The Impact of Parental Divorce on Adolescence - Essay Example

?Running Head: DIVORCE AND ADOLESCENCE Examining the Impact of Divorce on Adolescence Sexuality Examining the Impact of Divorce on Adolescence Sexuality Introduction Divorce is often a difficult and painful process for a family and is an event which marks the end of a union. It can generate sadness, anger, bitterness, shame and confusion for all involved and can shake the very foundations and security of a family unit. According to David and Mark (2009), divorce has become a great concern for the well being of children and this concern is increasing with the rapidly rising divorce rate in the past few decades. According to Frame, Richard and Matthew (2009) if divorce occurs, it is likely to be one of the most stressful events in the lives of both parents and children and can be characterized as a significant period of transition, regardless of age. Aro and Palosaari (1992) state that divorce "will directly or indirectly touch nearly all American children" (p.14). Therefore, it is important to study how parental divorce may affect families and to investigate the consequences of marital dissolution for the children involved. Knox, Zusman and Decuzzi (2004) suggest that approximately 6 million divorced families exist in the United States and majority of them have children. According to Kreider and Fields approximately 26 percent children are currently living with just one parent in the United States (cited in Comerford, 2008). There are many studies in the literature investigating the short term and long term effects of divorce on children. The loss of a parent through divorce disrupts the family life, the parent to parent relationship and the parent to child relationship in significant ways (David and Mark, 2009). The effects of parental divorce have been found to linger in the children of divorce, even as they develop into adults. This study will attempt to investigate the impact of parental divorce on the past and present sexual behavior of college aged children. A wide array of sexual behaviors will be examined. Specifically the age at which each behavior occurred will be examined to gain a more accurate picture of possible differences between those from intact and divorced families. Research suggests that daughters from divorced families are more likely to have intercourse at an earlier age and are likely to have more sexual partners (Hetherington and Kelly, 2002; Wallerstein and Lewis, 2004). This study will examine a much wider spectrum of sexual behaviors to investigate whether these results are supported. In addition, male sexual behavior will be examined in a comprehensive way, as this area has been neglected in previous research. Literature Review The Impact of Parental Divorce on Adolescence Although Forehand et al. (1991) suggested that the effects of divorce may be less detrimental to children and adolescents than was previously thought, much literature does indicate that children and adolescents who experience parental divorce function less well than those who do not, particularly in the area of social adjustment (Giuliani, Lafrate and Rosnati, 1998). When compared to adolescents from intact homes, adolescents in divorced families are two to three times more likely to behave in an antisocial and delinquent way, to associate with delinquent peers, to show poor school performance (Grimm and Wassil, 1994) and to drop out of school (Hetherington, 1993). These adolescents have been shown to have more problems in social relationships when compared to adolescents from intact families (Hetherington, Law and O'Connor, 1993). Such adolescents have also been shown to have lower levels of trust towards others (Giuliani, Lafrate and Rosnati, 1998), they receive less parental supervision, they receive fewer curfews and rules (Wallerstein and Lewis, 2004) and they often take more responsibility for themselves (Wallerstein and Lewis, 2004) than peers who come from intact families. Wallerstein and Lewis (2004) also reported that parents in divorced families were less likely to enforce rules for their children and there was a lack of discipline consistency in their households. As a result, the children displayed more acting out behavior than their peers from intact families. Hetherington and Stanley-Hagan (1999) noted that if there is conflict between parent and child in divorced families, this conflict is likely to last until well into adolescence, sometimes until the child actually leaves home. Adolescents from divorced homes were found to be less likely to see marriage as a definite event in their lives and showed a particular kind of fear towards the institution of marriage (Giuliani, Lafrate and Rosnati, 1998). Tasker (1992) suggested that children from divorced families were more confused and had more negative attitudes towards marriage in general. However Giuliani, Lafrate and Rosnati (1998) did not find any differences in the presence of romantic relationships for adolescents from divorced and intact homes. These researchers suggest that the results indicate a difference between the attitudes and behavior of adolescents from divorced homes. They hypothesize that the negative attitudes will likely translate into negative behavior later on in adolescent development. Such behaviors may take the form of increased sexual behavior, increased cohabitation and increased dissatisfaction or difficulty with intimate relationships (Tasker, 1992). Defining Sex and Sexual Behaviors "Sex is a term frequently used and poorly defined" (Randall and Byers, 2003, p. 1). In our culture today there is a great deal of ambiguity about the definition of sex, causing many doubts about the validity of studies investigating sexual behavior of adolescents and young adults. Several studies conducted in the United States (Sanders and Reinisch, 1999), Britain (Pitts and Rahman, 2001) and Australia (Richters and Song, 1999) examined definitions of sex amongst college students, using questionnaires. They found that 97% included penile-vaginal intercourse in their definition, however only 70­90% considered penile-anal intercourse as sex (Randall and Byers, 2003). Even fewer college students, only 32-58%, included oral-genital contact in their definition of 'sex' in these studies. Male students were found to possess a wider definition of what constitutes 'sex' compared to females (Pitts and Rahman, 2001; Sanders and Reinisch, 1999) and males included a greater variety of sexual behavior in their definition. In addition, older students also included a wider array of sexual behaviors in their definition of 'sex' (Richters and Song, 1999). Richters and Song (1999) also found that if orgasm was achieved in the sexual behavior, it was more likely to be included in the definition of 'sex'. Randall and Byers (2003) investigated the definition of 'sex' in more depth in their Canadian sample of 167 college students. They found that many students thought they were having 'sex' if both sets of genitals were involved in the activity. Very few included the behavior in their definition if only one partners' genitals were involved. Only 1 in 5 students in this study included oral-genital sex and only 1 in 10 included genital fondling in their definition of 'sex'. These results "demonstrate the dangers of generalizing results from one sexual definition to another" in the research regarding sexual behavior (Randall and Byers, 2003, p.93). Interestingly, many studies do not look at masturbation with a partner, self stimulation alone, or self stimulation using the telephone or a computer. Boies (as cited in Randall and Byer, 2003) found that more than 40% of students he surveyed admitted they masturbated while in "electronic contact with another person" (p.94) and they did not consider this to be 'sex'. Paul, McManus and Hayes (2000) looked at 'hookups' in college populations. "Hookups" are defined as "sexual encounters which mayor may not include sexual intercourse, usually occurring on only one occasion, between two people who are strangers or brief acquaintances." (p.76). These encounters are common on college campuses throughout the United States (Rodberg, as cited in Paul, McManus and Hayes, 2000) and tend to occur at the same time as a young adult is becoming more independent and as they begin to explore their sexuality. They found 75% of their 555 undergraduate student sample had had at least one "hookup", one third had had sexual intercourse or sexual activity with a stranger or acquaintance and some were having such encounters every week. Males were found to have more of these encounters than females. Casual sex is defined as sexual contact without commitment or any emotional involvement. Such encounters mayor may not include sexual intercourse and do involve non coital sexual activity. Some research has examined the factors that may influence this behavior. Careless sexual behavior, which often takes place in casual encounters, is defined in some literature as a common form of delinquent behavior (Hadjivassilis et al., 2004) and may be an outlet for frustration, a way of escaping from feelings or a sign for parents signaling a need for independence (Dishion, 2000). Chng and Moore (1994) suggest that the cultures of college campuses are extremely tolerant of sexual permissiveness and it is acceptable to have multiple partners and sexual encounters among students. Adolescent Sexual Behavior after Parental Divorce Research suggests that many adolescents, from both divorced and intact families, engage in high risk sexual behavior. Lye and Waldron (as cited in Martin et al., 2003) found that 38% of male adolescents and 41 % of female adolescents aged 15-19 were sexually active and used no method of contraception. Woody, D'Souza and Russell (2003) found that most males and females experienced their first intercourse between the ages of 15 and 16. However, in looking specifically at divorced families, Wallerstein and Lewis (2004) state that one out of five girls had their first sexual experience before the age of 14. 50% of girls from their sample of divorced families were sexually active, had several partners in school and drugs and alcohol were often involved in the sexual behavior. Wallerstein and Lewis also state that girls from intact families were more likely to wait before having sexual intercourse until high school or early college age and these girls had more rules, supervision and curfews than girls from divorced families. Several studies corroborate the findings that the presence of both parents is associated with a delay in sexual activity for adolescents (Simons, 1996; Smith, 1997). Wallerstein and Lewis stated this increased sexual activity in young girls who came from high conflict and disorganized homes. They suggested that these girls craved love and attention, had a fear of being alone and had low self esteem. Kiernan and Hobcraft (1997) also supported the finding that adolescents from divorced families engaged in sexual activity earlier than their peers from intact homes. Althaus (1997) completed a national survey of more than 18,000 respondents, using retrospective data. The results suggested that men who experienced parental divorce before the age of 16 were approximately 2 years younger than men from intact homes when they had sexual intercourse for the first time (18.1 years old vs. 19.9 years old). In addition they found that men from divorced families were 50% more likely to have formed their first partnership before the age of 22 and twice as likely to have become parents before the age of 22 when compared to men from intact families. The study also found that women from divorced families were approximately 1 year younger when they had sexual intercourse for the first time, compared to women from intact homes. (18.9 years old vs. 20 years old). The study found no evidence that death of a parent was associated with earlier age at first intercourse, suggesting that this is a unique characteristic of children who have experienced parental divorce. In addition women with divorced parents were almost 50% more likely to enter their first marriage or cohabitation before the age of 20, when compared with women from intact families. However the relatively high ages for first sexual intercourse reported here, in contrast with Wallerstein and Lewis (2004) may be due to the retrospective nature of reporting used to collect data, where respondents may be embarrassed or reluctant to share the accurate ages at which they had sexual intercourse (Upchurch et al. 2002). But the trend for earlier sexual activity, cohabitation and marriage for adolescents from divorced homes is apparent. Aims of the Current Study To investigate a wide array of sexual behaviors to determine if there are differences in age of onset for female adolescent from two groups. To investigate a wide array of sexual behaviors to determine if there are differences in age of onset for male adolescent from two groups. To investigate differences in the number of sexual partners for male and female adolescent from two groups. Hypotheses After a review of the literature, the current study hypothesizes that: Female college aged adolescent from divorced families may participate in a wide array of sexual behaviors at an earlier age than female adolescent from non-divorced families. Female college aged children from divorced families may have more partners for a wide array of sexual behaviors when compared to female adolescent from non-divorced families. In addition, although there is a lack of literature regarding the sexual behavior of male adolescent from divorced families, two tentative hypotheses will be made: Male college aged children from divorced families may participate in a wide array of sexual behaviors at an earlier age than male adolescent from non-divorced families. Male college aged children from divorced families may have more partners for a wide array of sexual behaviors when compared to male adolescent from non-divorced families. Methods This study will attempt to explore possible differences in the age that sexual activities occur for the first time for male and female college aged adolescent from divorced and intact families. This study will also attempt to explore possible differences in the number of partners for male and female college aged adolescent from divorced and intact families. The current study will gather retrospective data about a variety of sexual activities and the time at which they first occurred for male and female college aged children from divorced and intact families. Questionnaire Data will be gathered by using a self-reported questionnaire. The questions will attempt to gather data regarding the age at which the participants first engaged in deep kissing, touching a female's body, manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, telephone sex and cybersex. An internet survey will be used to gather data. Participation will be voluntary and subjects will be between 16 to 19 years old. Pettit (2001) suggested that there were no statistically significant differences between data gathered with the use of paper and pencil and data gathered through the internet. Such research outlined the benefits of internet data gathering, suggesting that it can save time, money and can generate a larger targeted population. Therefore this study will deliver a questionnaire using a survey service on the internet. Surveymonkey.com guarantees security and anonymity for participants and is a widely used data gathering tool. An email containing the link to the questionnaire will be sent to the student population for this study. Participants will use this link to access a detailed explanation of the research and the questionnaire on www.surveymonkey.com. This link will be 'cut and pasted' into the email, guaranteeing that there will be no possibility to trace participants identifying information. Participants Participants will consist of male and female college aged children from families with married, separated or divorced parents. Subjects will be recruited at a ‘state college’. Subjects will also be recruited online through various groups who have affiliation with 'Yahoo' network. Procedure and Ethical Obligations An email will be sent out to each participant asking them if they are interested in completing an anonymous questionnaire. They will be requested to 'click' on the link to access the questionnaire. The first page of the questionnaire will include a statement explaining the nature of the study, a brief description of the content, and an informed consent. In order for the participants to proceed they will be required to read the first page and to give informed consent. This will indicate that they understand the nature and purpose of the study and that they understand the study is voluntary and anonymous. This will also indicate that they are at least 16 years of age and are not older than 19 years of age. Participants will be asked not to read or complete the questionnaire if they have any history of trauma. They will also be informed that they could stop completing the questionnaire at any time without consequence. The participants will be instructed to indicate that they understand these terms by clicking in a box marked 'YES'. When they will give their informed consent, the next screen will present the questionnaire. Once the questionnaire will be completed, participants will be thanked for their time. In addition, at the end of the questionnaire information regarding several mental health organizations will be provided as a resource for participants, in the event that they experience any psychological distress due to the explicit content of the study. Data Analysis Responses to the questionnaire will be available to the researcher on surveymonkey.com and will be accessible via a user name and password. Responses will be categorized in a spreadsheet format. Each questionnaire will be analyzed individually to identify trends and themes that will be pertinent to the aims of this study. The researcher will explore possible differences in the mean age of onset for each sexual behavior for female and male college aged children from divorced and intact families and an analysis of variance will be used to determine if there are significant differences in this data. The researcher will also explore possible differences in the number of sexual partners, for a variety of sexual behaviors, for male and female college aged children from divorced and intact families and an analysis of variance will again determine if there are significant differences in this data. References Althaus, F. (1997). Children from Disrupted Families begin having Sex and Children at Early Age. Family Planning Perspectives. Sept/Oct. Vol. 29, Issue 5, 240­244. Aro, H. M. & Palosaari, U. K. (1992). Parental Divorce, Adolescence and Transition to Young Adulthood: A Follow-up Study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 62 (3), 421-429. Chng, C. & Moore, A. (1994). 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Contemporary Family Therapy. 20(1), March, 93-105. Glenn, N. D. & Shelton, B. A. (1983). Pre-Adult Background Variables and Divorce: A Note of Caution about Over Reliance on Explained Variance. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 45,405-410. Grimm-Wassil, C. (1994). Where's Daddy: Divorced, Single and Widowed Mothers can provide what's Missing when Dad's Missing. Overlook Press, ISBN 0879515414. Hadjivassilis, V., Onisiforou, K. & Madianos, M. (2004). Promiscuity in a Nationwide Representative Sample of Male Greek-Cypriot Adolescents. Sexual and Relationship Therapy. Vol. 19, No.1, Feb. 57-64. Hetherington, E. M. & Kelly, J. (2002). For Better or for Worse; Divorce Reconsidered. New York, W. W. Norton. Hetherington, E. M. & Stanley-Hagan, M. (1999). The Adjustment of Children with Divorced Parents: A Risk and Resiliency Perspective. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Vol. 40, No.1, 139-140. Hetherington, E. M. (1993). 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Archives of Sexual Behavior. 30, 169-176. Pitts, M. Rahman, Q. (2001). Which Behaviors Constitute 'Having Sex' Among University Students in the U.K? Archives of Sexual Behavior. 30, 169-176. Randall, H. & Byers, S. (2003). What is Sex? Students Definitions of Having Sex, Sexual Partner and Unfaithful Sexual Behavior. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. Vol. 12(2).67-95. Richters, J. & Song, A. (1999). Australian University Students agree with Clinton's Definition of Sex. British Medical Journal. 318, 1011-1012. Sanders, S. & Reinisch, J. (1999). Would you say you 'had sex' if..? Journal of the American Medical Association. 281,275-277. Simons, R. L., and Associates (Eds.). (1996). Understanding Differences between Divorced and Intact Families: Stress, Interaction and Child Outcomes. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage. Smith, C. A.(1997). Factors Associated with Early Sexual Activity among Urban Adolescents. Social Work. 42, 334-346. Tasker, F. (1992). Anti-Marriage Attitudes and Motivations to Marry amongst Adolescents with Divorced Parents. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage. 18, (3/4), 105­120. Teachman, J. (2009). Divorce, prevalence and Trends. Encyclopedia of Human Relationships. SAGE Publications. Upchurch, D., Lillard, L., Aneshenset, C. & Fangli, N. (2002). Inconsistencies in Reporting the Occurrence and Timing of first Intercourse among Adolescents. Journal of Sex Research. August, Vol. 39, Issue 3, 197-207. Wallerstein, J. S. & Lewis, J. (2004). The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: Report ofa 25 year Study. Psychoanalytic Psychology. Vol. 21, (3), Summer, 353-370. Wallerstein, J. S. & Lewis, J. (2004). The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: Report ofa 25 year Study. Psychoanalytic Psychology. Vol. 21, (3), Summer, 353-370. Woody, J., D'Souza, H. & Russel, R. (2003). Emotions and Motivations in First Adolescent Intercourse: An Exploratory Study Based on Object Relations Theory. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. Vol. 12 (1). Spring. 35-51. QUESTIONNAIRE PART A THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WILL ASK YOU ABOUT DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION. Please answer each question. 1. Current Age: ___ years old 2. Gender (at birth): ? Male ? Female 3. Are you currently a college student? (Undergraduate/Graduate/Doctoral, etc) ? Yes ? No 4. Sexual Orientation ? Heterosexual ? Homosexual/Gay/Lesbian ? Bi - Sexual ? I don't define my sexual orientation 5. Race ? Caucasian ? African American ? American Indian ? Alaska Native ? Asian ? Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian ? Hispanic/Latino ? Multi -racial 6. Are your parents currently married but not separated? ? Yes ? No 7. Are you parents currently separated but not divorced? ? Yes ? No How old were you when they separated? ____Years old 8. Are your parents currently divorced? ? Yes ? No 9. How old were you when they divorced? ____ Years old PART B Part B Will Ask You About Your Past And Current Sexual Activities. Please answer each question. If you have not experienced the sexual activity referred to by a question, please check the box marked "I have never". 1. How old were you when you first experienced 'Deep' or 'French' Kissing with someone? ____ years old ? I have never experienced Deep or French kissing 2. How old were you when you first touched the body of a woman in a sexual way? _____ years old ? I have never touched a woman's body in a sexual way. 3. How old were you when you first touched the body of man in a sexual way? _____ years old ? I have never manually stimulated anyone else. 4. How old were you when you first had your body stimulated by another person? _____ years old ? I have never been manually stimulated by anyone else. 5. How old were you when you first involved in oral sex? ____ years old ? I have never received oral sex 6. How old were you when you first had sexual intercourse? _____ years old ? I have never had sexual intercourse 7. How old were you when you stimulated yourself sexually for the first time while in contact with another person on the telephone? _____ years old ? I have never sexually stimulated myself while on the phone. 8. How old were you when you stimulated yourself for the first time while in contact with another person/people via the internet? (Cybersex) _____ years old ? I have never had cybersex. 9. How many different partners have you had for each of the sexual behaviors below? Please enter a 0 if you have had no partners for an activity. Deep kissing without any other sexual activities ___ partners Sexual Intercourse ___ partners Oral Sex - Received by you from another person ___ partners Oral Sex - Given by you to another person ___ partners Touching female's body in a sexual way ___ partners Manual stimulation - Received by you from another person ___ partners Manual stimulation - Given by you to another person ___ partners Phone sex _____ partners Cybersex via computer _____ partners Read More