance, it is postulated that lifelong probabilities of divorce will be at its peak with the age group currently in its thirties and may have actually started to wane. If the figures for women in the last five decades are analyzed, approximately 56% of those in their thirties will divorce at some point in their lives (Chiriboga & Linda 7). A contrasting figure is indicated for those in their twenties with a slightly lower but encouraging 54% probability of divorce. These rates are also similarly lower for those in their middle and later ages with 36% for those in their forties and 24% for those in their fifties (Chiriboga & Linda 8). If these current trends continue, then there is a high probability that nearly two-thirds of most marriages in the country will never involve a divorce.
Regardless of whether or not there is a reason to be optimistic about the fate of the American family however, it is still a true and hard fact that millions of lives are affected every year by divorce. From mentioned statistics, it is indeed evident that divorce still remains a critical issue with far reaching real life consequences and impacts to a wide audience of the American population that requires a lasting and effective solution.

Works Cited

Chiriboga, David A, and Linda S. Catron. Divorce: Crisis, Challenge or Relief? S.l.: New York
U.P, 2012. Print.
Clarke-Stewart, Alison, and Cornelia Brentano. Divorce: Causes and Consequences. New
Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 2008. Print.