Critique of the Dykeman Article - Essay Example

Critique of the Dykeman Article and Number 29-07 Critique of the Dykeman Article Dykeman’s article clearly demonstrates the relation between family conflict resolution and children’s classroom behavior. The author conducted a remarkable family system intervention among 15 children of recently separated or divorced parents who were with their custodial parents with a view to reduce their family conflict and improve classroom behavior and the results of the t-test showed significant decrease in verbal aggression and increase in verbal reasoning. The results of the study are highly useful for the United States as there are one million divorces occurring every year as per the statistics of U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996 (Dykeman, 2003, p. 41). No doubt, theses parental divorces can adversely affect the future life of such children; these can negatively affect the psychological health of children and their performance at school. Children are also very much affected by the manner of interaction between their parents both before and after the divorce; children fail to meet academic and social expectations at school and are moved by feelings of anxiety, depression, aggression, lack of emotional well-being and self-esteem (Dykeman, 2003, p. 42). This highlights the role of school counselors and pinpoints the need of introducing primary, secondary and tertiary interventions among these children. The purpose of Dykeman’s study was to observe the effects of pre-referral tertiary-intervention program on such children who were referred for special education assessment due to behavioral difficulties that stemmed from their parents’ separation or divorce. 21 students (even though only 15 of them completed the treatment and follow up) were thus selected and the community agency counselors administered a conflict-resolution model of family-systems intervention on both the children and their respective custodial parents. The treatment focused mainly on the “cognitions and behaviors operant within the family environment that both preceded and followed classroom misbehavior and the strategies used by the custodial parent to discipline and socialize the child” (Dykeman, 2003, p. 43). The participant children were enrolled either in their seventh or eighth grade and the 15 custodial parents were middle aged, with 13 mothers and 2 fathers. The progress made by the children were measured using the Conflict Tactics Scale in terms of their reasoning, verbal aggression, and violence. It is worthwhile to attempt a critique of the statistical analysis presented throughout the article. As already mentioned an adapted version of Fisher’s and Corcoran’s Conflict Tactics Scale was employed and the scores represented the number of times the action was reported over past six months. Subscales were used to measure reasoning, verbal aggression, and violence and the number of times each one was used to resolve conflict during the six months were calculated. The score 0 was given when there was no occurrence of any of the indicators. The participants were made to undergo Conflict Tactics Scale before the treatment and a post-test after the completion of the six months. The following scores were used by the author to assess the behavioral change of the participants: “0 = much deterioration, 1 = some deterioration, 2 = no change, 3 = some improvement and 4 = much improvement” (Dykeman, 2003, p. 44). The statistical scores and interpretations employed by the author provide a clear cut picture of the results and implications of the study. The results and the research findings presented in the article deserve primary attention in this regard. The results of the study clearly demonstrate that there was significant improvement in student reported use of verbal reasoning (t (14) = 4.294, p < . 01) and a subsequent decrease in student reported use of verbal aggression (t (14) = 3.623, p < . 01) after the completion of the six months treatment. Similarly, the average probability of the use of reasoning increased from 3.00 times to 4.20 times whereas the reported use of verbal aggression could be brought down from 4.87 times to 3.87 times (Dykeman, 2003, p. 45). However, the results of the study showed that there were not any considerable changes to the reported use of physical aggression before and after the treatment; the reported use of physical aggression after six months was 1.33 times from 1.73 times during the pre test. In the same way thirteen out of the 15 teachers who taught these participants testified that there were remarkable improvements in the classroom behaviors of these participants. The findings of the study are quite significant as it clearly shows that effective pre-referral intervention can reduce the number of students being sent to special education. The results of the study also pointed out that children who suffer psychologically, mentally and physically due to the separation or divorce of their parents can be brought back to normal life through community agency counseling programs. The findings of the study also highlight the pivotal role that the community agency counselors can play in assisting students to cope up with the inner stress that is resulted from their parents’ separation or divorce. No doubt, the findings of the study offer possible solutions for the turmoil and family dissolution caused by divorces among couples. The article also emphasizes the practical application of the conflict theory in dealing with ‘conflict-laden parent-child relationships’. It can also be noted that it was the interpersonal conflict between the parent and the child that acted as the base to the treatment and as the treatment progressed the internal conflicts gave way to better verbal reasoning rather than verbal aggression which in turn brought about greater mutual understanding between the two groups. To conclude, it can be stated that the article offers a positive solution to those children of divorced parents to face their inner conflicts and stress rationally and this is sure to reduce the number of such children being prescribed for special education. It is essential to review the available literature review on parental divorce, its effects on children and the possible intervention strategies with regard to the issue. In this regard, Ashmore & Brodzinsky made some remarkable studies on the prevention strategies and the authors hold that understanding of how the children reason about parental divorce is the key to design any effective intervention strategies to assist children against the ill effects of parental divorce. For them, the most relevant and effective intervention strategy “is rational-emotive therapy, a cognitive therapy designed to teach, to modify, or to replace dysfunctional cognitive-emotive links” (1986, p. 239). Many studies have been conducted on the various effects of parental divorce and separation among their children; however, Dykeman’s study assumes greater significance as it tries to offer a solution to the issue. Everett, in this respect, makes a comprehensive analysis of the effects of parental divorce among children. For him, “the majority of children’s problems arose from the micro level (quality of the family interactions) of the divorce scenario. Others arose from exo-level stressors (environment stability and social support during the entire divorce process), from the onto-genetic level which encompasses the individual’s psychological competences to cope with conflict, and from stressors arising from interactions between two or more of the above levels, and not from macro-level stressors (norms, values, and attitude toward family life) such as peer ridicule or social stigma” (Everett, 1991, p. 302). Similarly, the various studies conducted by Amato and Keith (1991) offer fresh insights to the disadvantaged status of the children of divorced parents. The authors analyzed 92 studies that involved over 13,000 children, making a comparison between children of divorced parents and children who lived with their parents. The results of the study pointed out that “children from divorced families scored lower on measures of well-being than did children from intact families” and they hold that “the measures of well-being included school achievement, conduct, psychological adjustment, and parent-child relations” (Segrin & Flora, 2005, p. 267). Similarly, Wallerstein and Kelly also held that “the quality of the parent-child relationship was the most significant determinant of a young child’s experience in the first year following divorce” and therefore it is imperative that parent-child conflict resolution takes place at the earliest among the two sects (Guttmann, 1993, p. 161). To conclude, it can be stated that Dykeman’s study offers a possible solution to the behavioural problems of the children of then divorced parents who are usually referred for special education. The article highlights the adverse effects of pre-referral tertiary-intervention program on such children who were referred for special education assessment and argue that the community agency counselors need to adopt a conflict-resolution model of family-systems intervention on both the children and their respective custodial parents to bring about positive changes. The major limitation of the study is the limited number of samples (15 participants) who successfully completed the six months treatment. Therefore, generalizations or theorizations based on this limited number of samples lack authenticity. Therefore, it is imperative that more researches and studies are undertaken on the intervention strategies to promote the children of the divorced or separated parents. References Ashmore, R.D & Brodzinsky, D. (1986). Thinking about the family: views of parents and children. Illustrated Edition: Routledge. Dykeman, B.F. (Mar 2003). The effects of family conflict resolution on childrens classroom behavior. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 30 (1), 41-46. Everett, C.A. (1991). The Consequences of divorce: economic and custodial impact on children and adults. Vol.3. Illustrated Edition: Routledge. Guttmann, J. (1993). Divorce in psychosocial perspective: theory and research. Illustrated Edition: Routledge. Segrin, C & Flora, J. (2005). Family communication. Illustrated Edition: Routledge. Read More