Understanding Child Development of Divorced Parents through Microsystem Analysis

This paper explores the factors affecting the adjustment of children to divorce from a microsystem perspective. It discusses the impact of inter-parental conflict, parenting patterns, and societal attitudes on children's development. The study emphasizes the importance of considering individual, family, and cultural factors in understanding the effects of divorce on children.

Running head: SOCIAL ISSUE IN FAMILIES
SOCIAL ISSUE IN FAMILIES
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Abstract
Divorce has been identified as a significant social problem and critical challenge for
children. Chappel, Suldo and Ogg (2014) have revealed that around one million of children
experience their parents’ divorce every year. The increasing rate of divorce has led a large group
of children to be at risk for developing adjustment problems. Comprehensive studies of
Verrocchio, Marchetti and Fulcheri (2015) have mentioned that children of divorced families
primarily showed greater amount of adjustment problems such as apprehension, depression, lack
of obedience, violence along with economic incompetence. However, it is important to note that
divorce does not have detrimental impacts on all children. Research conducted by Polak and
Saini (2015) has focused on identifying certain variables which are likely to distinguish children
who adjust well from the children who do not. The identification of factors of child development
of divorced parents tends to help in understanding the impact of children’s’ wellbeing. Such an
understanding is important in order to consider the differences in divorce outcomes. The
following paper will evaluate children developments of divorced parents through macrosystem,
microsystems and mesosystem perspective.
Discussion
Understanding Child Development of Divorced Parents through Micro system Analysis
Majority of researches focusing on divorce outcomes have identified that multivariate
explanations of children's post-divorce adjustment are very important. In order to explore the
fundamental factors of child development of divorced parents the ecological model has been
applied in order to set up relevant divorce factors and to forecast the anticipated direction of their
association with children's adjustment. According to Chappel, Suldo and Ogg (2014), the

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ecological model is primarily based upon the theory that an individual's social development is
chiefly influenced by interactions with other individuals or conditions. These factors include
attributes of children as well as the children's abilities of handling with divorce stressors. One of
the perspectives known as micro system, comprised of settings whereby the developing child is
presented and interacting with others have been utilised in order to understand the child
development. According to micro system perspective the reaction of a child is likely to impact in
family’s adjustment (Espelage, 2014). Similarly, the community, post-divorce environmental
factors along with reachable support systems in addition to principles, values, notions and
attitudes of society tend to have an effect on the adjustments of the child as well as his or her
family.
The micro system involves other individuals who have existence in the child emotional
settings. The character of the child’s association with other individuals along with the direct as
well as indirect influence of others on the child is considered to be highly crucial. Ayers et al.
(2014) have mentioned that severe distress as well as disorganisation which has been
experienced by family in the initial years of divorced and have been illustrated certain coping
patterns of mothers and fathers. Furthermore Popenoe (2017) has observed that parents in the
divorce situation tend to develop incompetency, seclusion and loneliness as well as sadness.
These factors have been essentially true for mothers with sons. At this juncture, Espelage (2014)
have noted that deprived parenting has been highly evident when divorced parents particularly
divorced mothers are engaged in interaction with their sons. On the other hand, Womack et al.
(2018) have claimed that important role specifically for mothers who have problem children and
high rates of responding with very low levels of productive support for the mothers. Stack and

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Scourfield (2015) have put forward that divorced mothers along with their distressed children
tends to engage themselves in the vicious circle of oppression and cruelty of the society.
According to Ayers et al. (2014), the significant controlling competence of mothers is
responsible to accelerate the child's aversive behavioural patterns. In micro system perspective,
divorced mothers are recognised as both primary leaders and target of this aversive behaviour of
their children which results to an increase of bullying in the mother's parenting ability and
elevated levels of feelings related to vulnerability, anxiety, irritation and self uncertainty.
Chappel, Suldo and Ogg (2014) have stated that through the micro system perspective
inter-parental conflict has been related to the behavioural issues in children on the implications
that conflict occurred in unbroken marriages or before and after the divorce. Drawing relevance
from these factors, Polak and Saini (2015) have distinguished that children from divorced or
unbroken families which exhibit inter-parent issues and conflict tends to be at greater risk in
comparison to children from divorced or integrated family which are relatively in agreement.
However, these evidences do not mean that parenting, separation and divorce do not have any
impact on the child. On the other hand inter-parent aggression may be identified as the key
reason for the association observed between divorce and persistent childhood issues. Meanwhile,
Womack et al. (2018) have stated that in exploring the larger cultural structure whereby
individuals, families and communities are inextricably unified, the issue relies on the analysis of
socio-cultural principles values and attitudes which will affect the families’ adjustment to
divorce. As a result the contribution of a number of social influencers as well as sociological
factors in the microsystems is required to be taken into account.

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Polak and Saini (2015) through their studies have found convincing evidences where the
family is identified as the principal socialization agent for the child. However, from the clinical
perspective, families primarily managed by women or single parent families are typically
believed to be deviant and pathological. These families are signified as uncertain, broken,
unsystematic or likely to fall apart. On the other hand, Misca and Smith (2014) have noted that
as majority of single parents families are supervised by women, the development in the status of
women has become a modern as well as critical area of concern. Furthermore various forms of
sex discrimination are likely to impact a female head of family. Stack and Scourfield (2015) have
observed that during divorce women with predictable sex role attributes have been severely
exposed to the psychological worry and low self esteem regardless of demographic factors
related to religion, age, race, educational qualification or working status.
Macrosystem Perspective
On the contrary, women who upheld non-traditional sex role behavioural patterns or
whose attitudes become hugely non conformist during the process of divorce have experienced
lower rate of apprehension, sorrow, and greater degree of benefit along with interpersonal
development in addition to a significant amount of competence. Drawing relevance to these
evidences it can be found that the impact the divorced parents’ vulnerability tends to have greater
impact on child emotional adjustment to divorce. Furthermore the macrosystem analysis also
shows society’s general approach towards the status of children of divorced parents. Verrocchio,
Marchetti and Fulcheri (2015) have mentioned that children are conventionally perceived as
being asset which needs to be managed by their parents. Such scenario typically is relevant to the
case of custody disputes in which parents engage into disagreement over custody of the children
consequently tend to pose impact on the children's behavioural patterns and development.

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Nevertheless, macrosystem analysis reveals that certain development have been occurring on
children's authorities. For instance, Perry‐Jenkins and Wadsworth (2017) have witnessed certain
circumstances identified by law whereby child rights towards physical and psychological health
tends to replace the right of the parents in order to establish the most effective welfare of the
child. Subsequently, the cultural perspectives attitudes and principles related to marriage family
as well as status of male and female single parents in addition to children’s rights can be viewed
as critical factors to affect the family’s adjustment level to divorce (Taylor & Conger, 2014).
Mesosystem Perspective
According to (Espelage, 2014) family is identified as the most intimate, closest,
consistent and influential part of the mesosystem. These influences of the family tend to extent to
all facets of the child development such as health, principles, values, nutrition, language and
security which are developed through the contribution as well as behavioural patterns related
response within the family. However comprehensive studies of Taylor and Conger (2014) have
argued that in contemporary society, family tends to be less frequent towards the representative
arrangement of mothers being at home, employed father along with siblings. Single parent
families and other nonconventional associations have greater propensity to exist in recent times
in comparison to the traditional family structure. As a result children of divorced parents
typically show divergences in family life and segregate themselves from their fathers during the
weekend on mothers in the regular days. Womack et al. (2018) have considered divorce as a
perfect example of the type of dealings between systems which Bronfenbrenner writes about.
According to Perry‐Jenkins and Wadsworth (2017) divorce arrangement tends to have
considerable impact on the family as well as the child development however it is typically
recognised as a product of society and decided by judge and for the enforced by social services.

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Consequently, the divorced family impacts the community as well as society through the rise of
the social attitudes which tends to adjust along with the social perception of family which can be
modified.
Conclusion
Hence to conclude the effects of the force are perceived through sociological lenses.
Factors affecting adjustment of children to divorce have been discussed in this paper from an
interactionists or Bronfenbrenner view whereby individual family social as well as cultural
factors tend to interact as well as are self-regulated. However the assumption relies on children's
individual sociological competencies for handling tension apparently impact the child adjustment
level which tends to have an impact on the overall family structure. Consequently, the family is
assuming to be affected by the community, post divorced setting along with the accessible
reinforcement system and cultural and social values surrounding the family life. Even though
scholars have made certain useful propositions for the practice of divorce therapy, empirical
investigation and assessment of such intervention have been recently initiated.

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