The Effect of Divorce on the Youngest Child   Term Paper ID:27802 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines the effects of divorce on the youngest child as both initiator & recipient in contacts with parents & siblings. Focus is on issues of academic performance, peer relations, sibling interactions, & methods of coping. Some case studies are given.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines the effects of divorce on the youngest child as both initiator & recipient in contacts with parents & siblings. Focus is on issues of academic performance, peer relations, sibling interactions, & methods of coping. Some case studies are given. Paper Introduction: THE EFFECT OF DIVORCE ON THE YOUNGEST CHILD INTRODUCTION This is an examination of the effects of divorce on the youngest child as both a recipient and initiator in contacts with parents and siblings. The study concentrates on issues concerning academic performance, peer group relations, familiar interactions, sibling interactions, and methods of coping. In general it is shown that the youngest sibling, often by playing the role of naive innocent, allows the family to express thoughts and conflicts that are otherwise suppressed. In this way, the child serves as a catalyst to open up the discussion in a less threatening manner. The youngest child thus becomes a familial anchor of sorts -- a role that is especially important in the init Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Direct service to each other; 3. Theydisplay more non-compliant, aggressive, hostile behavior with theirsiblings. Identification and differentiation; 2. managing, teaching, helping) whilethe younger children were less likely to be as responsive to their oldersiblings need. Birth order was a significant factor in aptitude tests. Milling and Reinherz, Helen, 1986, Journal of Marriage and the Family 48 (May 1986):285-293Kurdek, Lawrence, A. The children were asked to rate theresponse of the non-recipient. (1985) Children of divorce: Preliminary report of a ten- year follow-up of older children and adolescents. Younger siblings response to older siblings is markedlydifferent from their response to their mothers. Ph.D. Children from divorced families attributed greater unhappiness to thenon-recipient than those from intact families. He examined divorceadjustment measures including understanding of the divorce, problematicbeliefs regarding the divorce, understanding of conflict resolution andinternal locus of control. Mothers are apparently seen as more asattention givers than attention receivers. They suggested five autonomous functions of the sibling subsystemwithin the family: 1. Some even merge the siblings into one composite individual forthe purpose of analysis and discussion. Takingcare of each other is next. This confirms the earlier finding of higher aptitude and cognitiveskills tests for later-born children than for first born children followingmarital disruption(Cox, 1974). It works better to buildon the situation that the children have in place than to attempt to imposean adult solution on them. 64 dyads were from married families, and 64 fromdivorced families. Among the cases Combrink-Graham (1989) discusses are the Bachs. (Wallerstein, 1985) Over the course of 15 years, in which Combrink-Graham has studied morethan 8 families in which there have been a separation or divorce,Combrinck-Graham has refined and sometimes significantly altered pastconclusions. "Family structure, socialization and personality ." pp 1-53 in Lois W, Hoffman and Martin L. Frequently,parents try to buy a child's affections. Robey, Cohen, and Epstein (1988) used a series of artist created cardseach consisting of people depicting families, children, father mother.The pictures showed one person bestowing affection, another receiving it,and the third was a non-recipient. Furthermore, oldersiblings tend to help the younger with a wide range of personal tasks;helping them pack, fixing their hair, guiding them through the first daysof school, and explaining things to them. BIBLIOGRAPHYBank, S., and Kahn, M. Mutual regulation; 4. Such manipulation is easier toovercome when a child has siblings. NY: Russell Sage.Combrinck-Graham, Lee (1989) "When Parents separate or Divorce: The Sibling System," When Parents Separate or Divorce, Hawthorne PressCox, Martha , 1974. 553) discussed several young people in a ten-year post-divorce follow up as having reported a special closeness withtheir siblings. and Joan B. "Divorce and child development" Paper presented at the annual meting of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, Boston.Kindard, E. They analyzed the data according to gender and birthorder. Siblings also take care of each other in more subtle ways. (1975) "Sisterhood-Brother hood is powerful.: Sibling subsystems and family therapy." Family Process, 14, 311-337Clausen, John A. Its not my decision. No difference was found by Kurdek in younger children based on thegender of older siblings at the higher levels of the socio-economic scale.However, at lower end of the socio-economic scale older male siblings weremore likely to take on the role of surrogate fathers. Yet these sibling'srelationships no matter how close do not in fact disrupt their peerrelationships, and each is capable of living an independent life. They are more likely toengage in independence-seeking and fewer help-seeking behaviors. Yet few studies have acknowledged the roles siblings play in thetransition. In the studies of 8 families, thirty-two had only one childinvolved, while 4 families had more than one child. Following some children of divorced families for 15 years Combrink-Graham (1989) found that as they moved into more differentiated phases oftheir lives they left the divorce and custody bitterness behind. Children inthe recently divorced group (those most affected by divorce) had higheraptitude scores if they were later born than if they were first born. Children fromrecently divorced families showed greater performance problems than eitherchildren of early divorced or non-divorced families. For example, in the Warren family(Combrink-Graham, 1989), six-year-old Ellen provided relief for her 15 aand 11 year old sisters who were trying to explain a sensitive position totheir difficult father. In this way, the child serves as a catalystto open up the discussion in a less threatening manner. In examining the youngest child in the context of initiator orrecipient of contact in parental and sibling interactions, the conclusionsvarious studies are mixed. The youngest childthus becomes a familial anchor of sorts -- a role that is especiallyimportant in the initial stages of divorce. On the other hand children whoexperienced family disruption before they entered school were found to haveproblems throughout their school careers (Furstenburg, 1983). In the earlier years as thechildren travel back and forth between custodial and non-custodial parentsthe siblings are the only constants for each other and form a mutuallysupportive team to handle the difficult situations that come up. The precise nature of the effectsof divorce on children in general, and the youngest child in particular, isunclear. The most significant conclusion she reached was that childrenwith siblings were healthier, more age appropriate and showed better socialadjustment than only children despite senseless struggles between theparents. In therapeutic situations therefore it is important to allow childrento provide input on what works, and what they think can be done abouttheir problems as a result of marital separation. The Kelly children (Combrink-Graham, 1989) refused to express apreference as to which parent the would like to live with. I justwant to live life with my Mom." Her sister's naive logic gave nine-year-oldKaren the opportunity to state, "That goes for me too." In families with three children the youngest is often babied andapparently unaware of what was going on. Combrink-Graham (1989) notes that older siblings help the younger inmany ways. Moreover, siblings in a divorce situation tend to be moreclosely tied to each other than to either parent. (1988) "The child's response to affection given to someone else: effects of parental divorce, sex of child and sibling position." Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, Vol 17, 2-7.Wallerstein, Judith S. Another Combrink-Graham (1989) case study demonstrates this point.She noted that in therapy sessions 6-year old Ellen often sat on the lap of15-year old Kate even when one or both parents were present. The study was performed in two play contexts: Astructured game (Trouble), and an unstructured game (card toss). Thissupport network extends outside the sibling group to the parents. However aspecial closeness to their siblings remained.EFFECT OF DIVORCE AND ORDINAL POSITION IN PLAY CONTEXTS Mackinaw (1989) studied the effect of divorce and ordinal position inplay on 128 dyads. In mathematicalachievement and parental ratings of productivity the later-born childrenhad fewer problems than first-born children. The pictures consisted of three categories: mother-father-childtriads; pictures in which a child and a sibling compete for a parentalregard; and a third in which the child and a friend compete for the child'sparents regard. Kurdek (1989) studied first and second born sibling pairs in thecontext of self-reports and maternal reports. Yet there is no reason to believe thatthe more current studies have a higher rate of validity. Ellen would bounce over to her father with apicture she was drawing and sitting either on her fathers lap or next toone of her sisters she would declare, "Well, Dad, you just shouldn't yellall the time." She would then return to playing games, thus allowing theolder girls to elaborate on the topic. A sibling group offers children theopportunity to discuss the nature of such gifts which helps to balancetheir reactions. The Effects of Father Absence and Maternal Employment on the Development of Children. TheBachs are a mother custody, three child family. Wallerstein (1985, p. At the same time they are particularly supportiveand considerate of the needy parent.Overall, a sense of teamwork and solidarity is established.EFFECT OF DIVORCE ON CHILDREN'S SCHOOL PERFORMANCE Most nine and ten year old children whose school performancedeteriorated after a divorce returned to their original performance levelswithin a year (Wallerstein and Kelly, 1976). In thesecircumstances, such relationships are often highly and mutually beneficial. Thus thisexamination ultimately shows that a more systematic and coherent series ofstudies is needed before the results can be applied in therapeutically orcustodial contexts. The more structured game (Trouble)was found to generate more resistive behavior than the relatively easygoing card toss.EFFECTS OF PARENTAL DIVORCE ON THE CHILD'S RESPONSE TO AFFECTION GIVEN TOSOMEONE ELSE. Long term follow up studies on these childrenwould be required to confirm the hypothesis.SIBLINGS IN DIVORCE Bank and Kahn (1975) suggested that siblings are not only children whoshare parents but that they form a sub-system of their own within thatfamily. Kate whilechiding or correcting Ellen at the same time was able to use the naivete ofthe younger child to assess her own situation differently and express heremotions more freely. Jelly, 1976, "The effects of parental divorce : Experiences of the child in later latency. This being particularly true of boys. In this time divorce hasevolved from a stigma to the norm. dealing with parents.Thus the children are participants in the shaping of the family environmentand not just the product of an environment created by the adults in theirlives. She observed: It seems that when the relationship between the parents weakens and disrupts that siblings can turn toward each other to huddle together, to protect each other, to remain intimate with each other and perhaps most of all to remain faithful to each other. The gender of the child was the most consistent factor. In divorced families first borns attributed more unhappiness to thenon-recipients than did later borns. Boys from divorced familiesprojected the highest level of non-recipient unhappiness. Siblings seem to balance the attention and the support they give theirparents - parenting the one who seems to be in the most need at the time.In many instances when the custodial parent (invariably the mother in thesestudies) is in a stressful situation the sibling relationship alters toprovide the parent with a buffer. Furthermore, children ofdivorce from the lower socio-economic scale are more likely to resist andignore directives from older siblings. " American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 46: 256-269.Wallerstein, J.S. The children usuallyvisited their father together, and each also had special time with him. THE EFFECT OF DIVORCE ON THE YOUNGEST CHILDINTRODUCTION This is an examination of the effects of divorce on the youngest childas both a recipient and initiator in contacts with parents and siblings.The study concentrates on issues concerning academic performance, peergroup relations, familiar interactions, sibling interactions, and methodsof coping. 1976, "Family configuration and intelligence ", Science 192 (April 16) 227-236. In 1986 Kindard and Reinherz undertook a study to determine theeffects of marital disruption on academic aptitude and achievement bycomparing children in early disrupted, recently disrupted, and neverdisrupted families. Dissertation.Furstenberg, Frank, F., Jr 1983. Based on comparisonsbetween multi-children and single child families, she arrives at herconclusions. It was also found that in long termdivorced families the longer the time since the divorce, the greater theunhappiness the children attributed to the non-recipients; this effect wasmost noticeable in pictures of sibling competition.CONCLUSION The contradictory nature of these studies is problematic in terms ofdefining a proper therapeutic approach. This allows them to maintain a continuity ofcaring in a relationship system undergoing major changes. This serves to establish a verystrong connection between the older and younger siblings. They would taketurns refuting the other's choice. 1966. The sibling relationship becomes acaretaking situation in which older nurtures younger. She found that older siblings in divorced families were found toengage in more catering behavior (e.g. However this may be a temporary effect.Furthermore, this finding is not totally supported by other studies inwhich an evaluation in terms of birth order showed decreased cognitivefunction with decreasing birth order; though this study does not considermarital situation (Clausen, 1966; Zajone, 1976). Their combined reactions served to encourage their father,support their mother, and protect their own interests at the same time. Single children often struggle in their attempts to be fair andplease both parents, but this task is easier for siblings. For instance, when their father announced hisintention to marry the children covered the range of reactions, but eachmanifested a unique but interactive symptom. Children projected the most non-recipient unhappiness onto childrenand the least onto mothers. However, when the age difference was compensated for it wasfound that children of the same age, regardless of position in the family,had similar beliefs and understandings of divorce. Combrink-Graham (1989)states that taking care of the parents is thefirst priority for most children of separated or divorced parents. According to maternal evaluations the olderchildren were better adjusted than the younger ones in terms of dependencyon adults. I'm just a kid. Again, those children inthe recently divorced group evidenced the most problems. Marital disruption had a significant main effect on languageachievement and teacher ratings of productivity. Translating for each other; and, 5. The younger are alsoable to perceive parental stress and initiate requests to older siblingsinstead of the parent. The findings and contradictions can perhaps be explained by thediminishing effect of parental divorce on children over time, or thepossibility that marital disruption is less severe on preschool childrenthat school age children. Parents andteachers rated the girls as having a higher overall school achievementproblems, and boys having greater productivity problems. They keep track of important dates and times for the youngersiblings, such as when they will be with which parent. In general it is shown that the youngest sibling, often by playing therole of naive innocent, allows the family to express thoughts and conflictsthat are otherwise suppressed. Combrink-Graham (1989) has made some relevant observations based onher work with children in therapy. The youngest child worriedabout whether there would be more children, the older about worried abouthis mother. 1989) "Siblings reactions to Parental Divorce", Children of Divorce: Development and clinical Issues, Hawthorne Press.MacKinnon, Carol E., (1989 "Sibling Interactions in Married and Divorced Families: Influence of Ordinal Status and Play Context." Family Structure and Interaction Patterns, Hawthorne PressRobey, Kenneth L ., Cohen Bertram D., Epstein, Yakov M. She states that children whose parentsare separating or divorcing, clearly have an easier transition they havesiblings. Finally seven-year-old Sally stated, "Idon't care who I live with. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry, 24(5), 545-553.Zajonc R.B. Some differences might be explained by the timeframe over which the studies were conducted. Hoffman (eds) Review of Child Development Research. Inparticularly tense or unusual situations, each child played a specific rolein the family dynamic. Through their innocence, theyoungest often provide openings in tense situations which older siblingsutilize to relieve familial pressure. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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