Annotated Bibliography
Amato, Paul R. "The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children - Amato - 2004 - Journal of Marriage and Family." Wiley Online Library. 2 Mar. 2004. Web.
Amato received hi doctorate’s degree at Penn State and is the co-investigator of two major research projects: 1) longitudinal study of more than 2,000 married persons and their offspring funded by the National Institute on Aging; 2) a longitudinal study of 400 families with children, looking at inter-relationships between hormones and family processes, funded by the W. T. Grant Foundation. He has received several research awards including Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts; Reuben Hill Award from the National Council on Family Relations. In the article, Amato states that divorced individuals experience more stress, psychological distress, lower happiness, and lower self esteem. Compared to married couples, divorced couples tend to have quite a few more health problems and greater risk of mortality. Divorced couples also undergo social isolation. However women experience more self confidence and a higher sense of control following a marital dissolution and men have a more willingness to self-disclosure.
Di Meglio, Francesca. "How to Avoid Divorce." Newlyweds. Web.
Francesca Di Meglio is an editor, writer, and reporter who has written about weddings, marriage, sex, romance, parenting, and personal finance for numerous publications and websites including Ladies' Home Journal and iVillage. Di Meglio earned a B.A. in journalism from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In her article, she writes about the different ways newlywed couples could avoid divorce. Francesca states that couples, whether having issues or not, should seek help to better their relationship. If and when the relationship begins to take a wrong turn, the couple should start to examine their selves versus their partner. Once each partner begins to turn the mirror on their selves, the relationship will become stronger. The article also states that the couple should take time out for each other such as eating dinner together, taking walks and cuddling on the couch. Being in tune with one another could lead to a very long and healthy marriage. Once children begin to develop into the picture, stress upon the child would be minimal due to the strong marriage.
Eleoff, Sara. "Divorce Effects on Children." Child Advocate - Helping Parents and Professionals. 23 Nov. 2003. Web.
Sara Eleoff obtained her Doctor's degree at Pennsylvania State School of Medicine who states in her article how divorce affects young children. She argues that divorce causes stress towards children by causing lack of sleep or sleep disturbance. It also causes children to grieve openly for the departed parent. Children a little older will feel emotionless and powerless. Children may also feel as if their life is turning upside down and have suicidal thoughts and actions. This is frightful to believe that a separation between two adults could cause the child to have so much stress build up inside of them.
Szilagyi, MD, PhD, Moira. "Divorce: Social Issues Affecting Children and Their Families: Merck Manual Home Edition." Merck & Co., Inc. Is a Global Research-driven Pharmaceutical Products Company. Web. 23 Mar. 2011.
Moira Szilagyi, MD, PhD is assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and the medical director of foster care pediatrics for the Monroe County, New York State Department of Health. Szilagyi mentions that separation and divorce are the two things that could mentally deter a child. Children feel like they have lost their world. Their world that they have known has ended. During divorce, children may feel as if school work isn't important anymore. The child may also have fantasies of their parents getting back together. The thought of that could help mend the child's emotional state. Also, if the parents remarried, it could cause a lot of stress upon the child. The child could also act out in rage because of the new adjustment. However, this could build a sense of stability for the child. Once a separation begins, the parents should still be active in the child's life to make it feel like a family still.
Wolf, Jennifer. "Ways to Help Children Cope With Divorce." Single Parents - Help, Support, and Encouragement for Single Parents. 11 Apr. 2007. Web.
Jennifer Wolf is a Certified Parent Coach and fervent advocate of single moms and dads. Jennifer has been an advocate for single parents since 2004, when she began teaching parenting classes through a program called "PEACH" in Hunterdon County, NJ. Jennifer earned her parent coach certification through The Parent Coaching Institute, which offers a graduate level coach training program in conjunction with Seattle Pacific University's Graduate School of Education. Jennifer's online article states the different ways to help children cope with divorce. She says that when divorce is arising, the parent should be completely honest with they child so they won't be any surprises or complications. When a child asks a question about the relationship, the parent should never bad mouth the opposing parent. By doing so, this can make the child uneasy. Also, never give details pertaining to the divorce and never engage in a fight right in front of the child. By the child witnessing any of this, he/she could be torn for a while.
