ives. Children that are in households without two biological parents usually display lower levels of well being than their counterparts in intact nuclear families. The effects of youthful well being are especially acute when the cause of parental absence is marital separation, divorce, or desertion. After a divorce, there are significant changes in family composition, parent-child interaction, discipline, and socioeconomic conditions, and emotional reactions from both the parents and the children.

Investigators have determined an approximate age range where children are the most vulnerable to parental divorce and disengagement. They identified that 3-9 years of age tend to be the most vulnerable time for children to experience such ordeal. Children below three years of age have limited awareness of what is really going on. Therefore they are less affected than 3-9 year olds. Children between the ages of 3-9 often blame themselves for the parental divorce. They see themselves as the bad person. They also distinguish the situation as being really severe; hence they seem to go through a lot of distress. Older children tend to adjust more readily because they are more likely to discuss the situation with friends, many of whom have the same experiences). They also understand that they are not personally responsible, recognize the final decision of the situation, appreciate both the parents for their positive qualities, and recognize benefits from the divorce such as ending parental fighting and improved relations with parents. As age appears to be one of the factors affecting the outcome of divorce, gender is also another one trailing along. Boys have been reported to cope less effectively than girls with divorce. Some studies suggest that negative effects of family disruption on academic performance are stronger for boys than for girls. Adjustment problems are more severe and last for longer periods of time among boys. They may experience greater anguish than girls because their same sex role models, fathers, are usually the ones who disengage from the family. Children living with opposite-sex parents, mother in custody of boys and father in custody of girls, were not as well adjusted on measures of competent social behavior. Most of the evidence indicates that boys without adult male role models demonstrate more feminine behaviors. While females traditionally outscore males on standardized tests of verbal skills and males outperform females on mathematical skills, males who have experienced family disruption generally score higher on verbal aptitude. Thus the absence of a father may result in a feminine orientation toward education. Because gender identity is usually developed by age 3, the effects of the father being absent on gender appropriate behavior may be most evident among boys who are very young (ages 5 and under). Custodial parents go through trauma as well. As their partner disengages from the relationship, they often experience trauma, loss, stress, anger, and ambivalence. Thus, not only children go through the pains but also the individuals involved as well as other family

Some topics in this essay:
, Demo Acock, Wallerstein Kelly, Kinard Reinherz, academic achievement, social competence, divorce children, et al, socioeconomic status, demo acock 1988, acock 1988, prior divorce, lower levels, family disruption, role models, relationship age child, child gender child, age child gender, child family socioeconomic,