Effects of Divorce on Parent-Child Communication

Literature relevant to the effects of divorce on parent-child communications is reviewed. Following this literature review, a brief proposal for the conduct of research in this area of interest is presented.

Divorce, Communications Deterioration, and Loss of Child Trust

A variety of reasons underlie the disaffection of young people from their society and their families. One of these factors is abuseùboth physical and psychologicalùperpetrated by someone in a position of trust or authority in the life of a young person (Rowland, 1991). Psychological abuse of children by parents is common in family environments characterized by divorce. Such psychological abuse most frequently is perpetrated through interpersonal communications between parent and child. One of the most debilitating outcomes of such psychological abuse experienced by a young person is a loss of self-esteem (Ogata, 1990). Communications-related psychological abuse, and the hopelessness and depression that often stems from abuse, frequently leads to a loss of self-esteem (Witt, 1997, pp. 46-49). The loss of self-esteem leads many adolescents to consider suicide (Sanders & Giolas, 1991). The cycle of abuse, hopelessness, depression, the loss of self-esteem, and suicide ideation involves such factors as a failure to develop effective interpersonal skills, ineffective social integration, and dysfunctional families (Jean-Gill

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o react effectively to usual variations in the forces acting upon it, and it possess sufficient stress tolerance to permit effective adjustment to many extreme variations in these forces. Communication in interpersonal situations involves the social psychology of bargaining and negotiation. The bargaining and negotiation process is the framework within which individuals settle what they shall give and take, perform or receive in a transaction between them (Baumeister, 1990). The bargaining and negotiation process is affected by the presence and use of power within the situational environment. Equal power among bargainers tends to produce more effective bargaining than does unequal power (Bird, 1991). When one of the individuals involved in an interpersonal conflict situation has a dominant personality while the other has a submissive personality power balance may be partially offset in favor of the individual with the dominant personality (Follingstad, 1991). When power among bargainers is unequal, the individual with the greater power tends to behave exploitatively, while the less powerful person tends to behave submissively (Surra & Longstreet, 1990). Typically, the person will the lesser amount of power in an interpers
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2359
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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