The Effects of Divorce

Divorce in our society has become increasingly common. Fifty percent of all marriages will end in divorce and each year 2 million children are newly introduced to their parents separation, (Monthly Vital Statistics Report ).
Demographers predict that by the beginning of the next decade the majority of the youngsters under 18 will spend part of their childhood in single-parent families, many created by divorce. During this confusing period of turmoil and high emotional intensity, the child must attempt to understand a complex series of events, to restructure numerous assumptions and expectations about themselves and their world. He or she may be uprooted to a new school, city or neighborhood leaving their …show more content…

Method

Subjects : The subjects in this study were a Joe age 4 and Jessica age 9.
Both are upper-middle class Caucasions who reside with their mother in a nice house in Beverly. Their mother is college educated. I recruited my subjects through work. I am a full time Nanny for these two children. I watch these children at their mothers house while their parents work. The father comes over everday after work and relieves me and watches the children until the mother comes home. The children seem to have a good family background because they see their father a considerable amount and their maternal grandparents only live a mile down the road which makes it more accessable to see them.

Procedure : In my study I mainly observed these children. Since I see them almost everyday I feel I can make strong statements as to what I believe. I carried out my observing in the house while I worked and kept notes. I read the research and looked for specific warning signs in the childrens behavior. I also made up a few questions to get a grasp of what Judy, the children's mother thought about their progress and how they have been affected.

Results

After observing I found many things. I found that Joe had become very aggressive. I noticed it especially when it came to other living things such as the family dog. He would also lash out at his sister, as well as myself at times. He never ment to cause harm but he couldn't seem to