Children of Divorced Families
Implications for Treatment
Families in the United States are facing a rapidly rising divorce rate. Children from divorced families are likely to have difficulty dealing with their emotions positively and also find difficulty having healthy social interactions (Demo & Acock, 1993). Providing a cognitive-behavior residential counseling group for the adolescent children that are in divorcing or divorced families may help curb negative affects of the divorce. Through support, processing, and encouragement for these young victims of divorce, group therapy will provide enhancement of social, academic, and emotional success.
During adolescence boys and girls find themselves going through numerous changes. One change that is becoming more popular in the United States and around the world is that of divorce. When adolescent children have either been through a divorce or find their parents considering divorce they are deeply impacted. Providing a support group for these individuals, ages 12-18, would be very beneficial in enhancing their success emotionally, academically, and socially. Lansford, Malone, and Castellino (2006) found that in younger children of divorced families, interventions focused on internalizing and externalizing issues may help the children learn how to better deal with their emotional stressors. The stressors may not only be related to the divorce, but include general situations the child may face. In addition, their findings found that older adolescents would benefit more from interventions focused more on academic success. Children of divorce are also more susceptible to struggle with substance abuse (Neher, 1998). Children from divorced families were found more likely to be substance abusers, even beginning at an early age. Neher (1998) outlines further issues, including problems with social skills, coping skills, and antisocial behavior.
Children in divorced families have higher levels of depression and anxiety than children from intact families (Strohschein 2005). Strohschein (2005) did a study using a sample size of 2,819 children, ages 4-11. This quantitative study looked at divorce and how it influenced child mental health trajectories. This sample includes children from divorced and intact families. These findings suggest that the home life of families that eventually divorced was actually very negative even before the divorce. Strohschein (2005) also reports that families that eventually divorced had less contact with psychosocial resources.
Children of divorce exhibited significantly more mental health problems than children whose parents remain married, making it clear that these problems exist well in advance of the divorce event (Strohschein 2005). The research also found that only in highly dysfunctional families, antisocial behavior in the children decreases after an extended period of time after the divorce. However, anxiety and depression are not typically significantly lowered after the divorce without individual or group therapy. Implications of these results indicate that premarital and marital therapy are critical, so negative patterns may be modified. The result may be lower likelihood of divorce
Judith Wallerstein and Julia Lewis (2004) conducted a 25-year qualitative study of 131 children whose parents divorced in the 1970s. The study found that, during adolescence, the subjects reported many negative affects of divorce. The children from divorced families rarely had boundaries enforced and had a much higher rate of sexual encounters. In relation to drug use: “Although the number of adults from the divorced and comparison groups who reported using drugs and alcohol during high school and college was similar (50% vs. 40%), we found, in accord with other studies (Resnick, 1997), that students in divorced families reported using earlier and using more heavily and over a longer period” (Wallerstein & Lewis 2004).
In addition to these results, the individuals from divorced families had issues in intimacy, relationships, encouragement of higher education, and adult family-life. Some researchers strongly conclude divorce itself is not the main reason behind these troubling findings. Kelly and Emery (2003) suggest that contextual factors of the family situation are more of an influence on the children’s psychological stability.
Limited research has been conducted on specific interventions for families of divorce in a group setting (Kelly & Emery, 2003). The core research in this area has been done on mediation between family members, making custody discussions, hearings, and the divorce process a bit smoother (Kelly & Emery, 2003). Cognitive-behavior therapy has been found very effective in groups dealing with issues of depression and anxiety and with adolescents dealing with self-esteem issues (Enns, Cox, & Pidlubny, 2002; Rigby & Waite, 2006). Although these methods have leaned more towards individual therapy, research shows that the effectiveness in group therapy is high. Individuals that participated in the research involving CBT were found to have pulled out of depression soon after beginning CBT treatment within a group (Enns, Cox, & Pidlubny, 2002). In groups that incorporated CBT methods such as metaphors, stories, and experiential exercises the results in raising members’ self-esteem were very successful. A group using cognitive-behavior therapy would be very effective in working with adolescents that come from divorced homes.
Having an adolescent group of children from divorced families opposed to having individual therapy is more effective because of several reasons. The primary reason a group would be beneficial for this population is because they have general difficulties forming meaningful relationships. Being in an empathetic, cohesive, accountable, and relative group atmosphere is very conducive to therapeutic progress for these individuals (Piper, Ogrodniczuk, Lamarche, Hilscher, & Joyce, 2005). Being able to relate with group cohesion and interpersonal learning is a primary factor in success of a group (Yalom & Leszcz, 2005). Many believe that teens are more likely to listen to peers than adults, making a group for adolescents ideal in the situation of changing families because they can learn from and accept one-another (Jacobs, Masson, & Harvill, 2009). A residential treatment facility would include numerous contexts for group therapy. Adolescents within a residential group would find accountability, cohesion, and security. These teens would also be able to look to their group leaders for affirmation, challenge, and empathy.
Adolescents going through the stress of a divorce typically have difficulty dealing with typical life situations. Incorporating a dynamic therapy that serves to restructure their core beliefs and form positive thought patterns within a positive group environment has shown to be very effective. This type of group has proven to be very effective with adolescents in divorcing or divorced families (Jacobs, Masson, & Harvill, 2009).
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