Effect of Divorce on Kids PDF

The effect of divorce on kids: - 1 million children a year - Impact: lower academic achievement, increased behavioral difficulties, increased emotional distress - Why: 1) exposure to prolonged conflict 2) instability (moving, custody, school) - Is divorce better for kids?...

The effect of divorce on kids: - 1 million children a year - Impact: lower academic achievement, increased behavioral difficulties, increased emotional distress - Why: 1) exposure to prolonged conflict 2) instability (moving, custody, school) - Is divorce better for kids?: Yes if they’re in high conflict homes Children who lose a parent to death: different outcomes?: - Better adjustment than divorce - Four reasons: 1) less exposure to conflict 2) better economic situation (life insurance, not splitting incomes) 3) more family and social support 4) dating later (more time for kids to adjust) Common emotional reactions: - Grade school: abandonment (they might stop loving me too), magical thinking (if I’m good, they’ll get back together), self blame (ages 4-12) - Teens: blame one parent, resentment towards both Challenges for college aged children: - Lost idea of home/belonging - anger/resentment (interrupt development) - Guilt (re-examining upbringing) - Financial stresses (less money for college) - Grief (holidays, family traditions) Guidelines for parents: - Work out differences - Avoid conflict - No loyalty conflicts - Be consistent with visitation - Fathers need to stay involved (too often they drop out of child’s life) Arizona laws and japanese modeling: - Arizona’s child custody law: abolishes the traditional idea of visitation and replaces it with a presumption of equal parenting time- Arizona judges start out presuming that a child will spend 50% of the time with mom and 50% of the time with dad unless there’s evidence that makes that arrangement inappropriate - The government of Japan is currently studying whether to update their child custody laws. Currently, the parent who doesn’t live with the child (most cases is the father) can meet with the child only once a month Is there any hope: - Children of divorce are at an increased risk of substance abuse and mental health issues - Yes… kids can be resilient and most children don’t experience the high risks - What differentiates between the two groups?: quality of parenting! Arizona state university: new beginning program results: - New beginning program: helping parents strengthen their quality of parenting to help their kids be resilient after divorce - In person program: 1) evidence program improves co-parenting after divorce (RCT) 2) evidence also reduces conflict 3) benefits can last up to 15 years after participation  - E-design program: 10 module, 5 hour asynchronous program; study of 131 parents and 102 adolescent offspring E-design results: - Significantly higher parent-child relationship quality - Discipline was more effective - Fewer parent conflicts - Better mental health of children - Strongest findings yet about web-based program in this area