RJA #10b: Argument

Research question: What effects of divorce do children carry with them into adulthood?

Thesis: Children carry the negative effects of their parents' divorce into adulthood.

Ethos:

Judith Wallerstein studied 100+ children of divorce for more than 10 years and found that almost 50% of the children entered adulthood as "worried, underachieving, lonely, ..."

A study by a major researcher of 1000+ divorced families over 30 years found that 20-25% of young adults from divorced families "experienced long-term damage - serious social and emotional problems - compared to 10% of young people from intact families."

Studies show that the effects of divorce can stay with children for years and it has been found that some common characteristics of adult children of divorce include low self-esteem, mistrustfulness and fear of commitment.

Pathos:

No matter what the level of conflict in a divorce, a completely new family life emerges for children after a divorce. Their life as they knew it is destroyed. A divorce separates what was once an intact family and creates two new and separate worlds for children to grow up in - two new homes; two new lives and sometimes two separate identities, which can be hard and painful for children.

Logos:

It is not hard to believe that a child would experience negative effects from their parents' divorce that could carry on into their adulthood. Children, who have their entire worlds turned upside down, do not have the same coping mechanisms as an adult who might experience a traumatic experience.

In my line of work, I have seen the results of divorce on young children. Two four year-old twins who have to participate in therapy; a six year old boy with an eating disorder; and a ten year-old in a mental institution for wanting to kill herself. Granted there may be other underlying factors in these children's lives, but you cannot ignore the fact that in all three situations, the parents are involved in a divorce.