Mediation and Moderation of Divorce Effects on Childrens Behavior Problems - Essay Example

Mediation and Moderation of Divorce Effects on Children’s Behavior Problems” by Jennifer Weaver and Thomas Schofield Summary Jennifer Weaver and Thomas Schofield’s article “Mediation and Moderation of Divorce Effects on Children’s Behavior Problems,” reveals that some children from broken up families experience behavioral challenges. The problems were both internalizing and externalizing, implying that the children had family and environmental problems because of the divorce effects (Weaver & Schofield, 2015).

For instance, these children exhibited difficulties in functioning and in academics. Alternatively, Sun & Li (2001) further suggest that parental divorce had difficult effects on children due to age factors, relative support and environmental associations. It is apparent that positive parenting, such as being sensitive and responsive to a child’s requirements was among the ways of avoiding negative arguments (Weaver & Schofield, 2015). This is because it promotes a child’s sense of stability and safety in the parent through their relationship.

As a result, the parent-child relationship is significant since it can reinforce the child’s coping skills when faced with issues of parental division (Sun & Li, 2001). The article recommends that young children should not undergo deficiencies, but both parents should commit to their obligations. Parents should always ensure that their children feel love and protection from both sides to avoid the post-divorce stress. Weaver and Schofield (2015) indicate that family income is an important aspect that also contributes to divorce effects on children’s habitual problems.

This is because income is likely to reduce after the divorce and the children cannot access any necessities they used to enjoy before the separation. Similarly, parents are also likely to offer less responsive care for their children after a divorce and may experience depressive indicators (Sun & Li, 2001). Considering this, parents have instrumental roles to control the behavioral problems of their children from arising from the post-divorce stress. ReflectionI learnt from the article that children are the main casualties after parental divorce.

This is because they do not understand how to cope with the challenges within the family. I also learnt that parents will show depressive signs during the divorce period and this takes a toll on their children. In this regard, the behavioral problems that children develop require psychological counseling to avoid negative repercussions. This indicates that children need parental care to assure them that everything is alright despite the separation. However, I realized that the article did not have a comparison group of intact families to show how parents and children adjust after the divorce (Weaver & Schofield, 2015).

This is critical to understand how both parties adjust to the drop in incomes, companionship and care from the departed individual. The article is educative in that it recommends ways of helping children cope with post-divorce stress (Weaver & Schofield, 2015). It also recommends on the parental and family role in dealing with behavioral problems, especially if income reduces. I think it would be appropriate to highlight positive signs that children might show due to stoppage of abuses from the parents.

This is because some families suffer from abusive traits of parents before filing for divorce and children might lose focus in such environments. In this regard, the authors’ research is beneficial for families that suffer from post-divorce stress since it has various indications and recommendations to handle the challenges. This is essential to help people engage psychologists when dealing with post-stress challenges pertaining to children’s behavior, income concerns or parental depressive symptoms.

ReferencesSun, Y., & Li, Y. (2001). “Marital disruption, parental investment, and children’s academic Achievement: A prospective analysis.” Journal of Family Issues, 22, 27–62.Weaver, J. M. & Schofield, T. J. (2015). “Mediation and Moderation of Divorce Effects on Children’s Behavior Problems.” Journal of Family and Psychology. Vol. 29 (1), Pp. 39-48.