Divorce and Children: An Annotated Bibliography

The Effects of Divorce on Children
As divorce rates continue to rise throughout the United States and the rest of the world, different conditions are straining traditional family settings. Many Doctors, psychologists and other individuals are working non-stop to try and discover the truth as well as the consequences behind our changing culture. The future of our families depends on knowing how to correctly raise our children and it is our responsibility to our children to ensure that they grow up to be complete and decent individuals. Since this is a new subject without much past research, it is a wildly hot topic that has numerous amounts of data flowing in.

Specifically, the effects in the future when divorced children are marrying and having kids are a subject of importance. This will affect future cultures and predictions can help prevent certain values from becoming extinct like the sanctity of marriage. If adults do not want to have kids because of their own experiences it could affect the economy, birth rates, religious values, and governmental positions.

Abuse is an important topic because safety is always a main concern. Options should be offered for kids suffering from abuse and laws over custody should be reviewed for their accuracy. By predicting situations where abuse is likely, help can prevent such occurrences from increasing. Learning about the losses and struggles children go through is also important to study. By identifying what children are struggling with, parents can help raise their child to the best of their ability. This will help decrease the likelihood of children who are struggling socially, maturing later, and have a hard time fitting into society as a result of divorce.

The annotated bibliography below aims to add clarity and credibility to the resources used. Many of the articles tackle the subject of divorce and children from different angles and provide many different points of view. Also, included in the bibliography are works that point to prevention and ways to remedy certain issues. Many of the articles provide insight and conclusions derived from actual scientific studies. These studies are backed up by government agencies or university grants and are conducted by professionals in the field.

BOOKS-3

Ganong, L. H., & Coleman, M. (1999). Changing families, changing responsibilities : Family obligations following divorce and remarriage. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved March 26, 2008 from NetLibrary

Changing Families, Changing Responsibilities’ has the purpose of evaluating and studying all of the issues surrounding the family today. These would include, but our not limited to moral values and beliefs, family relationships, economics, and care giving. The book has many viable references which add to its credibility. The book also contends that the results of their studies are used by professionals who work in this area of psychology. Specifically, there are thirteen studies that are used in this book about the family. It was written in order to be an easy read for people who are not scientists, therefore many details and statistics are not included in the work. However, the results of the authors' studies are still provided in an Appendix so as not to diminish the credibility of this book. The work was also supported and financed by the University of Missouri.

Hetherington, E. M. (1999). Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage : A risk and resiliency perspective. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Retrieved March 26, 2008 from NetLibrary

This book was written by some of the leading researchers in the field of divorce and singe parent families. The book was written in a form so that people who are not scientists can easily comprehend and use the book’s contents to their advantage. One drawback to the book is that the authors claim that conclusions between the researchers are not always in agreement. To counter this it is advised to assess the strengths and limitations of each chapter. Results to the actual research is shown and is sufficient. Also, many references are used in order to legitimize the work. The book does a good job examining all different sides of the issue. These issues would include the interactions of individuals and families but also protective factors that affect the situation. The book is broken down into three sections so that readers can easily skip to the section that pertains to them and find the information.

Krantzler, M., & Krantzler, P. B. (2003). Moving beyond your parents' divorce. Chicago: Retrieved March 26, 2008 from Net Library

This book is mainly about challenging what the authors call the myth of divorce. This myth would be that children are going to inevitably have a harder time growing up in a divorced family. The book’s publisher is Mcgraw-Hill. This is a publisher that is popularly known for publishing educational texts. This adds to the credibility of it being more free from bias and more objective. The book has a self empowerment theme that is presented throughout the whole book. The book does not list any references nor does it have an about the author section. Without these it is harder to establish the validity of what is said. Overall, the book points out the myths of children and attempts to show that in today’s changing world and high rates of divorce that children are not worse off. In fact, it is claimed that through these struggles that children are often better because they are stronger. Various reasons are explained but it is not backed up scientific research.

JOURNALS-6

Paxton, R., Valois, R., & Drane, J. (2007). Is there a relationship between family structure and substance use among public middle school students? Journal of Child & Family Studies, 16(5), 593-605.

The authors of Is there a Relationship between Family Structure and Substance Use among Public Middle School Students? are Raheem Paxton, Robert Valois and J Drane. This was a University study that based its research on four separate races and different genders using logistic regression models and other statistics. Specific surveys and results are listed in the article. The audience is for anyone interested in the results but especially useful for other professors and psychologists studying “Nurture” effect and importance. The work cites various other Univeristy Sponsored studies and is very useful for my to my topic of effects of divorce on children. This work will also bring in a scientific and mathematical information related to my study.

Portnoy, S. M. (2008). The psychology of divorce: A lawyer's primer, part 2: The effects of divorce on children. American Journal of Family Law, 21(4), 126-134.

Sandford M. Portnoy is a well known Psychologist, professor and consultant. He has several other publications that are highly regarded in the psychological community in the work. He discusses the impact of divorce in great detail and from a lawyer's perspective too. It is meant to try and explain the actions and find effective ways with dealing with children struggling through divorce.This will help parents and doctors in related situations. Research from E. Hetherington and J. Kelly are also provided, both respected psychologists in the field. This article is exactly what the research topic is about and Part 1 deals with the effects on parents.

McIntosh, Jennifer. (2003). Enduring conflict in parental seperation: Pathways of impact on child development. Journal of Family Studies, 9(1), 1. http://www.latrobe.edu.au/publichealth/family_studies/jfs2003/fulltext/JFS9.1-2003McIntosh_63-80.pdf

Jennifer McIntosh has done numerous studies on psychological effects on children including those that pertain to divorced families. The Journal of Family Studies has been widely accepted and used in other cases. Over 50 references are cited from the major researchers in the field from the present and the past. The work is useful because it shows in depth results to specific cases that prove the “nurture” case to be quite real. She suggests that it is not necessarily the divorce but the conflict of the divorces that results in the most harm of child development. The work is very detailed and backed scientifically. Anyone who is advising parenting methods and or has a role in child development should consider this relevant. The only backdrop to the work is that specific actions and measures are ignored. There is no direction with which to head and so the effectiveness the Journal is lessened slightly.

Haugen, G. M. D. (2007). Caring children: Exploring care in post-divorce families. Sociological Review, 55(4), 653-670.

This work was written by Gry Mette D. Haugen of Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He goes in depth to many popular theories as well as empirical evidence from past researchers. The spatial and temporal area is analyzed in care and care-giving as well. This is very complex and takes into account numerous variables and emotions. Also included was the change in needs as children grow up, which would relate to different effects on children who experience divorce at different times in their lives. These studies are very deep and constantly reference past works. In this fashion, it is very easy to follow the linearity of the work. The results of the study are vague and it is admitted to draw conclusions cautiously. Because there are so many different aspects, like economic status, the importance of child caring in each case and the depth of it vary substantially. However, one conclusion that can be reached is that children are the true victims of divorce, not the parents.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid3&hid107&sid=9afcd106-5cb8-4be1-9d0a-01b1ebd341e2%40sessionmgr107

Day-Sclater, S. (2007). Understanding the divorce cycle: The children of divorce in their own marriages. Journal of Social Policy, 36(3), 511-512.

Shelley Day-Sclater works at the University of London and looks at an interesting topic of children’s own marriages after divorce. This is one of the few tangible results that can be seen from children of divorce and is extremely relevant. Statistically these children are more likely not to marry, to divorce, and to marry other children of divorce. The work is not backed with any specific stories, covering of more than one generation, nor does it have any personal biographies. Relating to our main topic is that it is suggested in this changing world these kids are affected less in their own marriages because of a skyrocketing divorce rate. In the end it seems that this is a book that reveals little as its topic is crushed by the already increased rate of divorce.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid3&hid107&sid=9afcd106-5cb8-4be1-9d0a-01b1ebd341e2%40sessionmgr107

Scott, M. E., Booth, A., King, V., & Johnson, D. R. (2007). Postdivorce father-adolescent closeness. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(5), 1194-1209.

This article from Mindy E. Scott works specifically with father relationships, after divorce, with their kids. Mindy Scott works for the The Pennsylvania State University in the Department of Sociology. It admits that no one can refute that the mother often plays the dominant role in child rearing and the legal system reinforces this. He performs various experiments with control variables like age, gender, race and socioeconomic status. All of the changes are observed and the results find that sometimes father relationship closeness is heightened by divorce and that closeness to the father is extremely important in a child’s development and is associated with better outcomes. Therefore, fathers should pay close attention to this article in particular because the child’s well being is highly correlated. The research was supported by funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and also has many personal stories from cases.

http://www-ca6.csa.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/ids70/view_record.php?id2&recnum3&logfrom_res&SIDbb84dd51dd8a499d6cb9e483e45216ec&mark_id=search%3A2%3A0%2C0%2C50

NEWSPAPERS-3

Rogers, D., & Service, C. N. (2006, September 25). Shared custody does not prevent violence: Study: 'constant contact'. National Post (f/k/a The Financial Post) (Canada), pp. A6. Retrieved from Lexis Nexis database

Dave Rogers from CanWest News Service in Ottawa makes claims on custody violence. He quotes many sociologists and has information that comes from the Quebece Ministry of Public Security statistics. However, since he is a newspaper writer he does not give his own opinions on the matter but merely makes public the theories of people who are considered experts in the field. Violence in marriages has a negative effect on children and the studies proclaim that when custody is shared violence is not caused but it is does not stop and in some cases can increase. This is meant to go towards families who are fighting over their children and to think about the kids well being. Joint custody might not be the best option for children in households with conflict and should be rethought as the primary solution in divorce cases.

Ang, S., & Times, F. T. S. (2006, August 28). The disrupting effects of divorce. The Straits Times (Singapore). Retrieved from Lexis Nexis database.

Sophia Ang works for The Straits Times in Singapore. Her article expresses every different side of the argument about children and how divorce affects them. She discusses that some view that divorce is good for children because and it can be a way to free themselves from a bad situation. She also discusses how various studies show kids are affected negatively by maturing slowly and having more problems as they grow up. It is suggested that those from divorced families are more permissive to divorce in the future, an interesting effect. She cites very ineffectively if at all and provides little reference to back up her work. The statistics are also from sources subject to investigation. Overall this article does not offer much insight into these issues that are becoming much more common. This article is useful because it creates awareness in the community and for those with the motivation to seek out answers that they believe have true merit.

Doughty, S. (2008, March 18). Birth rate is halved in the children of divorcees. DAILY MAIL (London), pg. 10. Retrieved from Lexis Nexis database.

New studies in four European countries were taken that go back to 1971 and determined interesting results on children of divorced families and their actions later in life towards children. These studies were focused primarily on women, which has not been looked at in this topic of divorced children previously. The writer of the article is Steve Doughty. Steve works for the Daily Mail in London. The article does present a few personal stories about children and their thoughts on children after divorce. He also shows how the laws on divorce are highly correlated with divorce rates as well as the statistic that divorced children are almost half as likely to have children than those who are not. It shows how the law may be having a larger effect on the outcome of children than previously thought. The article does not give that many specific references but does a good job at making visible an area about divorce that is not often seen.

WEB-3

Parker, W. (2008). The effects of divorce on children and how to cope. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from

http://fatherhood.about.com/cs/divorceddads/a/divorcekids.htm

Wayne Parker is a consultant and trainer from Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University who specializes in improving their focus at home as well as work. He currently is part of About.com. The article cites Fear change, being abandoned, losing attachment and coping with parental tension as struggles concerning children during divorces. He discusses the causes as well as successful and positive solutions to help children cope. He also discusses the many danger signs that are very reliable and relevant to keeping children from suffering. Those would include keeping a routine and maintaining respect between the mother and father. This website offers help on many topics and claims to be proven out in the field.

Deborah Bauers, Marie Mandolin, Laura L. Fields, Ray Fauteux, Nicole Williams, & Trudi Buck. (2002-2008). Divorce: How to help your child cope. Message posted to

http://www.helium.com/tm/792772/children-experience-reality-parental

This website publishes on many topics including parent and child relationships. Many different authors are used in this piece, to compile a full article on divorce. The website claims that they are valid and certified writers but it is vague after that point. The article discusses numerous helpful strategies coupled with the many losses a child struggles with during divorce. Sometimes the authors disagree on certain topics which lead to some frustration, but overall the information given is quite helpful. The website does not do a good job citing their information nor does it take advantage of hypertext but advertises and promotes its own site. If the information were referenced more accurately the data could be used more effectively in future works.

Clandos, R., Kemp, G., Jaffe, J. & Segal, J. (2007). Coping with divorce:
helping your child cope with separation or divorce. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/children_divorce.htm

Coping with divorce comes from a website called helpguide.org that is a non-profit resource. Since it is non-profit, readers can be more sure that the information given about divorce can be much more effective. The article is by four people who hold Ph.D.s and M.A.s. It is very elaborate and has sections for children on divorce, dealing with trauma, fathers and mothers, and coping with different issues. It also provides step by step directions to reduce traumatic effects on children and sheds light on some misunderstandings between parents and their children. The website makes great use of hypertexting to access various other resources and breaks down each topic for the reader. There are no advertisements and it is a non-profit organization which adds to its validity on the web. References are also given and since the writers have degrees in the field of Social Sciences, their credibility is at stake when they post information and must have conclusive evidence.

List of Databases used:
Academic Search Premier
Lexis Nexis Academic
Cambridge Science Abstracts
NetLibrary

See Also:

Religion and Divorce
http://en. .org/wiki/Religion_and_divorce

Family Separation Articles
http://en. .org/wiki/List_of_family_separation_research_articles

Psychological Resilience
http://en. .org/wiki/Psychological_resilience

Divorce
http://en. .org/wiki/Divorce

About the Creator

Michael Hendee grew up in South Tampa and has two sisters. One is younger and the other is older and currently attends the University of Florida with Michael. He is an avid sports fan who will enjoy anything from tennis to football. He also is a very motivated student, graduating High School as a Tampa Tribune Scholar and a National Merit Commended. Currently, he is in his second year at the Fisher School of Accounting and has a 4.0 gpa. Many of Michael's close friends experienced the struggles of divorce and he watched as they went through the process. Also, with a high rate of divorce it is necessary to determine the negative impacts in an attempt to minimize their effects on children. Michael's email address is mhendee@ufl.edu if he is needed.

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