Impact of Divorce on Children and their Families

Impact of Divorce on Children and their Families

Abstract

The issue of divorce is a significant field of research study due to its implications on the social development of adolescents, preschoolers, and young youths. Divorce among parents causes substantial social, economic, and health effects on children. Many of the consequences related to marital dissolution may undesirably influence children’s success in their future romantic relationships. When parents separate, children usually experience loss of one parent’s economic stability and constant presence, which research has shown to have stress implications on the children. Even though self-reliant these concerns are consequential, they fail to address the social and academic life of children or their point of view on the characteristics of a healthy relationship. Research suggests that older children often report a high rate of disturbances when parents’ divorce, in most situations, younger children suffer more. Given the tremendous research on the impacts of divorce on children, there has been little impact on social work practice. To that effect, this paper discusses the implications of research in the field of social work practice. The article highlights the research findings and their impact on future present and future application among social workers in their work settings.

The implication for Social Work Practice

Article #1: Effects of Divorce on Children: The Importance of Intervention

In this article, Katherine Donahey of Brigham Young University researches the implications of divorce on children and the significance of intervention. Donahey links intense conflict parental relationships with difficulty among children in forming their individual affiliations. Thus, the author advocates for the creation of awareness as an intervention approach to improve parental behavior and relationship. Equally, the author advocates for taking necessary measures towards increasing cooperation and reducing conflict in a bid to increase the futuristic prospects of a child in romantic relationships.

Donahey’s article presents precious points of improving social work practice. The profession of social work is important in providing therapeutic services designed to offer parenting education, family and child counseling, and family support. To that end, the article provides social workers with insightful information on increasing awareness of the impact of divorce on the life of children. Through counseling and educating parents to desist from conflicts, Donahey supports the course of social work practice by providing research-based evidence on the effectiveness of awareness creation as an intervention measure for deterring divorce-based problems among children.

Article #2: The Effects of Divorce on Children’s Personality Development

In this article, Michael Lamb offers relevant research completed through the developmental psychologist. The author attempts to the criteria for assessing parental consequences of divorce in a bid to provide sensible decisions concerning parenting. The article offers valuable information that trains social work practitioners to see the multitude of divorce as an essential factor that affects a child’s personality development. To that end, the social work practitioners can learn from the inputs of the article to recognize disconnect in families and help clients figure out approaches to reconnect the family bonds. A thorough discussion on the impacts of father absence provides insightful information for social workers to recognize the significant socializing agent in families as well as issues of social isolation, loss of emotional support, and loss of family income as major influencers of children’s personality development.

What’s more, Lamb’s piece of work provides an inherent obligation for social work practice not only to keep abreast of the present relevant research but also demonstrate competence in the application of new insights and interventions within the practice. Thus, the paper calls for dedication among social workers to learn and demonstrate the need for assessing needs and resources families provide for children in their environments. By detailing the effects for mother and father absence for both sons and daughters separately, the author offers the field of social work practice with a wealth of information that would inform the practitioners of the need for ensuring competence based on evidence validated by research.

Article #3: The Effects of Divorce on Children

Patrick Fagan and Aaron Churchill’s article offer comprehensive yet significant information on the effects of divorce on children. Notably, the authors provide insightful literature on cyclical brokenness, stunt physical and psychological growth, and effects diminished faithfulness. In view of this, Fagan and Churchill remain informative on the consequences of parental divorce on children. In that order, the information described here is essential for equipping social workers with relevant knowledge for assessing the needs as well as resources of families along with their environments.

In the same token, literature discussing issues such as stunt physical growth and increase trouble in children’s relationships give social work practitioners the information to evaluate the effectiveness of their services in meeting the needs of the client. Additionally, the article impacts social work practice by offering advance professional education and learning for practitioners in light of the changing contexts of practice. Social workers can also gain knowledge on the importance of social policy on the clients and the impact of legislation to promote a collaborative diversity among conflicting families. Overall, the article offers a wealth of information that would inform the field of social work on the importance of demonstrating costs and implications of divorce on children’s’ wellbeing.