Children and Divorce

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at preschool years (3/5), elementary school years (6-11) and early-late adolescent years (11-18 years) and their different reactions and emotive responses to marital divorce in modern society. The paper shows how younger children do not often conceptualize the problem of marriage and often blame themselves. The paper then explains how elementary school children and adolescents become more reliant on peer groups and social institutions outside of the family, which provides a deeper understanding of the divorce.

From the Paper:

"The early and late adolescent period is often part of the successive ways in which youth become able to completely and objectively interpret the divorce. The reliance on internal thinking has now become less abstracted, and the divorce can be seen with greater clarity. For the youth, the greater social networks through peer relationships has widened, marking a change in how the divorce is perceived. Often, the more independent nature of the youth's perspective can create more discourse about the divorce, which changes the way that parents must communicate with their children. Modern research studies often describe this form of 'individuation' that arises through the adolescent's ability to find other sources of social interaction other than the family unit."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Children & Divorce: The different age stages: 3/5 years (pre-schoolers)" (2006). Divorcesource.com. Retrieved 1 May, 2007 from http://www.divorcesource.com/info/children/preschoolers.shtml
• "Children and separation/divorce." (2007). Helpguide.org. Retrieved 1 May, 2007 from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/children_divorce.htm
• Kirby, J. (2002). "Teens and divorce: What hurts and what helps?" Family Tapestries.com. Retrieved 1 May, 2007 from http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm02/FS11.html

More papers on Children and Divorce:

• Persuasive Essay # 140364 : "Children and Divorce"
• Book Review # 144049 : "Pickhardt on Children and Divorce"
• Analytical Essay # 123543 : "Children and Divorce"

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