Long Term Effects of Divorce on Marital Offspring
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the long-term effects of divorce on marital offspring. The thesis of the paper is that the long-term effects can be numerous and negative but that the severity and nature of the effects depend on a number of moderating factors such as child characteristics (e.g. age at time of divorce, gender) and parental variables (e.g., degree to which non-custodial parent participates in the child's life, degree of hostility between parents). The presented research first examines studies of the long-term effects of divorce and factors that mediate or moderate these effects. This is followed by a summarization of the research findings and a discussion of the implications of findings for those working with divorced and divorcing families. Finally, a brief discussion of possible future research in the area is presented.Long-Term Effects of Divorce and Moderating Factors In line with the central thesis, Wallerstein (1991), after a comprehensive review of the current research on the long-term effects of divorce on marital offspring, concluded that a substantial number of detrimental long-term effects can arise. However, she pointed out that the presence of any one or more of the effects, as well as the degree of effect severity, is determined by a number of intervening or moderating factors occurring not only during the critical period of the divorce itself but long after. In other words, divorce is, as Wallerstein (1991) puts it,
. . .
ported that children of divorce were more likely than those from intact families to believe that their marriage was in trouble.
Related to marital quality is the long-term effects of parental divorce on offspring's attitudes toward marriage. Tasker and Richards (1994) presented an extensive review of studies of the long-term influence of parental divorce on adolescents' attitudes toward marriage and on their actual marriage patterns. Findings indicated that parental divorce can be associated with negative attitudes toward marriage itself, and this is especially true if, following the divorce, the quality of parent-child relationships deteriorated.
Interestingly, parental divorce may increase the likelihood of early marriage. In this regard, Tasker and Richards (1994) reported that early marriage is likely for many offspring of parental divorce because of factors such as their lowered educational prospects and socioeconomic status. Further, these individuals are more likely to have left their homes early in life and to have been involved in heterosexual relationships at earlier ages.
A gender effect appears here in that involvement in heterosexual relationships at an early age is more likely to be true for girls than for boys.
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Approximate Word count = 2520
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)
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