Research Proposal

Ali Ahsan
1218-BH-BAF-13
9th November, 2015.

Semester 5

Title:
The impact of divorce on adolescents well-being

Introduction:
The past few decades have witnessed dramatic changes in family life in all
industrial countries. The increase in the divorce rate in the second half of the 20th
century was striking; in fact, the divorce rate more than doubled in most
Westernized countries from 1960 to 1980. The increase in divorces has been
particularly consequential for children, as millions of them have experienced
parental divorce. It diminishes childrens future competence in all five of societys
major tasks orinstitutions: family, school, religion, marketplace and government.
Rationale of Research:
I intend to learn how divorce in affects childrens psychological state and inform
others via this research paper so that they remain careful in their marital affairs and
realize how their actions affect their children.
Problem Statement:
Adolescents are in a crucial time for cognitive, psychosocial and emotional
transformation. These are all impacts that adolescents face and a parental divorce
can make this process more difficult during these transformations. There has been
several studies conducted that conclude the different impacts that divorce can have
on adolescents. Some of these include lower academic achievement, psychological
adjustment, and self-concept.
McConnell, 1999 reports the results of a study looking at the efficacy of highly
individualized counseling with the goals of minimizing the damage to the child of
divorce by meeting emotional needs, facilitating catharsis, and increasing
communication with in the family.
Research Objectives:
-Examine the idea that divorce can actually be beneficial to children
-Discuss the implications of high-conflict divorce on children
-Compare and contrast the effects of divorce on infants and adolescents
Key Research Questions:
These research questions will be addressed here:
-What is the magnitude of the effects associated with parental separation?
-Are the associations between parental separation/divorce and offspring functioning
causally related to the experience of marital transitions or due to factors that both
increase marital disruptions and offspring functioning?
-What are the short-terms and long-terms of divorce on children?

- How does divorce influence childrens social development?

- How divorce influence the financial well-begin of children?
Hypothesis:
Divorce often results in the loss of a parent for the children and with this loss
children also lose the knowledge, skills and resources (emotional, financial, etc.) of
that parent. Such children are worse off than those with both parents.

Literature Review:
The purpose of the literature review is to gain a better understanding of the current
research regarding the impact divorce has on children. Literature will be explored to
determine strategies to assist children as they cope with the stress related to their
parents' separation or divorce.
For this very purpose a number of published articles are made use of. The literature
has shown divorce can affect an adolescent, but it may not be the divorce itself, but
the factors resulting from divorce. Many studies have shown or demonstrated this
(Woosley et aI, 2008; Kenyon, 2009 ). The divorce rate is still around fifty percent
(Martin etaI, 2003), indicating the need for research on the effects of adolescents.
The literature review has shown that there are many different outcomes from
divorce. The impact of divorce on children is strong, and understanding
interventions to help is a growing area of research (Kelly, 2000; Rose, 2009).
Children of divorce show many adjustment difficulties. Specifically, preschool age
children may become overly attached or belligerent, grade school children may
show new behaviors of refusing to go to school, or visiting the nurse each day with
physical complaints (Kelly, 2000). Middle school and high school aged children may
lack motivation in schoolwork, experiment sexually, find new social groups that
bring negative influences, or engage in self-destructive behaviors (Kelly, 2000).
Other commonly noted difficult behaviors and consequences are refusal to spend
time with one parent, feeling guilty, becoming overburdened with household
responsibilities and other odd behaviors that likely serve to meet the childs needs
(Jellinek, 2010). Increases in anxiety and depression have been noted in children
associated specifically with parental divorce (Strohschein, 2005).Research suggests
that this anxiety and depression is due to the divorce event, rather than simply
family stress; immediately after divorce, children in divorced families exhibit more
problems in adjustment than those in high-conflict non-divorced families
(Heatheringon, 1999).
Bisnaire, Firestone, and Tynard (1990) reported thirty
percent of their sample had decreased academic performance after parental
separation. Finally, Hans, 2001 showed a nearly unanimous desire in children of
divorce to have someone to talk to about the experience. These impacts of divorce
give evidence that providing interventions for this population should be a priority.

Research Methodology and Work Plan:

A traditional strategy for the formulation of final research report will be undertaken.
After the research objectives and questions ae clearly formulated, related literature
articles are studied and reviewed. Afterwards primary research is conducted by
visiting and observing the operations of law on such domestic issues, the
psychological treatment organizations dealing in such cases, and questionnaires are
distributed among the sample group which in this case are children aged between

11 and 16, with divorced parents. Interviews with such personnel will be conducted
and all the traits will be duly noted and integrated in the research paper. Later,
further field work is conducted and finally the report is formulated.

Timeline:

References:

1. Wallerstein, J.S. and J.B.Kelly (1975). The Effects of Parental Divorce:

Experiences of the PreschoolChild. Journal of the American Academy of Child
Psychiatry, 14, 600-616.
2. Bisnaire, L. M. C., Firestone, E, &Rynard, D. (1990). Factors associated with
academic achievement in children following parental separation. American
Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 60(1), 67-76
3. Hetherington, E. (1999). The adjustment of children with divorced parents: A
risk and resiliency perspective. Journal Of Child Psychology & Psychiatry &
Allied Disciplines, 40(1), 129.
4. https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociologytextbook/family-12/divorce-95/children-of-divorce-and-impact-of-divorce-54410217/