The Causes and Effects of Divorce on Family Life in Modern Society - Research Paper Example

 The Causes and Effects of Divorce on Family Life in Modern Society Introduction Though family is considered to be the smallest unit of a society, it has a huge impact on various social constructs and, at the same time, it plays significant and crucial roles in shaping a child’s mind during its earliest years. The process of socialization which determines who and what a man will be initiates from this smallest unit. But necessarily this familial organization crucially pivots on the marital bond between a man and a woman for its existence in modern society (Charon 47-56). In primitive societies, the familial bond between a man and a woman existed as a response to the necessity of fulfilling individual’s sexual desires as well as economic needs. Though the fulfilment of individual’s carnal hunger lies in the heart of marriage, as the requirement of other expectations and expectations from a family marriage essentially takes the form of a social contract in the complicated context of modern society in which a family is intertwined with other institutions directly or indirectly (Parsons & Bales 97-100). But while marriage takes the form of a social contract, it necessarily requires an institutional break-up that is known to be divorce. In modern society, divorce is recognized as an unwanted legality. Due to the complicacy of human life in modern life, the necessity of ‘divorce’ cannot totally be discarded. Yet divorce has a paramount impact on the society or individual life, whether it is positive or negative (Phillips 38). A close analysis of the impacts of divorce will reveal the fact that it is more of a blessing for the two parties of marriage than for the family members and the society in which they live. Various researches in this field show that especially it has tremendous effects on the children of the divorced couples. In this paper I will look into the causes and effects of divorce on family life in modern society, especially on children. Role of Marriage and Family in Social Construction An in-depth analysis of the role of marriage and family is supposed to be helpful for us to explore the fact how divorce affects the society. The age-old institution of marriage has been emerged from the beginning of human civilization. In earlier societies –both synchronic and diachronic, the institution of marriage has been in existence -in a form of social contract- on its own importance. First of all the reasons why marriage continued to exist from the beginning of the emergence of human civilization, marriage has been considered as a means of preventing the anarchy and confusion that could arise from promiscuous sexual activities of the members of a society (Phillips 138-149). Meanwhile, it functions as an acknowledged sexual-emotional outlet of individuals. It provides security and support to both parties –of a marriage- who wants to be together remaining faithful to each other. Eventually this society-authorized emotional bond between a husband and a wife gives birth to the concept of family that is considered to be a man’s first and foremost effective training center through which a child becomes familiar and learns to respect the morals, rules, and regulations of the existing society (Kreppner & Lerner 36). It is the family in which a child receives the basic behavioural patterns that are further moulded by other social institutions such as religion, educational institutions, political systems, etc. (Lerner 26). Healthy Marital Relationship and Children’s Well-being The issue of children’s well-being and healthy marital relationship are intertwined with each other. Epistemologically children’s well being refers to the overall perfection and growth of a child such as its psychological growth, social growth, socialization, moralization, etc. According to the study of child development, family is an entity and a producer of developmental outcomes of the children as well as the members. It functions as a picturesque social context that facilitates and shapes an individual’s entry into other social contexts. Also from the child development perspective, a family can be viewed as an environmental factor that contains both shared and non-shared components of the development of a child (Kreppner and Lerner 34). Researches in this field show that a child’s personality traits, attitude, belief, behaviour are grossly influenced first by the interplays between a child and its surrounding in a family. In this regard, Marian et al says, “The family is seen as a dynamic context in which the child is both transformer and transformed” (23). Consequently, ‘parenting’ –both directly and indirectly- is supposed to exert huge influence on the development of a child. In his book, Belsky (1984) focuses on what factors of parental behaviour and how they influence the child-rearing and the development of a child. In this regard, Belsky as well as Bronfenbrenner emphasize on two factors, husband-wife relationship and parent-child relationship, as most influencing. In order to elucidate the reasons of child-abuse, Belsky notes, Specifically, marital relations, social networks, and jobs influence individual personality and general psychological well-being of parents and, thereby, parental functioning and, in turn, child development. (84) Belsky notes that parental personality, intensity of conjugal relationship and psychological wellbeing are the most dominant of the determinants of child development. When the conjugal relationship of these three determinants is in a stressful condition, parental functioning becomes grossly deviated from its expected role, the development of a child gets hampered and confused. If this one remains intact, the absence of any of the other two -parental personality and psychological well-being- is not that negative. In this regard, Lerner says, “Optimal parenting still occurs even when the personal psychological resources of parents are the only determinant remaining in positive mode” (16). Here, only a healthy relationship between husband and a wife can provide the scope for optimal parenting. Divorce’s Roles in Protection of Protect Women’s Rights In earlier societies, the sanctity of marital life is considered to lie in the faithfulness of both husband and wife. But in most of the pre-modern societies the loyalty and chastity of a married woman was supposed to be crucial to the existence of a family. The female counterpart of a marital relationship did not have any ‘say’ in the disloyalty of her husband. Often the betrayal of a husband or a wife used to lead to physical punishment and death penalty. Therefore, marriage often plays the role of an apparatus -in the hand of the male dominated society- of suppression on women (Phillips 57). But the context in modern society around the beginning of the 20th century, in the face of the movement of various human rights groups and civil organizations the women’s right to divorce come into being in Europe and America (Hopper 438). Though both husband’s and wife’s right to divorce brings an equality between the two parties of a marital bond, the alarming increasing rate of divorce all over the world after the 1950s drew the attention of the scholars and the analysts. Causes of Divorce in Modern Society: Historical Perspective Recent statistics shows that the rate of divorce in modern society is disturbingly high. Though before the Second World War the rate has not varied enough to draw the attention of the researchers, the post-war divorce-rate was more than ever (Hopper 431). In spite of the high difference between the two divorce rates in the pre and post war periods, a steady increase in the rate is supposed to be a crisis of modern society, as Swanson says, “Before the 1950s, many couples divorced because of wartime hardships such as…..In the two or three years following World War II, divorce rates reached an all-time high that was not matched again for twenty years” (2). After a careful historical review of divorce, Swanson traces out four basic causes -change in traditional gender role, liberalization of women’s responsibility to family, declination in religious value and failure to adjust with each other- that can be held responsible for the high rate of divorce in the post-war period. In modern society, a number of feminist movements create the opportunity for women to work outside of the house. Indeed this increasing involvement of women with the workplaces during the Industrial Revolution was utterly disturbing to the traditional concept of marriage that used to assign wives with the responsibility of maintaining house and hearth, and of rearing their child (Phillips 69). Consequently, in order to get rid of the after-effect of this changed role, women sought divorce during the 1960s. In this regard, Swanson notes, “Attention began being paid to the role of women in divorce, since most divorces were sought by women. This trend was typically linked to the new level of women’s involvement in the workplace, as well as the modernization of women’s roles in general.” (3) After the war, as a result of modernization, rational views and thoughts began of substitute the people’s faith as well as religious values. A husband is no more expected to be deciding authority of a family. Rather couples were found to be in constant struggle to establish a family on egalitarian view. But it was quite difficult for them to come out the cocoon of traditional marriage-assigned family. In such situation, divorce provides a safe outlet to the couples, as Swanson says, “Modern couples tend to have strong desires to create an egalitarian home for themselves. However, they are often disheartened to discover how difficult this is, especially when they find they have resorted to traditional methods regardless of their attempts to be equal” (4). Effects of Divorce on Family and Children Whereas marriage is the emotional outlet for people, divorce is considered to be the outlet of bitterness and the traumatic situation in which the couples get stacked. But though it serves as a means of relief for the spouses who seeks relief, various research on the effects of divorce commonly show that it has more of the negative effects than of the positive ones. The positive effect -probably the one and only- is that children are no more vulnerable to the family violence and abuse. On the other hand, the negative effects of divorce on the children are overwhelming, as Fagan and Rector say, “The effects of divorce are immense. The research shows not only that it permanently weakens the relationship between a child and his or her parents, but also that it leads to destructive ways of handling conflict and a poorer self-image” (3). Again they refer to the perpetuating effects of divorce in the following sentence: “Children of divorce demonstrate an earlier loss of virginity, more cohabitation, higher expectations of divorce, higher divorce rates later in life, and less desire to have children. These effects on future family life perpetuate the downward spiral of family breakdown.” (3) Divorce Undermines Families The foundation of every society is its families. When two parents split up, a family is undermined. Divorce is a terrible scourge which forces families to move out of houses, sometimes change cities or schools, and split into two separate families. For everyone involved this is a severe and traumatic situation (Berlin). The spouses are not the only people who are vulnerable to the effects of divorce. Rather the people around the divorced couples as well as the whole marital institution get affected with the events of divorce. Oft-repeatedly occurring of events of divorce in a society tends to assume a costume of normality that can easily motivate newly married couples to seek divorce to get relief of trivial problems that could have easily been solved (Kreppner & Lerner 36). Also it becomes difficult for the people –who come from a divorced family- to keep faith in this social institution again. Thus, the whole marital institution tends to be undermined by divorce, as Fagan and Rector say, The divorce of parents, even if it is an amicable decision, tears apart a family--the fundamental unit of American society. It should be no surprise to find, then, that the prevalence of divorce is having profound effects on society. What may surprise many policymakers and other Americans is how strong the relationship is between family background and such problems as crime, abuse and neglect, and addictions. (5) Effects of Divorce on Children Divorce ultimately destroys the primary and the most important learning stage -of children- that is namely family. Children are impressionable. They are starting their journey on the path of life and are deeply sensitive to the world around them. They seek patterns and they seek to understand why certain patterns have certain results. Although they may not understand the huge complications underwriting our society, they nevertheless have an inkling of how are world is structured and determined, the family provides this context as does their parents' marriage. Divorce can have a serious effect on this. Different studies, in this field, show that divorce has a significant relationship with a range of social problems. In these social problems the involvement of children from divorced families is remarkably high. The following is a list of problems that are found to be deteriorated by the events of divorce: Divorce: Child-Abuse and Delinquency Children of divorced parent are increasingly the victims of negligence and abuse. A research, led by Professor Robert Sampson, shows that the divorce rate is proportionately related to the rate of crime in any given area. He also finds that the lower divorce rate has higher formal and informal social controls on the crime rate (280). Also Wisconsin statistics demonstrates that the rates of imprisonment for its juvenile crimes are 12 times higher for the children of the divorced parents than for children of intact family (34). Both a British and a US longitudinal study report that children who live in their stepparents’ household are roughly three times more prone to commit a crime that those who live in intact families (Farrington 103). Moreover, a literature on divorce that was conducted by the Australian Government reveals that divorce highly increases the possibility that a child will grow a sense of hostility and rejection. Such hostility and rejection also increase the chance of the home-broken children to join delinquent gangs (Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs). It is noteworthy that these results on crimes are not confined to boys. Rather, there is a strong connection between family structure, misbehavior, hostility, school-skipping, larceny, and alcohol abuse among adolescent girls (Diana 26). Divorce and Psycho-physical Problem They are vulnerable to various health problems. Also they increasingly become the victims of emotional and behavioural problems. In 1985 study that was led on 1,000 families reveals that children who lives in intact families shows the least criminal behaviour, while children with from divorced family more likely demonstrate the most disordered behaviours. In a study Margo Wilson and Martin Daly report that children are 70 to 100 times more vulnerable to murder at the hands of their stepparents before they reach the third year of life (Wilson & Daly 230). Sexual abuse of children is much higher in their stepparents’ household than in the household of their biological parents. The rate of sexual abuse of girls by their stepfathers is seven times higher, and, as much as 40 times greater than the rate of sexual abuse of daughters by their biological father (Diana 20). Children from a divorced family more frequently get involved in crime and drug abuse. Also these children have higher rates of suicide. Effects of Divorce on Children’s Education Divorce direly affects the learning capacity of children, because the psychophysical growth of a child gets tremendously damaged by the aftermaths of divorce, as Fagan and Rector say, “Divorce impedes learning by disrupting productive study patterns as children are forced to move between domiciles, and by increasing anxiety and depression in both parents and children.” (3). Children of divorced parents show a weaker learning capacity. These children generally have a higher drop-out rate and a low graduation rate in colleges. In a survey, "Impact of Divorce Project," conducted by Kent State University in Ohio, it is revealed that children of divorced parents are less competent in reading, spelling, and math than the children from intact two-parent families are (Fagan & Rector 224). Scholars find the frequent relocation and traumatic disturbance of the psychological growth of these children as the primary cause of their incompetence, as Fagan and Rector say, “Frequent relocation of these children appears to play a large role in their poorer performance….children of broken families…move about much more frequently. Such moves tend to increase the incidence of behavioral, emotional, and academic problems.” (6) Younger children are more vulnerable, since they are generally more emotionally involved with their home than the older are. Divorce normally decreases the child's primary financial resource. The economic resource of the separated parents gets divided and seriously weakens the prospect of the members of the family to accumulate wealth. Divorced parents as well as their children are generally plunged into debt and financial crisis. In this regard, Fagan and Rector say, “For families that were not poor before the divorce, the drop in income can be as much as 50 percent” (6). Conclusion In the context of our modern society there is a growing trend to undermine the marital system as a mere social construct that is reminiscent of the patriarchal dominance. It is viewed traditionally marriage-induced “fatherhood” and “motherhood” as the stereotypes of man’s superiority over woman’s inferiority. But because of importance of the role that a family play in the socialization of children, this traditional family system is pushing forward along the passage of time in modern society. Yet it is “the natural framework for the emotional, financial, and material support essential to the growth and development of its members, particularly infants and children . . . The family remains a vital means of preserving and transmitting cultural values” (International Year of the Family). The family created around a marriage is where children are first brought up with a sense of the world’s morality, the rules and laws, by which we live within our polity. This is all explained so cogently by both Plato and Augustine. Family and marriage are central. But when marriage is uprooted and destroyed, there are serious consequences. In modern society divorce is one of the most serious problems we must deal with. It is a phenomenon that drains our economy and threatens to ruin the building blocks of our way of life. Therefore, to destroy a family is to destroy a society as well as the future generation of a nation. It not only destroys the bond between two individuals but also it tolls heavily upon the people of the whole society. Yet divorce cannot be totally pushed out of the society. It is because it continues to exist in society for its own importance, as the institution of marriage does. So scholars and policy makers of a society should find the solution to this problem of divorce in somewhere else other than eliminating it from the society. In this regard, the policy makers of a society can take massive educative programmes to reduce the rate of divorce. Also the institution of marriage can be adapted with the needs and necessities of modern life, as Swanson says, [In modern society] marriage is a faltering institution because couples have adopted….. aspects of traditional gender roles without adapting them to the egalitarian ideals of the times. In order for marriage to be successful in modern times the institution needs to be adjusted to accommodate egalitarian roles for both sexes. (6) Works Cited Belsky, John. "The Determinants of Parenting: A Process Model." Child Development. 55: 83-96: 1984. Berlin, Gordon. “The Effects of Marriage and Divorce on Families and Children”, MDRC. 28 October, 2010, Charon, Joel. The Meaning of Sociology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 2002. Diana, E. H. Russell, "The Prevalence and Seriousness of Incestuous Abuse: Stepfathers vs. Biological Fathers," Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol. 8 (1984), pp. 15-22. Fagan, F. Patrick and Rector, Robert. “The Effects of Divorce on America”, Domestic Policy Studies Department. Washington: The Heritage Foundation. 5 June, 2000. 28 October, 2010, Farrington, David. "Implications of Criminal Career Research for the Prevention of Offending," Journal of Adolescence, Vol. 13 (1990), pp. 93-113. Hopper, Joseph. “The Symbolic Origins of Conflict in Divorce.” Journal of Marriage and the Family. 63: 430, 2001. International Year of the Family, In Clark, E. Douglas, “In Larger Freedom: Towards Security, Development and Human Rights for All”, 28 October, 2010,available at Lerner, R. Martin, "Individual Development and the Family System: A Life-Span Perspective." In: K. Kreppner and R.M. Lerner, eds. Family Systems and Life-Span Development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1989, pp. 15-27. Marian et al. Strengthening the Family - Implications for International Development. Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 1995 Margo Wilson and Martin Daly, "The Risk of Maltreatment of Children Living with Stepparents," in Richard J. Gelles and Jane B. Lancaster, eds., Child Abuse and Neglect: Biosocial Dimensions, Foundations of Human Behavior New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1987, p. 228. Parsons, T., and R.F. Bales. Family Socialization and Interaction Process. Glencoe, III.: Free Press. 1955. Phillips, Roderick. Putting Asunder: A History of Divorce in Western Society. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Sampson, J. Robert. "Crime in Cities: The Effects of Formal and Informal Social Control," in Michael Tonry and Norval Morris, eds., Crime and Justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992, pp. 271-301. Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, House of Representatives, Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, To Have and To Hold. Canberra: Parliament of Australia, 1998, p. 36. Swanson, Margaret. “Marriage and Modern Society: Lagging Evolution toward Egalitarianism”, 8 October, 2010, Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services, "Family Status of Delinquents in Juvenile Correctional Facilities in Wisconsin," Division of Youth Services, April 1994. Read More