RJA #2b: Research Topic

My initial list of potential topics included tax and family law issues. With regard to tax issues, I initially did some research online and reviewed my Tax I textbook. I decided to stay within the topic of "personal taxes" as I thought this was the one area that the majority of my audience (my classmates) could relate to, but I found that because I am so unfamiliar with this topic, I did not feel comfortable pursuing it. Therefore, I started researching family law issues by reviewing articles about divorce and related issues. Again, I was not convinced that my audience could relate to these issues. Also, I deal with family law issues on a daily basis so I believe that I am too familiar with these issues. When I was about to give up my search, I found an article about children and divorce and I thought that this would be an interesting topic because it is not an issue that I deal directly with at work; therefore, I decided to research the topic of children and divorce.

I have been working in the area of family law for over 20 years, so I am very familiar with all family law issues including divorce and the process people have to go through to obtain a divorce. As I stated earlier, the topic of children and divorce is not an issue I deal directly with on a daily basis. What I know about children and divorce is that sometimes parents going through a divorce are so angry that they cannot put the needs of their children before their own. Sometimes they cannot see how their negative actions toward each other or their attempts to get back at each other by putting their children in the middle of their arguments can be harmful or hard on their children. I am currently involved in a case where four year old twins are seeing a psychiatrist because their parents cannot get a long and apparently cannot see how their actions are affecting their children. This divorce will be over soon, but these children may have problems that last a lifetime. This is an extreme case. Of course there are many parents who can put their children first and the children may have an easier time of it; regardless, I believe that the divorce process for any child can be difficult.

I know from my work experience how difficult the divorce process can be for adults. I listen to their complaints all the time. I do not know how the children handle these situations or how they feel about their parents' divorce. I never get to talk to the children in our cases. What I do not know, with the exception of the extreme case mentioned above, is how difficult the process can be for the children of divorce. Not just the process of going through this difficult time, but the effects this may have on the children in the future. What I want to learn about this topic is the effect of divorce on children.