The significance of keeping a family together as a decisive influence on the personality of a child as he or she grows does not need any arguing. The togetherness of a family is the matrix under which the development of a child at the early stages rests on. Also, it is the arena of which the strongest emotional ties to a child are founded as well as the background where the child’s most passionate life is built. The purpose of this assignment is, thus, to provide an opportunity to look more deeply at what the impacts different risk factors might have on the normal developmental processes.
Parent-Child Separation and the Psychological Effects that it come about
According to Rutter (1971), it is important for families to stay together especially when such a family has children. The author states that children who are raised up in families with both the parents do not suffer from the psychological effects that come about as a result of divorce or separation of parents. The parents take part in the nurturing of the personalities of the children as well as the future of the children. As such, children from broken families are at a risk of suffering from low self-esteem that results in poor personalities. The low self-esteem comes about as such children are sometimes abused by their fellow children who come from families that are intact. The children can also suffer from the psychological effects that come about due to what the society members say and any kind of discrimination. The author also states that a young child who gets separated from his mother at the age of five for a long duration stands a greater risk of developing persistent misbehavior.
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Ackerman, Kogos, Youngstrom, and Izard (1999), describes the manner in which instability in any family can result in problem behaviors of children and especially the children who come from the families that are economically disadvantaged. Ackerman et al. further states in their journal that children who are aged between five to seven years in such economically disadvantaged families suffer a lot as their families are always at a risk of breaking up. Lack of finance to pay for the necessities such as house rent, fees, daily meals, medication, and clothing among other important issues can make one of the parents to desert his or her family. As such, children who come from a one parent family normally find it hard to get all the requirements that they desire in life, and the result can be joining gang groups that participate in the robbery and drug dealing. The children can end up becoming rogues because of lack of support, counseling, and guidance from the parents.
Marshall, Hudson, and Hodkinson (n.d), note in their article that it is significant for all the parents to band with their children as it helps in protecting the infants from dangers from diseases and other calamities. Marshall et al. further notes that the bond that exists between children and their parents right from birth gives children the self-belief to discover the world. The attachment will hence, assist in the development of positive feelings such as a feeling of security and love. On the contrary, a brief separation or a threat of the parents divorcing or both parents being away from a child can result in grief, distress, and despair. The article also states that a child whose parent is ever happy with will also relate positively with other children. Such children are more emphatic, sociable, and can also be imitated by other children.
Amato (2010) notes down in his article that parental divorce and separation relate to quite a number of negative outcomes such as poor performance in class work for adolescents and younger children. Divorce and separation of parents associate with premature school drop out in children as well as other serious problems that are disruptive. Such children become oppositional to the people who are in authority. They constantly engage in stealing, fights, and alcohol and drug abuse. Additionally, Amato states that adolescents and children who are brought up with a single parent always suffer from low self-esteem, depressed moods, and emotional grief.
McLanahan, Donahue, and Haskins, (2005) note down that divorce among parents relates to outcomes that are negative and earlier transitions in life as children go through all the stages of development in their lives. Children from families that suffer from prolonged separation are likely to experience failure in their education, early sexual engagement, poverty, cohabitation, early marriage, and marital divorce as well. Moreover, problems of emotions that relate with prolonged separation between parents and their children also escalate during a tender age in adulthood. Comprehending the degree of these casualties and other mechanism problems, through which prolonged separation of parents influences the behaviors of children, thus has vital societal consequences.
In summary, going by the contents of the five articles that have been discovered above by different authors, it is quite clear that the authors share the same points of view regarding the impacts of prolonged separation of parents from their children. The authors jointly indicate that prolonged separation of parents from their children adversely affects children and hinders their all round development. Such children are always not free to mingle with the rest of the members of the society, and they tend to suffer a lot from emotional distress than their counterparts from children who have their parents with them.
References
Ackerman, B., P., Kogos, J., Youngstrom, E., & Izard, C. (1999). Family instability and the problem behaviors of children from economically disadvantaged families . Journal of Development Psychology , 35 (1), 258-268.
Amato, P., R. (2010). Research on divorce: Continuing trends and new developments . Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 650-666.
Marshall, W., L., Hudson, S., M., & Hodkinson, S. (n.d). The Importance of Attachment Bonds in the Development of Juvenile Sex Offending . The Journal of the Importance of Attachment Bonds, 6, 164-177
McLanahan, S., Donahue, E., & Haskins, R. (2005). Marriage and child wellbeing. The Future of Children. 15, 3-12.
Rutter, M. (1971). Parent-Child Separation: Psychological Effects on the Children. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 12( 4), 233-260.
