I have decided that my research question will be “What are the short and long-term effects of divorce on children in the United States?”

I chose to research divorce because of its prevalence in the United States. Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce, and this not only affects the adults involved but more so the children who have little to no say in the process. I was also interested in the United States specifically because we have a very individualistic culture. We tend to prioritize personal success, with the goal of adulthood being independence and personal achievement. I wanted to see if divorce could potentially have positive effects on children in the long-term because of our culture. However, I have realized with the research that I have done so far that the majority of the effects divorce has on children are negative. It tends to occupy their minds, preventing them from completing and understanding their schoolwork. It also tends to negatively affect their self-esteem and mental health. Though there are some parents that take their children to counsel after their divorce, the majority do not. This means the child will be grappling with the situation primarily on their own. I’ve also found so far in my research that the age of the child is also a big factor in how they will interpret the situation they are in. According to one of my sources, the worst ages to experience divorce are children from the ages of six to ten. During this time, these children are already in grade school and their environments will greatly affect how they will be able to cope with the situation they are dealing with at home. This topic is relevant to social action because, in order for the affected children to be successful later in their lives, the adults around them need to be aware and educated of their circumstances. Thus, the target audience for this essay will be parents and educational staff that play a part in the child’s development.

The essay that I will be modelling is: http://marripedia.org/effects_of_divorce_on_children_s_education

I chose to model this essay because it relates to my research topic about divorce and focuses on one of the effects I will be writing about. It is clearly organized in different sections and subsections, as well as includes a large array of sources and statistics to back up their claims. I also plan to include graphs in my research essay similar to this model essay. For my research paper, I have curated a few sources from general search engines, but I still need to consult databases and more trusted websites. By Wednesday, I plan to have the complete list of all my sources, and by the end of this week, I will hopefully be done annotating and analyzing all of my sources.

Bibliography;

Blakeslee, Sandra. “MAJOR STUDY ASSESSES THE CHILDREN OF DIVORCE.” The New 

          York Times, The New York Times, 10 Apr. 1984,

          www.nytimes.com/1984/04/10/science/major-study-assesses-the-children-of-divorce-by-s

          andra-blakeslee.html. 

“Divorce Statistics and Facts: What Affects Divorce Rates in the U.S.?” Wilkinson & Finkbeiner, 

          LLP, 12 Aug. 2020, www.wf-lawyers.com/divorce-statistics-and-facts/. 

“Effects of Divorce on Children’s Education.” Effects of Divorce on Children’s Education 

          [Marripedia], marripedia.org/effects_of_divorce_on_children_s_education. 

Morin, Amy. “The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children.” Verywell Family, 6 Aug. 

          2019, www.verywellfamily.com/psychological-effects-of-divorce-on-kids-4140170. 

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