MICHELLE CALCAGNI UNIV 200 How is a child’s in-CLASS BEHAVIOR and academic success AFFCTED BY THE PARENTAL STATUS AT HOME, depending IF THE PARENTS ARE SEPARATED VERSUS TOGETHER? MICHELLE CALCAGNI UNIV 200

SUB-CLAIM 1: CHILDREN WITH PARENTS WHO ARE TOGETHER, GENRALLY are better behaved, more prepared and are more ACADEMICALLY successful. RQ: How is a Child’s In-Class Behavior and Academic Success Affected by the Parental Status at Home, Depending if the Parents are Separated Versus Together? “Teachers and parents of students living in divorced or single-mother families report a significantly higher number of behavior problems [in comparison to students with intact families], including temper tantrums, fighting, bullying, cheating, lying, and stealing (Bank et al. 1993)” (Huffman, 39). “…the divorce may slightly exacerbate preexisting academic inequalities” (Potter, 940). In this study, children of intact families were compared with those of split homes and the differences were evident in the school setting. These differences are due to the factors of the parental dynamics at home, especially, the lack of having both parents present to model and discipline proper behavior. Children in this study were found to already have problems in learning; however, the stress that is impressed upon a child from a divorce can increase the difficulty to progress academically.

SUB-CLAIM 2: CHILDREN WHO GO THROUGH A PARENTAL DIVIDE ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO FACE DISADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS IN school THAN THOSE WITH MARRIED PARENTS. RQ: How is a Child’s In-Class Behavior and Academic Success Affected by the Parental Status at Home, Depending if the Parents are Separated Versus Together? Children going through a parental split are heavily influenced by their surroundings and the actions of their parents. A stressful event, such as a divorce, heavily impacts children, causing them to show negative symptoms that are detrimental to their well-being due to the change and adaptation of a new life. Children in the divorce stage seemed to have faced more severe effects rather than those in other stages. These effects were primarily psychological and heavily impacted their mental well-being. “…common reactions to parental divorce of school-age children indicated signs of depression, withdrawal, marked deterioration in-class performance, and persistent requests for an explanation for the reasoning their parental separation had to occur” (Brady, 408). “Specifically, compared with their counterparts in intact families, children of divorce were more likely to struggle with ‘anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, and sadness’’ while their parents were in the divorce stage” (Kim, 507).

SUB-CLAIM 3: CHILDREN show different AFFECTs from A PARENTAL DIVIDE DEPENDENT ON THE AGE OF THE CHILD. RQ: How is a Child’s In-Class Behavior and Academic Success Affected by the Parental Status at Home, Depending if the Parents are Separated Versus Together? “Nomination of age 12, early-mid puberty, as the time when parents can most influence child outcomes, points to pressing concerns that eclipse early life matters. Alternatively, early development may be viewed as less amenable to parental influence” (Worthman, 66). “Older children from divorced families were more likely to exhibit ineffective coping styles, in that they were less able to adapt to daily challenges and disappointments than their peers from intact families” (Kurtz, 561).   When a child is going through puberty, their body has an increase in hormone levels. This is a huge factor to their emotional well-being when dealing with situations that are new to them and cause stress. In addition, their maturity level has developed well enough to understand the situation; whereas, being younger can mean a child is still not fully capable to understand the entirety of a situation. This suggests that children of divorce face more challenges as they are in/have reached puberty, especially while confronted with diminished psychosocial coping resources and the physical absence of one of their parents.

SUB-CLAIM 4: CHILDREN IN SITUATIONS OF PARENTAL DIVORCE AND SEPARATION NEED ADDITIONAL, OUTSIDE SUPPORT TO HELP ENSURE THEIR ACADEMIC SUCCESS. RQ: How is a Child’s In-Class Behavior and Academic Success Affected by the Parental Status at Home, Depending if the Parents are Separated Versus Together? “Moreover, caring support and close attention to help adolescents through this challenging period may be particularly important for those who have been subject to cumulative risks from poor environments (Theall et al., 2012)”(Worthman, 66). “Generally, primary goals in approaching treatment of symptoms for children of divorce include normalizing common experiences of children of divorce, clarifying divorce-related issues and terms in a manner children can understand, providing safe and supportive environments where children can express emotions, and develop skills for problem solving, anger management, and communication (DeLucia-Waack & Gellman, 2007)”(Stekoll, 17). The chances of risks are very high during the development of adolescents and the need for support is vital to prevent long term effects of poor experiences. Programs have been put together to directly address students who are in situations of parental separation to help prevent the negative impacts of a divorce on a child and to ensure that they have the support they need while dealing with this event.

Where to NEXT? Work on the specificity of RQ – “parents are separated” Do the disadvantageous effects of divorce reverse if the parent is remarried? Identifying counter arguments – Although the child is living in a household with both parents, is it still healthier for them even if the parents have an unhealthy relationship? What are some circumstances where a divorce may be the better option for children?

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