Essay on the project proposal

1. Causes of divorce and its effects on a child’s development
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2. No matter what others might say, we all have the right to the pursuit of happiness.
Happiness and tranquility in life is the purpose and the basic right of a human being. Some
individuals should not have married each other if they do not feel comfortable. Often, results
came in shape of divorce. At the end, the child gets suffered, and his life becomes miserable.
Divorce is more specifically a legal action between two married couples for
terminating/ending their relationship. Every year, thousands of Canadians children get suffered
due to parent’s divorce. According to statistical data published by Anon (2007), it has been
figured out that about 2.64 million people have obtained legal divorce within a year gap of 2000-
2007 in Canada. The intensifications in divorce rates have been among the most noticeable
features of family change in recent decades. Some have observed this as a sign of moral and
social disruption with the potential to destroy the society’s foundations and shatter the family
institution itself. Others have revealed divorces as signaling suffocating social mores and
increased individual liberty. Despite these facts, some of the theorists are contradicting this
prospective on the detrimental impacts of divorce. They profoundly claim that divorce became
obligatory when two couples are not happy with each other. They consider divorce as a
predicament for a child’s relief who is experiencing depression and negativity due to an
unhealthy relationship between parents. The problem lies in the difference in child upbringing by
both a mother and a father or the child rise by a single parent. Despite different approaches, it
can be observed that divorce is one of the most profound life events and can cause major
upheaval and stress in a child’s life. Family instability and divorce have attracted wide attention
among social philosophers and scientists. In the context of this paper, many arguments
contributing to the viable causes behind obtaining a divorce were mentioned. Moreover, the
notion of divorce effect on Child development was also the scope of this study.

3. Despite the emphasis made by social scientists and theorists to shape our knowledge
regarding divorce, there is no viable reason present for why people divorce? It is because divorce
is not happening due to one factor, there are many factors contribute to it. Moreover, it cannot be
predicted on the day when the people bind in a marriage relationship. Relevant to different
studies regarding the profound causes of divorce and their effect on child development, this
article is presenting several resonating prospective pertinent to that.
The most predominant cause of divorce is the independence of women. Over the years, it
has been observed that women’s independence is a primitive reason which influenced divorce.
Other authors also supported this perspective and perceived that divorce often happens when
women had the practice of following their own career and working, despite they understand its
negative consequences on the child . This swayed women's earning capability and gave
considerable risk to her marital life, especially in the presence of other problems as well. Hence
it can be concluded that many women lingered in marriage just because they had no other way
but to do so having no economic opportunities and earning power to become independent from
their spouses. In other words, Divorce between martial couples often affected their total income
which is one of the common reasons why many couples bind in a marriage relation just to
prevent this from occurring. The second most prevalent cause of divorce is economic factors. It
is the core of every evil in society. Personally, it has been observed that most couples are stuck in
financial strains and could not compensate against daily expenditures due to unemployment or
inadequate financial resources. In the end, they finally end up their marriages with divorce or
separation and child get suffered emotionally. Besides these, lack of education, social skills, and
poor intellectual skills are also responsible for the divorce. Noticeably, education makes a man
initiate the responsibilities applicable to sustain a happy life. However, lack of education makes

4. couples to sway away from their marriage obligations and shatter their marriage relations, which
also impacts child’s developmental abilities and pose him to experience emotional traumas such
as frustration, embarrassment, fear of rejection, concerned about being cared for, maturity,
regression, or any physical symptoms. According to Morin (2019), “There is a fear of rejection.
If my parents can stop loving each other, can they stop loving me?’ There is a fear of the future:
‘What will happen to me now?’ There is a fear of abandonment: If my parents can leave each
other, they can also leave me.’ ‘In the face of these uncertainties, a child may regress by acting
more immature and dependent in order to receive more attention and caretaking support.”
Pertinent to the above causes, substance abuse and alcoholism also contribute to producing
problems in marriage. These risk behaviors are strongly related to marriage dissimilation for both
sexes. Moreover, these risk behaviors can also make a married couple less dedicated towards
familial life, due to which child development becomes hamper.
Contrary to the above discussion, several theorists are suggesting that divorce is a
sensible decision when a married couple does not fit together. They suggested that divorce is
beneficial and necessary when marriage relations do not really work in providing relief to
children. Staying together for the sake of the child is not always necessary. This argument
upholds that divorce among parents does not harm children, who in fact engage in delinquent and
violent acts whilst cohabiting with their miserable parents in a violent atmosphere. The Journal
of Youth and Adolescence further argues that Kids are likely to experience anger, distress,
disbelief, and anxiety. But many children also seem to bounce back. They grow comfortable with
their own standards and get used to changes in their daily routines. In now a day’s society, many
children have grown up to become successful and emotionally stable whether they had two or
one parents to show them the rocky path that life confers upon all human beings. However, they

5. didn’t really give concentration to the fact that some children, who are rejected and deprived by
their parents, never really seem to go back to the normal state. Divorced parents and children are
constantly struggling to somehow compensate their agonies; however, they experience a constant
trauma. This large percentage of children may encounter ongoing, possibly even prolong life
problems after their parents’ divorce. It may give rise to increase child’s behavior problems, poor
academic performance, and more vulnerable to mental health problems such as continuous stress,
traumas, and depression. However, despite the arguments that are in favor of divorce, there are
some other questions that could emerge in one’s mind, countering supportive arguments
regarding parent’s divorce; What role would stepsiblings and stepparents play? Does a child
need the supports of both parents? Does a boy need a father or mother figure around? Does the
government provide help for abandoned and rejected children? What people must recognize is
that properly raising a child does not depend on the structure and composition of a family but
should be more focused and concentrated on the values or processes that are taught to these
children as they learn to mature. Children of divorced parents can be just as progressive with
social, emotional, and behavioral skills as those married parents. The answer to these questions
lies in only one answer that the only pathway for children to gain full behavioral and emotional
skills is to be raised by both a father and a mother. Moreover, children can also begin to act up in
education, and become disobedient towards authority, which tantamount to grades dropping.
This paper presented several arguments regarding the causes of divorce and its effect on
child development. Despite the reasonable circumstances where divorce becomes the last option
in pursuit of short-term happiness, the aspect of a healthy and profound relationship should be
considered. Parents should understand the consequences of divorce and its long terms effect on
child psychological, cognitive, and behavioral development. Parents should give a chance to love

6. and understanding. Moreover, respect provision to each other feelings and obligations are
necessary to sustained long term relationships. Sharing the reasons before the conflict can
reinforce the atmosphere of a healthy relation.
References
Clarke-Stewart, Alison and Cornelia Brentano. 2008. Divorce: Causes and Consequences.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Colapinto, Matthew. 2002. The Effects of Divorce on Children.
Anon. 2007. “Emotional Effects Of Divorce On Children.” The Labor of Love Articles.
Retrieved February 1, 2020 (http://www.thelaboroflove.com/articles/emotional-effects-of-
divorce-on-children).
Garrison, Sarah and Pat Sims. n.d. “Children: Effects of Divorce on Adolescents.” Cultural
Sociology of Divorce: An Encyclopedia.
Anon. 2017. “How Does A Divorce Affect A Child Young People Essay.” UKEssays.com.
Retrieved February 1, 2020 (https://www.ukessays.com/essays/young-people/how-does-a-
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Research.” Journal of Divorce & Remarriage 42(3-4):153–71.

7. Meyer, Cathy. 2017. “What Is the Definition of Divorce?” LiveAbout. Retrieved February 1,
2020 (https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-a-divorce-1103062).
Morin, Amy. 2019. “The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children.” Verywell Family.
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divorce-on-kids-4140170).
Anon. 2014. “Single Parents Essay Examples.” Kibin. Retrieved February 1, 2020
(https://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/tag/single-parents).
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