Young Children and Divorce
In our society, almost half of all marriages end in divorce. Nearly one million children in the United States alone experience the divorce of their parents each year. Plus, thousands more will be born to single mothers this year alone. I want to determine if a child, whose parents separate and/or divorce prior to the child turning three, will have any developmental, cognitive, and social delays. My hypothesis is that the separation and/or divorce the child’s parents will have a negative effect on the social well-being of infants and toddlers but little to no effect on the cognitive and developmental milestones at the time of and following the separation.
There is a plethora of research on the psychological effects of divorce on adolescents and teenagers but there is little to no research on the effect that divorce may have on infants and toddlers. There may not be as much research because infants and toddlers cannot enunciate their feelings or thoughts to others. We cannot get into the head of an infant to better understand their emotions but, by observing the actions of parent and child, we may be able to get a clearer picture of what the child may be feeling during a time of high stress, such as the divorce of their parents.
My research will open doors to deeper investigation into how a life-changing event, such as divorce, affects young children. It is common knowledge that divorce tends to have a negative effect on an older child’s psychological and emotional well-being. It is not known if the psychological consequences will have a lasting effect if the separation takes place while the child is still too young to understand what is going on. Childhood amnesia could also play a role in minimizing the long-term effects of divorce on young children, but a longitudinal design study spanned across many years, beyond age three, would have to prove this idea.
Clarke-Steward et al. (2000), along with the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human
There is a plethora of research on the psychological effects of divorce on adolescents and teenagers but there is little to no research on the effect that divorce may have on infants and toddlers. There may not be as much research because infants and toddlers cannot enunciate their feelings or thoughts to others. We cannot get into the head of an infant to better understand their emotions but, by observing the actions of parent and child, we may be able to get a clearer picture of what the child may be feeling during a time of high stress, such as the divorce of their parents.
My research will open doors to deeper investigation into how a life-changing event, such as divorce, affects young children. It is common knowledge that divorce tends to have a negative effect on an older child’s psychological and emotional well-being. It is not known if the psychological consequences will have a lasting effect if the separation takes place while the child is still too young to understand what is going on. Childhood amnesia could also play a role in minimizing the long-term effects of divorce on young children, but a longitudinal design study spanned across many years, beyond age three, would have to prove this idea.
Clarke-Steward et al. (2000), along with the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human
Cited: Dunigan, Ana. Email interview. 13 Apr. 2013. Kelly, Jakele. Phone interview. 13 Apr. 2013. Green, Taylor . Personal interview. 21 Apr. 2013. Clarke-Stewart, K. Alison, Deborah Vandell, Kathleen McCartney, Maragret Owen, and Cathryn Booth. "Effects of parental separation and divorce on very young children." Journal of Family Psychology 14 (2000): 304-326. Print. Jolivet, Kendra Randall . "The psychological impact of divorce on children: what is a family lawyer to do? ." American Journal of Family Law 25.4 (2012): 175. Print. Kelly, Joan, and Robert Emery. "Children 's Adjustment Following Divorce: Risk and Resilience Perspectives." Family Relations 52.4 (2003): 352-362. Print. Leon, Kim. "Risk and Protective Factors in Young Children 's Adjustment to Parental Divorce: A Review of the Research." Family Relations 52.3 (2003): 238. Print.