Parental Divorce and the Future Success of High School Students - Research Paper Example

Effects of Divorce on the Future Success of the High-school Students Introduction Parental divorce has a number of dire effects on the future success of high school students. The determining factors of a student’s success are closely related to the stability and the quality of a family environment that almost gets damaged by parental divorce. Indeed Children’s psychological development and healthy marital relationship between their parents are intertwined with each other (Parsons & Bales, 1955, pp. 97-100). Indeed the connotation of the term ‘healthy marital relationship’ is not confined only to a healthy relationship between a husband and a wife; rather it infers the very essence of a healthy and emotionally tied family that is very often considered by the socio-psychologists as the smallest but the most influential childcare center (Burgess, 1926, p. 5). Indeed a child’s wellbeing, therefore, crucially pivots on the healthiness of a strongly knitted relationship between the parents of a child. Effects of Divorce on A Child’s Wellbeing and its Relation with Student’s Success: A Theoretical Perspective By affecting a family, divorce negatively affects the insurance of a child’s wellbeing. But as children’s wellbeing and students’ success are closely related to each other, divorce also severely affects students success in school. The roles of parents and family are crucial to a child’s wellbeing, as in the modern society the term “child” cannot be gleaned in any way from the concept of ‘family’. Epistemologically the term “children’s well being” connotes a child’s overall perfective growth such as psychological growth, socialization, moralization, etc (Kaslow, 1987, pp. 838-843). In the picturesque social context of a family, a child’s psychology is facilitated and shaped by the teachings and views that he or she receives from a family. Before entering into the broader context of a society, a child becomes introduced to a significant number of the society’s rules and regulations, and several other social institutions. In a family, a child becomes familiar with the very concept of teaching and learning. Later he or she becomes familiar with school as one of the institutions —of the society- that should be revered (Kreppner & Lerner, 1989, pp.75-9). Indeed this reverence for the process of teaching-leaning and school is very important for a child —in this paper, for the high students- to continue his or her study up to the end. Again it keeps a child mentally prepared for learning and competing with other students- a fact that greatly contributes to a child’s as well as a high-school-boy’s performance. Again according to Lerner (1989), a family can be considered as an environment that includes both shared and non-shared components of a child’s development (p. 22). One of these components is the rudimentary elements of learning of a child. If this rudimentary learning in the childhood is clear and strong, a boy in high is expected to perform well. These rudimentary elements are best conveyed to the child through parental care. In his book, Belsky (1984) focuses on what factors of parental behavior and how they influence the child-rearing and the development of a child. In this regard, Belsky puts emphasis on two factors: husband-wife relationship and parent-child relationship, as most influencing. In order to elucidate the reasons of child-abuse, Belsky (1984) 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”. (p. 84) Effects of Divorce on Children’s Education in High School The prospect of high-school student’s future success is great influenced by parental divorce. It affects negatively the learning aptitude of children because a child’s psychophysical growth tremendously becomes damaged by the repercussions of divorce. In this regard, Fagan and Rector (2000) 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.” (p. 3). The frequent relocation and disturbing changes in the family environment cause traumatic disturbance to the psychological growth of the children of divorced families, as Fagan and Rector (2000) say in this regard, 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. (p. 6) Younger children are more vulnerable, since they are generally more emotionally involved with their home than the older are. Children of divorced parents demonstrate a low learning performance. These children commonly have a higher drop-out rate and a low graduation rate in colleges. In a research article, Marian et al (1995) says that “children whose parents divorce have lower rates of graduation from high school and college and also complete fewer college courses” (p. 38). In a survey that was conducted by Kent State University in Ohio, it is reported that children from divorced parents are less skilled in reading, spelling, and math than the children of intact families are (Hill & O’Neil, 1994, p. 1070). Economic and Psychological Effects of Divorce and High-school Dropout Rate Scholars assume that both economic and psychological factors are responsible behind the drop-out of the high-school students. As to the psychological factors, scholars suggest that high-school students from divorced families show reverence level for institutional learning. Also these students become easily diverted from study by factors such as drug abuse, adolescent sex, and other juvenile delinquencies. Again as for the economic factors, scholars shows that divorce generally play a significant role to reduce the students’ primary financial resource (Heath, 1992, p. 311). The financial resource of a student gets divided by the divorce of their parents and it seriously weakens the prospect of either parent to accumulate wealth. In an article, Marry Corcoran (1997) reports that “During the years children lived with two parents, their family incomes averaged $43,600, and when these same children lived with one parent, their family incomes averaged $25,300” (p. 47). Divorced parents are also plunged into debt and financial crisis. So it often becomes impossible to afford the cost of higher education. Consequently a student, whether he or she stays with their divorced father or mother, suffers from financial crisis that contribute to their drop-out from the high school. In this regard, Fagan and Rector (2000) say, “For families that were not poor before the divorce, the drop in income can be as much as 50 percent” (p. 6). Conclusion Divorce is an inevitable and, at the same time, an unwanted legal institution of human society. In a marriage, two individuals of opposite sexes come together on some essential conditions through a socially acknowledged contract. In the opposite manner, divorce serves as a counter-contract -between the two parties of a marriage- that separates them from each other and set them free from the wedding vows. Sometimes divorce simply proves to be a means of relief for both parties of a marital relationship. But the consequences of divorce are not so simple that it can be considered as the simple break-up of a family. Especially its effects on the children are the most severe and overwhelming. It brings a colossal break-down upon a child’s psychological growth by grossly hampering its initial learning stage in the family (Berlin, n.d.). References Belsky, J. (1984). The Determinants of Parenting: A Process Model. Child Development, 55: 83-96. Berlin, G. (n.d.). The Effects of Marriage and Divorce on Families and Children. MDRC, Retrieved October 28, 2010 from Burgess, E.W. (1926). The Family as a Unity of Interacting Personalities. Family 7: 3-9. Fagan, F. P., & Rector, R. (2000). “The Effects of Divorce on America. Domestic Policy Studies Department, Washington: The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved from October 28, 2010, from http://www.dadsnow.org/studies/heritage1.htm Heath, J. (1992). Determinants of Spells of Poverty Following Divorce. Review of Social Economy, 49: 305-315. Hill, M. A., & O'Neill, J. (1994). Family Endowments and the Achievement of Young Children with Special Reference to the Underclass, Journal of Human Resources, 29: 1064-1100. Kaslow, F.W. (1987). Marital and Family Therapy. In: M.B. Sussman and S.K. Steinmetz, eds. Handbook of Marriage and the Family. New York: Plenum Press, 835-859. Kreppner, K. & Lerner, R. M. eds. (1989). Family Systems and Life-Span Development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lerner, R. M., (1989). 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, 15-27. Marian et al. (1995). Strengthening the Family - Implications for International Development, Tokyo: United Nations University Press, Parsons, T., & Bales, R. F. (1955). Family Socialization and Interaction Process. Glencoe, III: Free Press. Read More