Critical Review

Critical Review:
Karuppaswamy, Nithyakala, Judith A. Myers-Walls, Ph.D., CFLE. The Effect of Divorce on Children: What Makes a Difference. Purdue University. 2006. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
The scholarly article, “The Effect of Divorce on Children: What Makes a Difference”, is a great tool for parents, teachers, counselors, and authors to review in that it explains how a each child who has gone through divorce will have a unique reaction to the change in lifestyle and family. The article discusses some of the factors that are intertwined to create each child’s feelings and response to a divorce. First, the article discusses the idea that the level of conflict will greatly impact a child’s ability to overcome the situation with a positive outlook on family because the more fighting and criticism between parents the more they will struggle to recover. The article goes on to discuss how a parent’s adjustment directly effects a child’s adjustment. In other words, if a parent is positive and consistent in their portrayal of their feelings the child will feel more secure in relaying their ideas and emotions in a healthy way. Further, the article discusses the idea that a child should know, only what is age appropriate, about the divorce. Younger children should be bombarded with the fact that both parents still love them and as they age, be introduced to the more intimate details of what happened and court orders. Following this section of the article, discusses the idea that research has shown that children ages 10-12 often have the most difficult time with divorce because they are old enough to know what is going on, but not old enough to have control over the outcomes of their situations. Further the article states that children, regardless of age, need support from a variety of people. Parents need to be open to their children in answering questions and staying positive about their recovery. Also, brothers and sisters are often great supports because they are going through the same process. Next, children or teens that have experienced divorce can often be a beacon toward the path of successful recovery. The article discusses the idea that girls often adjust to divorce better than boys because, as society deems, girls are allowed to portray emotion whereas boys are taught to hide their feelings and put on a strong and unaffected front. Regardless of age or gender, the article states that it is up to parents, teachers, and counselors to find healthy ways for children to express their feelings and work through the emotions such as reading books, painting, or drawing. This article really does a great job pointing out the key factors that cause differences in a child’s reaction to divorce and how a parent can influence healthy recovery and high self esteem.