¶ … Divorce
It is estimated that over one million children in the United States are victims of parental divorce each year, and half of all children born in wedlock this year will see their parents divorce before they reach their eighteenth birthday (Rector pp). Robert Rector points out that divorce generally reduces the income of the child's primary household, and for families that were not poor before the divorce, the drop in income can be as much as 50% (Rector pp). According to reported 1994 data by Mary Corcoran, professor of political science at the University of Michigan, "During the years children lived with two parents, their family incomes averaged $43,600, and when these same children lived with one parent, their family incomes averaged $25,300" (Rector pp).
Angela DeCuzzi reported in the December 01, 2004 issue of College Student Journal, the findings of a study designed to assess the effect of parental divorce and remarriage of college students on the relationship with their respective parents and on their own romantic relationships (DeCuzzi pp). The data revealed that respondents whose parents were divorced and remarried reported being less happy and less close to both their mother and father than respondents whose parents were still married (DeCuzzi pp). Moreover, students whose parents were divorced were more likely to avoid short-term relationships (DeCuzzi pp).
According to the 2003 Statistical Abstract of the United States Bureau of Census, there are approximately six million divorced families in the U.S., some 60% of whom have children (DeCuzzi pp). In 2002, the American Council on Education and University of California reported that roughly 26% of first year college students report that their parents are separated or divorced (DeCuzzi pp). "Extrapolating to the 16 million college students in the U.S., over four million college students have parents who are separated or divorced," says DeCuzzi (DeCuzzi pp).
There has been considerable research on the effect of parental divorce on offspring, and previous researchers have revealed that parental divorce is associated with "diminished psychological, social, and physical well being, one's own divorce,...
In regard to how a child's sense of family is affected by the remarriage of either parent, Ahrons points out that binuclear families have proven to be rather undesirable. This is more so the case given the unusual combination of both blood and non-blood relationships which according to Ahrons could effectively defy clear definition of roles. Findings from this study as the author further points out clearly indicate that children
Divorce is a traumatic experience for a child under any circumstances. They were certainly so in mine, in which several intervening factors complicated the ability to develop effective psychological coping mechanisms. I was nine years old when my parents got divorced. The divorce was not due to mutual consent or irreconcilable differences but the fact that my mother had an affair with my father's best friend, subsequently leaving the country.
Moreover, a gradual increase of divorce rate has been found in this period as well. Lyons, Linda. "Gallup Tuesday Briefing." Kids and Divorce 1.1 (2002):1-3. Citing the study of Hetherington and Kelly, Lyons provided a more positive outlook on the effects of divorce as she states that the divorce experience can be a source of empowerment for the children. Lyons also looked at teen's perception and attitude towards marriage and divorce. Mack,
There is a typical decline in the standard of living of mother-headed families, for children of divorce, that often pushes them below the poverty level. A number of developmental problem, in children, are associated with a lack of economic resources. A child's nutrition and health may be negatively affected by economic hardship. Educational items such as: private lessons, educational toys, computers, and books are also often difficult for single-parent
Divorce, "the legal dissolution of a marriage" (American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition) is considered as the bane of the contemporary American society ruining the lives of not only the two people involved but also deteriorates the well being of the children with divorced parents. Research shows that the number of children experiencing parental divorce is as large as one million every year, in the United States (Amato et al.: 895).
Agreements and Disagreements When we consider the arguments and perspectives of both Coontz and May on the subject of divorce in America, some disagreements emerge, though by and large the two agree in principle if not on all of the details. From the above discussion of the two authors' points-of-view on divorce in America, it is more than evident that there is some disagreement in what the authors believe to be
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