Theory and of Divorce - Research Paper Example

? 28 May, Divorce: Introduction: Divorce, which means the distortion of marriage, has increased in number manifolds in the past few centuries. It is a very unfortunate event. It is often the last option and couples resolve to go for it when there is no chance whatsoever of living together in peace. Unfortunately, more and more couples are reaching this point and many marriages are becoming unsuccessful. This paper looks into the theory of divorce and analyses the research done on this subject. Theory: Family Stress Adaptation Theory: The pattern of adaptation of a family to the stressors is thoroughly explained by the family stress adaptation theory. The theory identifies numerous sources of stress. Internal stressors are the outcome of the individual’s behavior within the family and it causes problems in the family by way of such factors as drug abuse, illness or accidents whereas external stressors are generally the outcome of economic issues that include but may not be limited to job loss, violence and loss caused by natural disasters. No individual is immune to stress though everybody tries to avoid it. Psychologists have made an attempt to quantify stress by theorizing it (Grunert 2011). The family stress adaptation theory belongs to many psychologists. One of the primary contributors to the family stress has been identified in the Hill’s ABCX model. Hill’s ABCX Model: Reuben Hill conducted the study of families who managed to bear the tensions of the Great Depression that surfaced after the First World War. They were compared with the families that could not manage to remain intact in the period of the Great Depression. By formulating the ABCX model of family stress and adaptation, Hill determined how various unfortunate incidents disrupt the equilibrium of the family. The family, like all creatures, tends to regain the lost equilibrium by making use of the coping mechanism. Divorce has been identified as one of the major stressors by Hill as well as many other researchers that attempted to determine the stressors after him. A in Hill’s model is the incident because of which the equilibrium is distorted meaning that divorce is essentially A. Hill identified certain protective factors that exist within the family and tend to regulate the negative effects of the sudden shock. One of those factors was called as “B” while the other was termed “C”. B and C differ in that B comprises both external and internal resources of the family as well as social support whereas C fundamentally revolves around perception. The concept of B is that families that have strong connection with the society and have many friends are better able to cope with the sudden stress as compared to families that have relatively poor ties with the society. C depicts the family’s perceptions and beliefs about the stressor. According to Hill, the perception of a family about the stressor greatly influences the family’s tendency to cope with the stressful event. Positive perception allows the family to cope with the stressor more effectively whereas the negative perception makes the family have a hard time coping with the stressor. The “X” factor which occurs in the end of the theoretical model proposed by Hill depicts the crisis in the family. A family that does not make an attempt to adapt itself according to the stressful incident, it may face crisis. Many theorists have tried to make their contribution to the model proposed by Hill, yet the original model is still the basis for the family stress theory. The suggestions made by Hill are just as applicable today as they were when they were originally proposed. Research: Divorce should not be thought of as a single incident given the variety of its consequences that are linked with one another and yet maintain their respective individualistic identities. Divorce is essentially a process that triggers a chain of reactions in the lives of not only the couple but also many others related to them. Such an understanding of divorce promotes the idea that the effects of a divorce upon children comprise a whole range of processes and factors which commence even before the divorce takes place and continue to occur long after the occurrence of divorce. This explains why children in divorced families suffer from such unfortunate experiences that do not originate in the divorce. Many studies carried out in UK, Australia and New Zealand have also realized divorce as a process rather than an incident (Rodgers and Pryor 1998). “Marriages that end in divorce typically begin a process of unraveling, estrangement, or emotional separation years before the actual legal divorce is obtained.” (Demo and Supple n.d.). Among many theories related to family and relations, the one that is most commonly employed to explain the phenomenon of divorce and its after effects is the family stress theory because it fosters two different models of adult adjustment. According to the crisis model of adult adjustment, divorce disturbs the adults, though the decline of well-being is mostly temporal and most of the adults do not take long to come out of the trauma. On the other hand, the chronic strain model of adult adjustment suggests that many stressful events are triggered by the divorce that include but may not be limited to shifting, lack of money and ongoing dispute between the separating individuals. These tensions may keep the divorced adults into distress for long and they may never recover fully. Both models have been observed in the divorced couples in the past research. Paulo Amato (2000) reviewed the research done in the 1990s upon the subject of results of divorce. After an in-depth analysis of the 1990s’ research, Amato (2000) reached the conclusion that the experiences post divorce are explained by both the crisis model and the chronic strain model. The suitability of a model varies from individual to individual as everybody goes through different experiences after divorce. Nevertheless, Amato (2000) found that certain factors like the individual’s characteristics e.g. age, sex, and education and the context of divorce e.g. child custody and networks of social support do play a decisive role in depicting the model that would best describe the post divorce experiences of a particular individual (Henley and Pasley n.d.). Critical Analysis: An in-depth analysis of the research work done on the subject of divorce to date suggests that most of the researchers had stereotyped divorce as a social taboo and had assumed it to be bad. The research has largely maintained a deficit perspective which only considers the negative effects of divorce on the families. The very pessimism reflects in the questions included in the surveys that are employed to collect the data, based on whose analysis, the conclusions are drawn. The pre-estimation of the effects of divorce also impacts the tendency of the researcher to analyze the data, and in most of the cases, researchers make biased approaches while analyzing the data. Results always depict negative outcomes of divorce and the interpretation exaggerates the negativity. Some cross cultural researches have made an attempt to determine the positive outcomes of divorce and have reached the conclusion that divorce increases an individual’s self confidence, well-being, self-esteem and for some people, it offers a big relief from the sufferings of marriage. The range of divorce’s influences on adults needs to be broadened to include the potential positive impacts in future researches upon the subject of divorce. Owing to the variety of patterns of adjustment of the divorced individuals after the occurrence of this unfortunate incident, great caution must be taken while comparing the nondivorced people with the divorced ones. Like divorce, post divorce adjustment is also a process and not an event. Research in the past has shown that time is a big influential factor in the post divorce adjustment tendency of an individual. Nevertheless, many studies have conventionally overlooked the importance of time in the adjustment of individuals after divorce. Factors that facilitate or complicate adjustment after the occurrence of divorce need to be studied in detail in the future research. Although there are many differences in the cultures of different nations, yet the divorce rate is increasing in them irrespective of their culture differences or differences in the function of families. Owing to the immense increase in the frequency of divorce and its obvious effects on the divorcing individuals and their respective families, divorce needs to be studied much more deeply than ever before in the future research. Conclusion: Divorce is one of the harshest realities of life and has only increased in rate with the passage of time. This is not only a very unfortunate event for the couple getting separated, but also disturbs their respective families. In addition to that, divorce shatters the confidence of bachelors who have reached the age of marriage, but do not get married. However, it depends upon an individual how much he/she takes the stress from this unhappy event. Strong ties with the society help the divorcee break free of the stress of divorce much quicker than otherwise. Therefore, in order to come out of the stress of divorce, individuals should get engaged in social activities and concentrate upon their studies, work or career. Nevertheless, time is the ultimate solution to all problems! Works Cited: Amato, P. R. (2000). “The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children.” Journal of Marriage and the Family. 62:1269–1287. Demo, David H., and Supple, Andrew J. n.d. “Divorce - Effects on Children.” Retrieved May 28, 2011 (http://family.jrank.org/pages/413/Divorce.html). Grunert, Jeanne. 2011. “Family Stress Adaptation Theory.” Retrieved May 28, 2011 (http://stress.lovetoknow.com/Family_Stress_Adaptation_Theory). Henley, Kari, and Pasley, Kay. n.d. “Explaining Adjustment to Divorce: Theoretical Perspectives.” Retrieved May 28, 2011 (http://family.jrank.org/pages/413/Divorce.html). Rodgers, B., and Pryor, J. 1998. Divorce and Separation: The Outcomes for Children. York. UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Read More