Parental Conflicts in Divorce

However, the concern should not be entirely focused on the parent during the divorce process. The adult in this case has the advantage of maturation, while the child is often at the mercy of his or her emotional and psychological needs. If, as is often the case, the adult cannot or will not separate his or her ego boundaries from those of the child, the child has the potential for serious problems, both in the present and in the future (Johnson, 1988).

In fact, many of the young children involved with divorcing parents have severe symptomatic behaviors, and often display both aggressive and depressed behaviors. Others have some difficulty in distinguishing fantasy from reality and may suffer with many misperceptions that can impede their daily functioning. Sometimes these children identify with the parental role of aggressor, or victim, which tends to remain part of the psychological makeup of the child, and may even be buried through much of childhood, only to resurface again during adolescence (Her

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circumstances associated with poverty and conflict between parents in any family form seem to be contributing factors (MarotzBaden in Fishel, 1987, p. 173). Just what these intrinsic factors are seems to be somewhat of a moot point, but one worthy of discussion. For instance, a longitudinal study of the relationships between intergenerational family members during divorce found that the steps of conflict resolution and psychological comfort were often resolved with young children simply by placing them in a separate, intergenerational, environment. Moreover, since the divorcing process is lengthy, the quality of the relationships outside the parental format significantly contributed toward the easing of tension between the child and his or her external environment (Johnson, 1988). Another argument speculated that the presence of young children within the family structure introduces certain affectional factors that may increase the threshold period that parents contemplate separation (Ferguson, et.al., 1990). The children themselves sense this experience and growing hostility and mistrust, and may or may not internalize the situation. Further research would be necessary in order to more cogently define this effect, and es
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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