Divorce, Family Process and Family Structure in Adolescent wellbeing (Essay Sample)

Divorce, Family Process and Family Structure in Adolescent wellbeing
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InstitutionDivorce, Family Process and Family Structure in Adolescent wellbeing
Today the demographic character of families is changing fast with the rise of family unions that never existed before. With these changes, the philosophical basis of relationships is changing as well. Marriage is not treasured by many young adults and is considered old-fashioned and in its place there is the emergence of cohabitating relationships (Langton & Berger, 2011). With these changes in society, more and more adolescent children find themselves in dysfunctional families. Divorce is sometimes a difficult process leading to cases of emotional and psychological distress to both the couples and their children (Balistreri & Alvira-Hammond 2016). This essay will aim to differentiate between family process and family structure and their impact on adolescents’ wellbeing. Moreover, it will also discuss the best ways for parents considering divorce can abate the negative impact of divorce on their children.
The family processes are defined as a variety of functions that families undertake to enable them cope with the changing or changed family relationships. On the other hand, family structures are descriptions of the members of the family that are linked by formal unions like marriage and descent (Langton & Berger, 2011). Previous research on adolescent wellbeing after divorce mostly focused generally on how family structures upset adolescents’ state of mind and wellbeing. However, above and beyond family structure, there are some family processes that may have an adverse impact on the welfare of the adolescents (Balistreri & Alvira-Hammond 2016). According to Langton & Berger, the adolescents who are brought up in single families and social-parent homes fare worse on numerous developmental aspects of child development as compared to the adolescents that have two biological parents (2011). There are voluminous reasons as to why the adolescents from single and social-parent homes may be adversely affected by their up bring. First, research has shown that most of these families are economically depressed and are in most cases unable to provide the level of livelihood that a majority of the two biological parents are able to, with the lack of equal opportunities, the bleaker their future prospects to build better lives for themselves. Secondly, most states have invested heavily in healthcare, and most adolescents from single and social parent families access less health support and possibly less government-supported parental supervision than the adolescents from two biological-parent families(Langton & Berger, 2011; Balistreri & Alvira-Hammond 2016).
After any divorce, the family structures transition affecting the adolescent emotionally and psychologically. The process of breakup and eventual partnering lead to unstable adolescents if not managed well. Research has shown that these changes in the family roles, functions, and relationships lead to challenges in the adolescent’s wellbeing. They are said to exhibit poor cognitive, social-emotional, and behavioral abilities as compared to their counterparts from stable families with two biological parents (Langton & Berger, 2011).
Divorce is sometimes inevitable, and when this happens, the families need to come up with effective ways of dealing with the adolescents to ensure that they are guided well towards responsible adulthood. Research has shown that effective parenting is the best and most effective way of ensuring that these adolescents in single and social parent families have a better life. First, the use of both warmth and discipline is critical in ensuring that the rebellious nature of these adolescents is tamed. Secondly, the creation of a conducive environment for these children is important. The creation of a parent-child relationship that is positive will help them open up and communicate more, and this gives the pare