Tag Archives: Spotlight

Spotlight Post #2

--Original published at JanellesCollegeBlog

We all experience stress throughout our lives. Depending on our different roles in life, we will experience and be able to deal with and manage stress differently. This is why for this spotlight blog post, I decided to look at three different websites that provided stress management tips for three different roles that some of us play here while at college: students (all of us), musicians, and athletes.

In the first article, the seven tips for managing stress as a college student include having a plan, having achievable objectives, spending time exercising and doing leisure activities, eating healthy, getting rest, communicating with loved ones, and enhancing social engagement. This connects to what we learned in class about stress management because we learned that exercise is a good way to release endorphins and make you feel better. Communicating with loved ones and enhancing social engagement also connects with the adaptive strategies that we learned of using social support and self disclosure. Social groups with friends and family are good to have to be able to confide in and get advice from. The article also mentions getting sleep which I believe would really help in resting and allowing the body to recuperate especially after so much cortisol being released in the body from stress. Finally, having a plan and having achievable objectives correlates with problem-focused coping. This strategy works at changing the stressor to decrease the stress that it adds. It focuses on the actual stressor while emotion-focused coping focuses on the emotions that come with the stressor.

In the second article, the article states six tips for managing stress as a musician. These include listing little tasks that need to be done, meditating, sleeping, staying active, limiting caffeine, and spending time on activities not related to work. Listing and crossing off little tasks that need to be done also incorporates problem-focused coping. Sleeping again allows the body to recuperate and staying active allows the body to release helpful chemicals and decrease the individuals risk of developing heart disease. Exercise, especially for musicians who often spend a good deal of time sitting, is important to make sure their body feels good and can be a good way to get away from stressors. Meditating connects to what we learned about Mindfulness-Based stress reduction (MBSR). This coping mechanism focuses on developing the “observer self” and staying in the present. This can help with managing stress and pain by realizing that pain only comes from anxiety from the past or future. MBSR is a good way to stay in the present and not worry or focus on what you cannot control because it is either in the past or future. Limiting caffeine especially 6 hours before bed will help an individual fall asleep. Also, caffeine can help boost the effects of stress hormones so they will only make the feelings of stress worse.

Finally, the third article talks about managing stress as an athlete. The five tips that this article stresses are getting enough sleep, practicing time management, maintaining a positive attitude, planning recreational activities, and creating a support system. As mentioned before, getting enough sleep is an extremely good way to help combat stress as long as sleeping does not become a self-indulgence and push stressors back thus causing more stress. Practicing time management is problem-focused coping, which is a good way to make sure that things get done. Maintaining a positive attitude can correlate to emotion-focused coping. This deals with the emotions behind stressors so if someone focuses on being happy and optimistic about the stressors, they will not experience more negative emotions that will cause stress and weaken the immune system, leaving the individual more likely to contract illnesses. Because athletes are already active, they need to focus more on scheduling time in for other positive recreational activities. As long as these recreational activities are not maladaptive like some self-indulgences, these activities can help individuals relax and get away from the stress that they have. Finally, creating a support system allows individuals who experience great amounts of stress to be able to have someone to turn to and a shoulder to cry on. This social support can provide an individual with more help and resources and someone to self-disclose to instead of just holding everything in.

These three websites all provided good coping strategies of stress for individuals in different situations. Most of them are adaptive in the right situations, although it depends on the individual trying to use them and the specific situation. Also, a person would need to be able to tell when a strategy turns from adaptive to maladaptive. For example, if someone takes a break to go for a walk, that can be adaptive until the walk becomes too long and they start avoiding their responsibilities.

College Students:

https://www.workitdaily.com/manage-stress-effectively-college-students/

Musicians:

https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/6-more-stress-beating-tips-for-musicians/

Athletes:

https://www.recruitingrealities.com/2012/09/25/5-stress-management-tips-for-student-athletes

Stress Management- Spotlight Blog #2

--Original published at Brittany's Thoughts

Stress is something that affects everyone’s lives at one point or another. Whether the stress be from work, school, relationships or other activities such as clubs, it will still affect the person and can lead to undesirable side effects and feelings. Stress has to be managed, and there are many ways to manage that stress. Stress management varies from group to group and person to person, and what works for one person may not work for another.

Stress Management for Teens

Teens have to deal with a lot of different stress between school, a job if they have it, their friendships, and figuring out their futures. Transitioning between childhood dependence and adult independence while still living at home can be extremely difficult, especially with all the work that is put on teens. This can cause problems with illness, anxiety, withdrawal, and the creation of poor coping skills that could get teens into trouble.

An article by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry talked about methods that teenagers could use to cope with stress. They discussed what kinds of things could be stressors for teens, a few ways parents can help, and what teens can do to manage stress. They gave examples such as taking breaks from stressful situations, learning relaxation techniques, avoiding excessive caffeine intake, eating and exercising regularly, and learning to feel good enough about your work even when it is not “perfect.”

Most of these tips are some of the general stress management tips you hear. These tips can be effective depending on who you are and what your preferences are. While exercise might work for one, it may create more stress in another. Even the methods that involve changing the way you think and perceive your work and stress can be beneficial, but can be less successful because it is difficult to change the way you think. Relaxation techniques such as imagery have been shown to be quite beneficial, so that is one technique with a lot of backing to it for many people. Most of the techniques discussed could be considered adaptive strategies unless done too often to avoid a stressor. For example, if you do an activity and avoid a stressor until the last minute, that would be a maladaptive strategy. As long as the management is done without causing more problems, the management could be healthy and beneficial to teenagers.

https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Helping-Teenagers-With-Stress-066.aspx

Stress Management for College Students

Similarly to teenagers, college students have a lot of stress. The transition between living at home to living in a dorm where you are almost completely responsible of yourself is incredibly hard, and it can be very hard to deal with. The academic workload, a job, relationships and other activities such as clubs and ensembles can make college even more stressful than the transition does alone. This leads to very high levels of stress that can be very harmful for the persons experiencing the stress.

An article from the University of Michigan talks about the pros and cons of stress, symptoms of stress, and ways of reducing and managing stress. It said how stress can be a motivator and get you out of danger, but too much stress can bog you down and keep you from achieving what you need to achieve. In order to avoid being bogged down, you need to manage the stress before it gets worse. The article also brought up that increased stress can lead to mental health episodes in those with mental health disorders, which makes stress management even more important. They bring up techniques like not procrastinating over your academic work, taking time to just clear your mind, gaining better time-management skills, realizing your limits, and finding the humor in your life.

Some of the techniques varied from the tools for teenagers, but some remained the same. Again, management tools like working on time management can be harder to achieve but yield great rewards for stress management. The strategies could all be considered adaptive strategies unless you did procrastinate on your work, were stress eating or using coping mechanisms that do not work for the individual.

http://www.campusmindworks.org/students/self_care/managing_stress.asp

Stress Management for Working Mothers

Working mothers deal with a lot of stress from their work life and their home life. When one falls out of balance, the other will begin to follow and become more stressful as well. It is important for a working mom to manage her stress as well as her children’s’ stress to keep a happy, healthy balance in the home and the workplace.

An article by VeryWell Mind on working mothers displayed six techniques that a working mother can use to manage hers and her children’s’ stress. The first was plan ahead and staying organized, which could help limit last-minute stress from accidents with kids and streamlining your schedule. The second was setting boundaries, which was about saying no to tasks you cannot handle and focusing on tasks important to you and your success. The third was staying connected which was about spending time with your children in order to keep them feeling happy and loved while also doing some activities with them that could relieve yours and their stress. The fourth was taking care of yourself, which was taking time for yourself and trying to prevent burn-out. The fifth was enlisting help, which was about designating tasks to others, so you don’t have to do as much. The final tip was focusing on stress management, such as breathing exercises and re-framing techniques.

These methods were a little more specialized for the working mother than the methods mentioned in the other articles were. There were some like relaxation and taking time for yourself that were common across all the articles. Others dealt with both managing the mother’s and the child’s stress. This group deals with the child as well, so it’s important to have techniques to use with children as well as the mother. The techniques could be considered adaptive strategies since they do not have consequences, and can benefit both parties greatly.

https://www.verywellmind.com/working-moms-and-stress-relief-3145161

There are many ways for everyone to cope with stress. Even though the methods are not one-size-fits-all, people can find the methods that work for them and utilize them and prevent stress from consuming their lives.

Spotlight Post #2

--Original published at KatiesPerspectives

There are many different ways to destress, but not all methods of de-stressing work for everyone. In fact, if done incorrectly or by the wrong person – methods of de-stressing can actually lead to a much more stressful lifestyle. Stress can make is difficult to concentrate, increase worrying, cause tension and headaches, and even cause changes in your sleeping in eating habits. This is why it’s important to take a step back and evaluate the things you are doing to help de-stress to make sure they are not doing more harm than good.

Managing Stress During College:

Being a college student, you are forced into a whole new world of living alone and taking care of nearly everything yourself. For some, this could make for a much less stressful life, but for others it can be a troublesome and very difficult transition. Having the sort of freedom you have in college means that you have the opportunity to create both a life of ease, and a life of stress all for yourself. Throughout college, many students find that they start to develop new skills to help them balance the academic demands of college with the healthy living choices that must be made when living by yourself/with a roommate.

An article by the University of Michigan says that it’s important for college students to de-stress as stress can physically and mentally drag you down. While the article states that stress is a normal, natural part of life and being in college, there are many healthy ways that people cope with this sort of stress. One thing this article mentions as being helpful for college students when de-stressing, is exercise. While this can be a very useful and healthy way of dealing with stress and “blowing off steam,” per-say, some people see working out as something that is stressful in, and of itself. Personally, I really love going to the gym and physically putting in work, not only to maintain a healthy body, but a healthy mind. I find that the balance is important and exercising and running a couple times a weeks really helps keeping everything in check. While this might not be a problem-focused coping mechanism, it can be very helpful for people to have an outlet to blow off steam without having the cathartic reaction of lashing out. Overall, exercising could be potentially proactive, or retroactive for combatting stress, depending on how you look at it.

http://www.campusmindworks.org/students/self_care/managing_stress.asp

Managing Stress for Athletes

Although it is proven that a certain amount of stress can be very healthy for an athlete, there is a fine line between the stressors that help us focus and give us energy, and the stressors that can cause hormonal imbalances and the potential breakdown of the immune system. Oklahoma Sports and Fitness says, “Stress is like a spice. In the right portions, it enhances the flavor of the dish. Too little produces a bland, dull dish; and too much may choke you.” Some sports related factors that could play a vital role in increasing the stress of athletes is the physical and psychological demands, the life choices, and having pressure to always have a high standard of performance.

One of the main things that this website mentions is of upmost importance for athletes, is getting enough sleep. This is something that I think is very important for all people, especially physically active people. Getting enough sleep can play a vital role in how you perform on tests, in recitals, or (in this case) in games. While sleep is very important in the right amounts, playing Devil’s Advocate – too much sleep could be considered a maladaptive strategy of managing stress. While sleeping can help you decrease stress, sleeping in excess (more than 6, 7.5, or 9 hours a night) can cause excess problems that might actually decrease your ability to perform your sport to your fullest potential. This is a strategy that I think is necessary but must be carefully monitored each night as you are going into your athletic season.

http://www.oksportsandfitness.com/StressedAthlete.php

Managing Stress for Parents

Whether you are a stay-at-home parent of a working parent, parenting can be a very stressful and daunting task. Being constantly worried about who needs to be where, when, and with what science project and what lunchbox and how their getting there, I imaging, can be a scary thing to have to deal with every day. Constantly being worried or anxious can become an everyday, normal thing for a parent – but does it have to be? Researchers at the Child Development Institute don’t think so.

One of the points it makes on this website is that it can help reduce stress and make the whole day run much smoother if you got up 15 minutes earlier. By allowing this time to prepare yourself for what the day has to offer, you are actively assessing the stressor. This is called problem-focused coping. By actively combating things before they happen and allowing extra time, you are creating for yourself, somewhat of a leeway time for unexpected things that might happen throughout your day. Overall, this is a very productive way at looking at things and a great way to get things done while staying on top of stressful situations.

https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/family-living/stress/

Overall, there are very many things that one can do to help them combat the challenges of stress and the only way to find out what works best for you is to test the waters.

 

Spotlight Blog 2 Prompts

Regardless of which option you choose, make sure to use the tag “Spotlight” on your post. Also include the tag listed for the option you choose below. The spotlight post is due by the beginning of class on Monday, 4/16.

Option 1 – Use the tag “Memory”

Now that we’ve discussed how memory works and you’ve had a chance to think about your own study skills, I want you to critically evaluate websites that give students advice about how to study. If you select this option, I want you to find three different websites that provide advice for studying: one targeted toward college students, one targeted toward middle or high school students, and one targeted toward parents. Evaluate the advice provided on each and compare it to what you know about how memory works (include sources), making sure to correct anything you think is bad advice. Be sure to include links to the websites you are evaluating.

Option 2 – Use the tag “Stress”

We’ve discussed a number of different stress management approaches in class, and now I want you to evaluate online resources for stress management. Specifically, I want you to identify three websites that provide stress management tips and discuss how likely you think the strategies they provide are to be successful. Make sure to explain your rationale using what we’ve learned in class and your textbook. Each of the three websites need to be targeted at a different audience but you may select the audiences you want to use (e.g., college students, athletes, parents, artists). Make sure to include links to the websites as part of your post.

Option 3 – Use the tag “Drugs”

One of the largest campaigns to prevent drug use among children was the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. This federal program sought to provide kids with information about the dangers of using drugs, using things like the slogan “Just say no!” While people had high hopes for the program, it ended up being very controversial largely because of how it ended up impacting the rates of drug abuse among children exposed to the program. Research what the data say about the DARE program and argue whether or not it was a successful program. Then take what we learned from DARE and argue whether or not you think similar abstinence-based programs (e.g., sexual education programs) should be used in schools. Make sure to cite your sources.

I look forward to seeing what you write!

Header image: CC by Flickr user Thomas Hawk

Spotlight Post #1

--Original published at Pisacane Perspectives

“The most important question is not whether children from divorced families are having difficulties, but what particular factors cause these differences,” (Hughes). As the vast majority of studies has proven over the past few decades, divorce has effects on the children within the family. These effects, however, vary from child to child which may give off the impression that divorce doesn’t affect them all.

“Current evidence suggests that the loss of parents, economic difficulties, stress, parental adjustment and competence, and interparental conflict all contribute at least to some degree to the difficulties of children,” (Hughes).  With the numerous changes going on in the child’s life, it’s hard to believe that that anyone could be unaffected. Not every child is going to show all the negative effects that divorce has been known to have, which when looking at case studies, may seem to diminish the impact divorce has on children. Over a million couples get divorced in the United States annually, so it only makes sense to view the largest sample possible as each case will be very different. As Fagan and Churchill explain, “there is no way to predict how any particular child will be affected nor to what extent, but it is possible to predict divorce’s societal effects and how this large cohort of children will be affected as a group.”

After decades of studies, there is no doubt that divorce has negative effects on the children of the family. There are numerous reasons for this, and there are numerous ways in which these effects are shown, but as each child reacts and adapts differently, the results have to be looked at generally. One reason for this powerful impact may be because “as of the latest data from the 2009 American Community Survey (shows), only 47 percent reach age 17 in an intact married family,” (Fagan and Churchill). As we know, childhood and adolescence are where the majority of our development as people occur, and the changes which divorce brings on, such as the ones mentioned by Hughes, can alter that development. This may play bigger or smaller roles for each child, but overall, divorce has been proven to have a negative impact.

 

http://marri.us/wp-content/uploads/publications/research_papers/EF12A22.pdf

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/14469/The%20Effects%20of%20Divorce%20on%20Children–1995.pdf?sequence=2

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/contemplating-divorce/200911/divorce-doesnt-harm-children-parents-fighting-harms-child

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-divorce-bad-for-children/

 

Spotlight Post- Caleb C

--Original published at Caleb C's College Blog

Divorce is such a controversial topic, though we see many more divorces than ever. The question sometimes should not be about the parents, but about the children being dragged through such a difficult time at such as young and important part of their life. Through this post I will be examining 4 articles, 2 which defend how divorce is not so bad for children, and 2 which argue that a child can’t come out of a divorce unscarred.

First, let’s examine an article done by Huffington Post, written by Brette Sember, who titles her article, “Why a Good Divorce Is Better Than a Bad Marriage for Kids.” Sember, being a former Divorce Attorney has much experience in the field dealing with divorced parents, thus can shed a lot of insight into how families are impacted. Sember starts off with a strong central message stating, “while there is no question that divorce is hard for kids, it is a far cry better than raising your children in a violent, abusive, angry, or deeply resentful marriage.” She does have a point here, considering that sticking through with a bad and harmful relationship could have an overall negative impact on your children instead of separating and having them live in two peaceful homes. Sember continues to then comment “if you stay married for the sake of your children, you expose them to daily arguments, negative undercurrents, shouting, possible violence, and an atmosphere that is in no way calm and peaceful.” Overall, Sember makes an argument that within the family, if the parents are not at good terms, then forcing a marriage can overall impact a child more negatively than simply divorcing. Also, what I find compelling about Ember’s article is how she addresses the other side of the argument, stating, “while the research is clear that divorce does have an impact on children, it fails to take into account the permanent emotional damage children suffer when they stay in one home with parents who can’t get along.” She continues to say how a divorce frees a family from such a hostile environment.

Secondly, we have another article from Psychology Today, written by Susan Gadoua. She titles her article “Divorce Doesn’t Harm Children – Parents Fighting Harms Child.” So, here we have a second article from another credible source making an argument that divorce itself doesn’t harm the children, what does is the fighting. Right off the bat, Gadoua shows her main message of the article stating, “regardless of whether parents stay together or split, if there is fighting going on between them, the children will suffer.” This is a similar argument made by Sember in the previous article, focusing more on the psychological aspect of fighting and a bad marriage, than the divorce itself and how it impacts the children that way. Gadoua also comments on the other side of the argument who say that divorce is bad for children, by commenting and discrediting a book titled “The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce,” written by Judith Wallerstein, which the main premise of the book is that divorce overall hurts children. Gadoua comments how “any longitudinal study on families like this can’t possibly yield accurate results because you have no way to compare these families to the alternative.” Gadoua is saying here how after studying a family long term, and how the divorce impacts the family, you can’t compare this to the same family if they did not get in a divorce. The closest you can come to comparing divorce factors is by comparing a divorced family and one that stays in tact. She then goes on and says how every family is unique and has their own factors such as, cultural differences, age of children, economic status, degree of tension, and so forth. So overall, you cannot generalize how a divorce can be always bad for the children when there are many unique aspects at play. This is then commented by Gadoua stating, “every situation is truly unique and a myriad of factors need to be weighed such as timing, age of your children, safety for you and your children, financial ability to split up as well as other resources on hand.” She sums up the article by saying how staying with your children can seem like the right thing to do, though that isn’t in every case and when you and your family is in a more happy situation, so will your children be.

Now, coming from the other side, an article written by Harry Benson for Institute for Family Studies, titles his article “When, and Why, Divorce hurts Kids.” He starts off the article by referencing a recent study done stating the study “came out earlier this month concluding that whether parents cooperate or not makes little difference to how children cope with divorce.” This is opposite to the other two articles I analyzed, because both Gadoua and Sember argued that divorcing from a bad environment helps the children, though this study says that doesn’t matter for the children because they still have to cope with the divorce itself. Benson does give the other side some credit though by saying how sometimes there is no other option but divorce considering how toxic the environment is at home. Benson does go on to say though how “in many other cases, however, divorce does damage children, especially where the parents had relatively low levels of conflict. According to one U.S. study, that description applies to about half of divorcing couples.” Benson goes on then to talk about two main reasons why the break up hurts children. First, after a divorce, there is usually fewer resources to pay for life related things, thus the family sometimes has to receive government aid, and also how one parent ends up becoming displaced, typically the father who then “needs to make an extra effort to remain in regular contact with his children.” This doesn’t always happen, and reduced father day-to-day contact typically has a negative impact on children. The second point Benson makes is how the children view the divorce different than the parents. Benson refers to certain questions which go through kid’s minds, such as “what on earth happened? Was it me? Or is that how relationships are? They just go pop for no apparent reason?” This type of thinking can then end up hurting the child’s perceived thought of relationships and impact their relationship life negatively as adults.

Finally, an article written by Tricia Goyer, for Family Life, titles her article “It Hurts to be a Child of Divorce.” She begins the article by talking about personal experiences with divorce as a child as well as her own experience, being 18, when her parents divorced. Overall, as a child, she thought that divorce “didn’t seem right. More than that, it seemed wrong.” Going further into her experience as a child, Goyer thought how weird it was to go to two Christmas Gathering, and two Thanksgivings. To her it seemed unnatural and things never seemed “right” after the divorce. She also comments on the psychological impact the strenuous relationship of her parents had on herself. She references how there will always be a sort of guilt in her mind associated with her parents, always thinking that it was her fault somehow and “if I’d been a better kid it would have been easier for my parents to work it out.” She then sums up the article stating “the best thing you can do for yourself and for your children is to give your marriage a second chance. Don’t think that walking away from your commitment will come without consequences. Don’t think you’re not going to break your children’s hearts.”

For the 4 sources, I believe they were all credible, though some had more of a convincing stance than others. For example, in my opinion, the two best sources came from the Huffington Post article, and the Institute for Family Studies article, both which are very credible sources, defending opposite stances. These are both very credible because they come from well known sources, and one references many studies done on divorce, while the other was a past divorce attorney, thus automatically has some credibility when talking about how divorce impacts families. I believe that based on my research that there are some cases where divorce is necessary for the well-being of both the parents and the children, though I believe that is only the case in extremely toxic situations where the divorce ends up only positively impacting the children. Though, overall, as noted in Benson’s article, half of divorcing parents have relatively low levels of stress, thus the children in those families end up confused and question themselves as to why the divorce occurred because it wasn’t too obvious. So, my consensus would be that in most cases, the children end up being negatively impacted, and I believe that in all cases, every child is scared somehow by the split.

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/contemplating-divorce/200911/divorce-doesnt-harm-children-parents-fighting-harms-child

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/brette-sember/why-a-good-divorce-is-better-than-a-bad-marriage-for-kids_b_6925236.html

https://ifstudies.org/blog/when-and-why-divorce-hurts-kids/

http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/life-issues/challenges/children-of-divorce/it-hurts-to-be-a-child-of-divorce

Spotlight Blog #1

--Original published at Sarah's Blog

Spotlight Blog #1

 

Divorce is becoming more and more common in more recent times. Although being looked down upon in the past, the rate of divorces has risen dramatically. This in turn can affect children in these relationships. The controversy with parents getting a divorce is that many people believe that getting a divorce can negatively affect a child’s emotional well-being and can cause behavioral issues, but others believe a divorce can be positive for a child to relieve tension and arguments from the household.

 

An article from Huffington post describes how a divorce can positively benefit a child contrary to popular belief. The author, Dr. Shoshana Bennett, explains the different ways that children can prosper from a divorce. She states that when the parents are happy, the child in turn will be happy, no matter if the parents live in the same house. The tension that will disappear with a divorce will also help the child to be more relaxed. Getting a divorce lets the parents be their own person and be the best parent that they can be for their child.

 

Another article from PsychologyToday also talks about the benefits of a divorce and how children can still be happy even after their parents separate. The author states that “80 percent of children of divorce adapt well and see no lasting negative,” and that the child will be better off when the parents are getting along and the child can have a good relationship with both caregivers. They also discuss that the necessary resources that a child needs can be provided even if the parents do not live in the same home.

 

The opposite belief is that divorce can hurt the health and well-being of children. Jane Anderson wrote a journal titled “The Impact of Family Structure on the Health of Children: Effects of Divorce” in which she talks about the negative effects of divorce in children. The child would lose time with each parent in the midst of joint custody. Also, the child can develop trust issues which would cause the child to not have a close relationship with one or both parents. Children can be traumatized easily and they are at higher risk of emotional stress.

 

Another article that talks about the negative effects of divorce is “The Psychology of Divorce: A Lawyer’s Primer, Part 2: The Effects of Divorce on Children” written by Dr. Sandford M. Portnoy. Some facts he stated in the article were “The divorce rate in the United States hovers around 50 percent. One-half to two-thirds of those who divorce remarry.” Children of divorce are more prone to depression and anxiety after going through that loss. It was also found that children of divorce are more likely to engage in more delinquent behavior than those whose parents are still together.

 

In my opinion, I do believe that marriage is always a great thing to have in a family, but sometimes it is in the best interest of the child to get a divorce to remove the stress and tension in the household. If the two parents are civil and are able to determine a plan that works for both of them to be able to be kind and be the best parents that they can be for their children, that would be the best way that the children can flourish and work past the stressful times. This will also help the relationships between the children and both parents stay intact.

 

Resources:

 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/18/divorce-and-kids-5-ways-d_n_1519485.html

 

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/splitopia/201503/yes-you-can-raise-happy-children-after-divorce

 

Anderson, Jane. “The Impact of Family Structure on the Health of Children: Effects of Divorce.” The Linacre Quarterly 81.4 (2014): 378–387. PMC. Web. 23 Feb. 2018.

 

 

Portnoy, Sandford M. “The Psychology of Divorce: A Lawyer’s Primer, Part 2: The Effects of Divorce on Children.” American Journal of Family Law, vol. 21, no. 4, Winter2008, pp. 126-134. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27773717&site=ehost-live.

Spotlight Post #1

--Original published at MaddiesCollegeBlog

As stated in the prompt, divorce is a catastrophic event that can happen in someone’s life, and especially in younger children. It is a major decision that definitely should be discussed and planned between the two adults before coming to this decision, as its aftermath could lead to multiple possibilities and it all depends on the two involved. Many researchers have been debating about whether or not this has a heavy psychological effect on children who suffer from this decision will either struggle growing up (with behavior, emotional, developmental issues) or will they end up being relatively exceptional moving forward.

I would first like to start off with the negative aspect of this argument

In the first article I found that it really discusses the negative emotional toll it takes on a child when going through divorce. The author, Jayna Solinger, made a very strong statement that describes divorce perfectly. She said,” Divorce, in any circumstance, rips a child apart, tossing him/her from one house to another, limiting time spent with his/her parents, and confusing him/her.” This description really gives the reader the perspective of what challenges a child is faced with while going through divorce. Then Solinger brings up what she thinks is the biggest problem that occurs during the divorce time period, which is whom the child is going to reside with. She further discusses in detail the effects of the custody battle and why both options (joint & split) are harmful to a child. Nearing the end of the article, she then introduces a statement that was said by a psychologist at the University of Michigan and a divorce expert. The paragraph discusses what his beliefs of divorce are and how they affect children as well. Solinger also added a refutation paragraph stating that not every divorce ends in an ugly matter and “isn’t always a terrible thing.” Following that, she then ends the article with a very heavy paragraph that generalizes her thoughts on the topic. “It generally proves to be more beneficial for a child if his/her parents stay in an imperfect marriage rather than getting a divorce. The various activities that are involved with a divorce severely damage a child.” I would say this is a credible source because it has many reliable resources that she used to construct her article, and it was also published by the Iowa State University.

In the second article I found, It strictly addresses the aftermath effects to children that happen with divorce. The author, Kristen Moutria, states 4 major problems: Difficulty coping, Trouble with Schoolwork, Dealing with Changes and Perceived Loss of a Parent. She separates those topics into four sub-paragraphs and discusses research or statement made by credible people about those topics, and then she briefly discusses why what they said or the research that was done about divorce and how those 4 subjects show how it is detrimental to a child. I feel that this is a credible source because all her statistics, or facts that she used were said or analyzed by reputable institutions and/or people.

In the third article, It is more of an academic journal that was based on research conducted and written by an undergrad at the University of Central Florida. Mainly the research journal discusses how most people have the belief that divorce is a horrid event that psychologically discombobulates children for the rest of their lives. but now, it was time to see if there truly are any positive outcomes. The author, Grant Mohi, discusses how he conducted an experiment to test this theory. Mohi used a multi-method research design, and surveyed data from 233 college students from divorced and intact families. He then randomly selected 10 of those who responded saying that they were from a divorced family, and had a face to face interview with them. His results ended up showing that “many young adults do experience positive outcomes after the divorce and that these outcomes are dependent on a variety of familial and social factors that shape the divorce experience.” It all depends on how an individual specifically reacts. I would definitely classify this article as a credible source because it was published by a reputable institution, has very factual evidence and statistics and seemed professional.

For the final article, I found an article that somewhat relates to the second article structural wise. In this article, the writer discusses the benefits of divorce to children and breaks those ideas into 4 sub paragraphs (communication skills, organization skills, time management skills and relationship building skills) about the skills that they possess because of a divorce situation. He goes into depth about how the skills benefit children, and some kids who don’t go through a divorce situation made lack in these skills. At the end of the article, there was a chilling statistic,”An estimated 40 million American families are living apart these days.” This statistic made me truly realize how common divorce is in society today. I would say this is a credible source because there were multiple statistics and factual-based evidence that supported the claims of the article. Though it is a .com website, it still seemed to be pretty credible

After reading all four articles, I would say that I still feel that divorce affects children in a negative way. Although, the positive side presented arguments that were some-what convincing, I have just seen multiple cases where it has destroyed families and individual people emotionally and physically. From personal experience, I have watched some of my closest friends go through divorce from all ages, from elementary to high school and almost all of them reacted in a negative way. They changed as a person and become someone who they or i never thought they would become, it was truly sad to experience.

References

  1. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rhetoric/105H16/cova/jlscova.html
  2. https://oureverydaylife.com/negative-impact-divorce-can-leave-children-12597.html
  3. https://urj.ucf.edu/docs/mohi.pdf
  4. http://www.totaldivorce.com/after-divorce/parenting/divorce-benefits-for-children.aspx

Spotlight Post #1

--Original published at Site Title

For the first spotlight post of the semester, I chose to look into the first option; the topic of divorce and the effects it does, or does not leave on children. Divorce is a very controversial subject in today’s society, especially with the divorce rate continually inclining. There are many different opinions as to how divorce can leave an effect children, and I have found four different articles that share some of these opinions.

The first article I found is titled The Impact of Divorce on Young Children and Adolescents by Carl E. Pickhardt Ph.D. Pickhardt firmly believes that divorce does leave negative effects on children. Pickhardt claims that when parents get divorced, their child’s, or children’s, trust in dependency upon their parents is effected. This is because there will now always be one parent absent, and they will have to learn to live between two different environments. This creates unfamiliarity, instability, and insecurity for the children. Due to these drastic changes, the child is also left with a great amount of anxiety. Children are often left wondering what might happen next, who will take care of them, and if it is possible for their parents the lose love for them just like they did for each other. Not only does Pickhardt have a Ph.D., but he is also a practicing psychologist and author which is why I am confident that his findings are credible.

Similarly to Pickhardt, Jane Anderson, author of the article The Impact of Family Structure on the Health of Children: Effect of Divorce, feels that divorce does indeed leave negative effects on children. Anderson says that almost three decades of research has concluded that children who are living with both of their married, biological parents have better physical, emotional, and academic well-being compared to children who come from split families. In addition to this, a valid point that Anderson makes is that children may have to deal with a sense of economic insecurity after their parents divorce. Custodial parents on average lose anywhere from 25% to 50% of the pre-divorce income. This means that children have to cut back on many things without understanding why. All they are aware of is that they are no longer receiving as much as they used to which may cause anxiety for many young children. Jane Anderson is an author who is employed through the University of California. All of her information is properly cited, and she included research from a Harvard study. For these reasons I find her article to be trustworthy and credible.

While Pickhardt and Anderson do hold a strong case, there are still many who disagree that divorce leaves harmful effects on children. Susan Pease Gadoua L.C.S.W. wrote an article to say that divorce does not harm children. In her article Divorce Doesn’t Harm Children – Parents Fighting Harms Children, Gadoua says that there is no real evidence that can support the opinion that divorce leave negative effects on children. This is because you cannot compare individual families who are getting divorced while they are also not getting divorced. You can however compare a family who is going through a divorce to a family who is not going through a divorce, but the results will essentially mean nothing because different people react to situations differently. She says that every family is unique, and there are many factors that need to be considered such as the timing of the divorce, the age of the children, the safety of everyone involved, and the financial status of the family. Susan Pease Gadoua is a licensed social worker, and she uses research from credible sources which is why I have found her research to be credible.

Similarly to Gadoua, Randy Dotinga, the author of Parents’ Fighting Has Long-Term Impact on Kids, feels that it is not the divorce itself that leaves negative effects on children, but the fighting that is often paired with a divorce does. Dotinga has collected research that states that children can sense when their parents are angry with one another, and it causes them to lose on average 30 minutes of sleep every night, which comes along with other effects such as irritability, behavioral problems, physical health issues, lower academic performance, and so on. Dotinga says that many parents do not divorce each other because they believe it is what is best for their children, despite the way they feel towards each other. He explains that this however may actually be worse for the children because they are now constantly living in an environment of hostility. Dotinga says that is often actually serves as a relief when their constantly bickering parents finally split. Dotinga collected much of his research from sources including the University of Notre Dame, Auburn University, the University of Rochester, and Brown University. For these reasons, I believe that his work is credible.

Based upon the information that I have gathered from reading these four articles, I personally believe that divorce does have negative effects on most children. Although both sides of the argument do make valid points, and it is true in some cases that a divorce may be better for a child, I believe that the uncertainty a child faces when their parents get divorced is very negatively impactful. This is especially true in the cases of younger children who cannot yet fully understand what is happening, why it is happening, and how to cope with the dramatic changes within their lives.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/201112/the-impact-divorce-young-children-and-adolescents

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4240051/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/contemplating-divorce/200911/divorce-doesnt-harm-children-parents-fighting-harms-child

http://news.healingwell.com/index.php?p=news1&id=530961   

 

Spotlight Post: 1

--Original published at *Psych 105*

Divorce is a situation that is neither pleasant nor easy to deal with, for both the parents as well as their children. Previously, divorce was seen as a taboo and an act that was to be avoided at all costs. However today, divorce rates seem to climb higher and higher with the passing years, the phenomenon appears to be commonplace, and almost expected in some cases. However, the impacts of such a drastic change on children have two very strong and very different viewpoints. Some say that divorce has little effect on children, while others claim that divorce enacts irreversible damage. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, a nonprofit group of over 8,700 licensed and experienced child psychiatrists, children who have parents in the midst of a divorce have the potential to become more vulnerable to poor mental health after suffering the traumatic experience of a divorce. These children face physical and social distress as aggressive tendencies, self-esteem issues, trouble with relationships and deep-set sadness and guilt tend to ensue (2013). Dr. Catherine Lee and Karen Bax of the US National Library of Medicine also support this claim stating that children that have parents going through a divorce experience emotional and behavioral changes in the ensuing months. The distress that the children face is many times connected to feelings of guilt and responsibility for the situation, as well as ultimately being separated from a member of their family unit (2000).

On the other side of the spectrum, Brette Sember, a former divorce attorney, mediator and Law Guardian from the Huffington Post, claims that divorce has the potential to actually save children from harm. In her 2015 article, “Why a Good Divorce Is Better Than a Bad Marriage for Kids”, she states that an unhealthy marriage can expose children to extensive violence, abuse, and emotional trauma. She levels that divorce certainly has permanent effects on children, however, the argument still stands that two positive and healthy homes are better than one unhealthy and toxic one. While not every home environment that is considering or going through a divorce is abusive per say, the toxicity of the situation hinders healthy outcomes for children. Hal Arkowitz and Scott Lilienfeld, advisors for Scientific American Mind, as well as associate and professors of psychology at University of Arizona and Emory University respectively, counter that children recover from the effects of divorce at a rapid rate. In their article “Is Divorce Bad for Children?”, it is stated that children that are exposed to less toxic relationships within the family unit are after better off than children that do experience it in a pre-divorce family. Stress brought about the situation can cause short-term struggle and ultimately may only affect the child seriously in childhood and adolescence. “Scientific research does not support the view that problems in adulthood are prevalent; it instead demonstrates that most children of divorce become well-adjusted adults” (Arkowitz, H., & Lilienfeld, S., 2013).
The varied stances on the effects of divorce tend to stand on a slippery slope. After compiling the information regarding each side, I have come to the conclusion that divorce is the healthiest choice in some cases and does not completely set the child up for failure in the future. This is not to say that it is the end-all-be-all answer, but rather if the situation is toxic and no other option can save the marriage divorce could serve as a viable last resort. Ultimately, the best outcome would be to keep the family unit intact to allow the child or children to have the best chance of developing properly and positively; yet, we do not live in a perfect world. In situations where the parental relationship causes obvious mental and emotional distress on the child, or in cases where the child’s safety and well-being are in jeopardy, a separation of the parents could prove to be the best option. In situations where divorce is used, the needs of the children should be taken care of first and foremost. The disruption of the family has clear effects on the child, and without proper attention from the parent and even counseling or therapy, the negative social and behavioral tendencies can become more concrete. The transition can be more traumatic if the situation is not handled with care; ensuring the child does not feel as though the sequence of events is connected to his or her actions, and that any concerns regarding self-esteem or acting out through aggressiveness and withdrawing are taken seriously, to promote greater outcomes. The physical and mental health concerns associated with children of divorced parents can be addressed in a manner that empowers the child and creates a healthy environment for him or her to grow up and become a well-adjusted adult.