SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT REGARDING DIVORCE

To Prepare:

• Choose two of the following aspects of social and emotional development:
  • Relationship with and interactions between mother, father, siblings
  • Quality of peer relationships
  • Empathy
  • Expression of emotion
  • Emotion regulation (e.g., impulse control)
  • Romantic relationship formation/success
• Choose a developmental stage to focus on in this Discussion (e.g., preschool years, middle childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood). (Note: If you choose emerging adulthood, please make sure you focus on the development of individuals 18–25 whose parents are divorcing.)
• Consider how divorce has been shown to impact that aspect of development in the short and long term.

By Day 4

Post an analysis of how divorce has been shown to impact the aspect of social and emotional development that you selected, both within the first 2 years after the divorce as well as long term (e.g., into adulthood). Reference at least two peer-reviewed articles beyond this week’s Learning Resources to support the arguments you present in your post.

Required Readings

Clarke-Stewart, A., & Parke, R. D. (2014). Social development (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

• Chapter 7, “Family: Early and Enduring Influences” (pp. 188–222)
  Social Development, 2nd Edition by Clarke-Stewart, A.; Parke, R. D. Copyright 2014 by John Wiley & Sons – Books. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons – Books via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Denham, S. A., Bassett, H. H., & Wyatt, T. (2015). The socialization of emotional competence. In J. Grusec & P. Hastings (Eds.), The handbook of socialization (2nd ed., pp. 590–613). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Handbook of Socialization, 2nd Edition by Grusec, J.; Hastings, P. Copyright 2015 by Guilford Publications, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Guilford Publications, Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Dunsmore, J. C., Her, P., Halberstadt, A., & Perez-Rivera, M. B. (2009). Parents’ beliefs about emotions and children’s recognition of parents’ emotions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 33(2), 121–140.
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Hoyt, W. T., Fincham, F. D., McCullough, M. E., Maio, G., & Davila, J. (2005). Responses to interpersonal transgressions in families: Forgivingness, forgivability, and relationship-specific effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(3), 375–394.
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Required Media

Apted, M., & Lewis, C. (Producers). (2013). 56 up [Motion picture]. United Kingdom: ITV Studios.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 hours, 24 minutes.

Answer preview

Once the parents have divorced, a significant short-term effect is that the children become rebellious and resistant to following the rules set at home. This mostly happens as a result of feelings of anger and hatred due to the separation. During the adolescent stage, children are encountered with identity crises since; they try to develop their individuality so that they are independent of their parents. That is why at this stage, the children value the relationships they develop with their peers than with their families…