RJA #14: Annotated Bibliography, Part 2

1. U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009. Section 2: Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Divorces, P.63. http://www.census.gov/prod/

This source provided statistics on marriages and divorces. It is a reliable cite as it a government cite. It fits into my research because I believe that showing the number of divorces may help show the impact this may have on children.

2. "Divorce." The Free On-Line Dictionary. 2000. Web. 30 Oct. 2009

This source gave a great definition of divorce - "a complete or radical severance of closely connected things" and "to cut off; separate or disunite." This is a credible source as it is associated with The American Heritage Dictionary. The goal of this source is to define divorce. I thought this source was very helpful as I think this definition really defines how divorce can radically effect a child's life.

3. Marquardt, Elizabeth. Between Two Worlds: the Inner Lives of Children of Divorce. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2005. Print.

The main argument of this book is that there is no such thing as a good divorce. The author of this book personally experienced a good divorce and has had a normal and successful life. Regardless of this, she believes that as a child her world was turned upside down and has negatively impacted her life as an adult. I believe this source was reliable because not only was she writing about her own experiences, she also wrote about several interviews she did of adult children of divorce. The goal of this source was to make parents aware that no matter how well they believe they are handling the divorce, it will still have a negative impact on their child(ren). This source was very helpful and supported my argument.

4. Portnoy, Sanford. "The Psychology of Divorce: A Lawyer's Primer, Part 2: The Effects of Divorce on Children." American Journal of Family Law. Winter 2008: 126-134. Print.4.

This source basically outlined some of the effects of divorce on children during the divorce and in the years following the divorce. This source was helpful was similar to some of my other sources. I felt this was a credible source because it was published in a professional journal. This source was very helpful and supported my argument.

5. Eleoff, Sara. "Divorce Effects on Children: An Exploration of the Ramifications of Divorce on Children and Adolescents." childadvocate.net., n.d. 2 Sept. 2009.

This source, which was a website, addressed the long term impact of divorce on children. This was another source that was similar to some of my other sources.
I felt this was a credible source because the author of this website is a child and adolescence psychiatrist. It appears that this website has several contributors including doctors, attorneys, and a former director of the National Counsel of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The purpose of this website is to "serve the needs of children, families and professionals while addressing mental health, medical, educational, legal and legislative issues." It doesn't appear that this website is bias.

This source was helpful because it supported my argument and it addressed the issue of children being afraid of repeating their parents' mistakes in their own relationships.

6. Lytle, Victoria. "Kids and Divorce." NEA Today. 13.3 (1994):1. Print.

This source was an interview that Victoria Lytle did of Judith Wallerstein about the effect of divorce on children at different stages/ages. It addresses the negative impact divorce can have on a child's outlook on life, personality and relationships. I felt this source was credible because Judith Wallerstein is a well known expert in this area. This source was helpful because it helped support my argument of the long term effects of divorce on children.