Divorce as One of the Major Social Problem - Research Paper Example

? Divorce Divorce in general Some statistics about the United s and other countries Divorce is one of the major social problems which have many dimensions. It can affect not only the husbands and wives but also their children as well. In fact, children seem to be the worst affected ones as far the consequences of divorce are concerned. Even though divorce rate is growing across the world, America and European countries seem to be having higher divorce rates than other countries. This is because of the changing life styles and life philosophies taking place in these countries. Instead of marriage, many people in this part of the world are at present engaging in relationships in the form of staying together. If marriage has legal and religious dimensions, staying together has no such attributes so that the partners in such relationships can break their relationship at any time. “A divorce can feel like a big storm. Before the storm, the air may be filled with tension” (Winchester & Beyer, 2001, p.30). It should be noted that problems may arise in family life from various corners. It may be because of the different views kept by the partners about their life. For example, it is quite possible that a husband take shelter in alcoholism, drug addiction or extra marital affairs to enjoy his life. On the hand, his wife may not accept these behaviours. She could be a highly religious person who has faith and belief in God. So their family life may not continue in a good manner. Different life philosophies of these persons may fight with each other and these fights may ultimately end up in a divorce. “According to the 2007 statistics, divorce rate in America is 54.8%, second only to Sweden. In countries like India divorce rate is as low as 1.1% only” (Divorce Rates of the World, 2007). During the 1980s, the divorce rate in the US reached its peak. 50% of the marriages terminated in divorce. The reasons cited for this upheaval are: Increase in the earning potential of women; the concept of divorce found more acceptances; an enhancement in the pursuit of joy, i.e. the possibility to locate a better partner and the presence of no fault laws (History of Divorce in America, n. d.). It is difficult to cite a single reason for increasing divorce rates in America. Plenty of reasons were cited for the increased rates of divorce in America. This paper analyses the major reasons for divorce and its consequences. Effect of divorce upon family and children With more than 30 years of research, we now know divorce seldom leads to a better life. Consider that: Life expectancies for divorced men and women are significantly lower than for married people (who have the longest life expectancies). A recent study found those who were unhappy but stay married were more likely to be happy five years later than those who divorced. The health consequences of divorce are so severe that a Yale researcher concluded that “being divorced and a non-smoker is [only] slightly less dangerous than smoking a pack a day and staying married.” After a diagnosis of cancer, married people are most likely to recover, while the divorced are least likely to recover, indicating that the emotional trauma of divorce has a long-term impact on the physical health of the body. Men and women both suffer a decline in mental health following divorce, but researchers have found that women are more greatly affected. Some of the mental health indicators affected by divorce include depression, hostility, self-acceptance, personal growth and positive relations with others (Desai, 2009). Divorce puts people, both the husband and the wife, under a lot of stress” (McGregor, 2001, p.87). Many people have the false belief that a divorce may be the only solution to come out from a strained relationship. They may think that the life after divorce could be better than that before divorce. But in many cases, it is not true. The new partner may often present more horrible experiences and the person may face lot of emotional problems in that life also. The thoughts about his/her ex-partner and children may present lot of psychological problems to the person. In short, life after divorce need not be better than life before divorce for many people. Fifty-six percent of African-American children were born in families in which the mother was not married to the biological father. Of 8.4 million African-American households, slightly less than half are presided over by a married couple. About 4 million African-American children (36 percent) reside with both their parents (African-American Families - African-American Families In The New Millennium, 2012). Many people have the illusion that a divorce may affect only a husband or a wife. However, children seem to be the most important community as far as the consequences of a divorce is concerned. Child bearing and childrearing has to be done by either the father or the mother after the divorce. In other words, the children are forced to grow under single parenthood after divorce. Single parenthood forces the parent to work hard and to leave his/her child in day care centers during their working hours. In reality, children of divorced parents may not get proper love either from their father or from their mother. Children during their development stages need the love and care of both the father and the mother. Father’s protection and mother’s love cannot be substituted by anything else in this world. The lack of father’s or mother’s love may develop emotional problems in the minds of the children. Effect of divorce on community There are different views about the effects of divorce on a community or society. Some people have the belief that increased divorce rate is a threat to the cohesion of American social and family life whereas others are of the view that it is better to allow people to get divorce, if they feel that a divorce is the only option which may save their life. It is a fact that human has superior wisdom than animals. In other words, human life is entirely different from animal life. So, there is no point in arguing that changing life partners periodically may not cause any problems in the society. It should not be forgotten that a person is actually tied to many relationships in his life. A person could be a father, son, brother and a husband at the same time and hence his activities may affect many people at the same time. There is no point in arguing against these relationships. The concept of marriage is accepted and promoted by all religions, cultures and castes. In fact, marriage is a tradition performed by all religions. Man is a social animal and marriage is a relationship which helps a person to lead a healthy social life. Family has definite importance in the society or community. Breaking of family life means breaking of the community or the society. It should be noted that individuals constitutes families, families constitutes communities, communities constitute societies and different societies constitutes a nation. So, breaking of family life or divorce may ultimately affect a country as a whole. In other words, the consequences of divorce may not be limited to some people, but it may cause huge social problems in a country. Is divorce a good solution of solving relationship problems? It is difficult to answer the above question. Divorce could be an answer to solve relationship problems if the relationship has strained a lot and the behaviour of the partner is intolerable. However, seeking divorce for minor relationship problems may not be a good idea. Some people have the habit of establishing new relationships for solving minor problems in the existing relationships. However, it is quite possible that the new relationships may bring more harm than good. So, it is better to manage the existing relationship problems properly rather than seeking divorce. Both partners should be flexible enough to solve the conflicts in between them. Only in the extreme cases, divorce should be considered as an option. Conclusions I have conducted a survey among 15 people of different nationalities to get more insights into the topic. Among these 15 persons, 4 have their parents divorced. The questions and the answers are given in the appendix. The findings of the survey and my research clearly indicate that divorce is totally unacceptable for many people. From the research and the survey results, it is evident that majority of the people are against divorce. Moreover, no country seems to be free from that social evil - divorce. Divorce may force the children to lose faith in marriage. Divorce may negatively affect not only the husbands and wives, but also their children and relatives. In many cases, life after divorce is worse than the life before divorce. In short, divorce is a social evil which should not be encouraged under any circumstances. References African-American Families - African-American Families In The New Millennium. (2012). http://family.jrank.org/pages/60/African-American-Families-African-American-Families-in-New-Millennium.html Desai, A.J.D. (2009). Divorce. Retrieved from http://www.troubledwith.com/Relationships/A000000830.cfm?topic=relationships%3A%20divorce History of Divorce in America, (n. d.). Retrieved from http://www.edivorcepapers.com/divorce-in-america/history-of-divorce-in-america.html MacGregor, C. (2001). The Divorce Help book for Kids. Impact Publishers. Nitawriter. (2007). Divorce Rates of the World. Retrieved from http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2007/04/04/divorce-rates-of-the-world/ Winchester, K.J.D. & Beyer, R.J.D. (2001). What in the World Do You Do When Your Parents Divorce? A Survival Guide for Kids. Free Spirit Publishing, 1st edition. Appendix: Survey questions How have long their parents been divorced?: Answer- More than 10 years  Does the divorce effect your future intention to marry?: Answer- One of them said yes and the other 3 said no  I asked 15 participants few more questions: Do you want to solve your problem by getting divorce?: Answer- Majority of the answers were no even though some of them told me that they may think about a divorce only when they find no other way. Have you ever known someone who got divorced? Answer- 9 of them said yes and 2 said no  Does the divorce affect the children? Answer - 11 of them said yes and 4 of them said no. How do you think, what is the percentage of the divorce in your country? Answer- 6 of the Saudis said between 30-50%, 2 of the Americans persons said almost 50%, one guy from UAE said between 30 to 40% and others said we don't know. Read More