Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems Theory to Effects of Divorce on Childs Development

There has been an increase in the number of divorce cases in the United States and most parts of Europe in recent years. The issue of divorce is of major concern since divorce affects the development of the children negatively. Normally, the children are broken down emotionally when their parents decide to separate. They start missing a lot when they only spend time with one of their parents. Moreover, the children develop hatred towards the parent who left since they do not understand what the matter was. Some of the effects of divorce on the development of the children include suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, early sexual activities, defying adults and withdrawal from friends. The reason for choosing this problem to discuss in relation to ecological systems theory is because divorce is becoming rampant and the children are developing in difficulty. This paper analyses the causes off divorce towards the development of the child in relation to ecological systems theory.

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The Effects of Divorce on Childs Development

Firstly, divorce might lead to early sexual activities by the child thus affecting their development. When the parents divorce, the child is mostly left under the care of one parent or some other relatives. One parent might not be able to provide the best care for the child when they are developing (Lamb, 2010). This will make the child lack the chance to learn some things and might start to indulge in sexual acts at an early age. Subsequently, they will be infected with sexual disease or might drop out of school.

Secondly, divorce effects to drug and alcohol abuse by the child when they are growing up. Although some people state that, a child moves on from their parents divorce just after three years, this might be wrong since people still feel pain even 20 years later. During a child development, the pain might lead to stress which will direct them to use alcohol and other drugs. Drug abuse is not good for children when they are developing since it will affect their studies. When they indulge in drugs, they end up dropping out of school.

Thirdly, the child grows up being hostile with suicidal thoughts as well as rudeness. Divorce causes much more harm to the child than most people do might think. When one parent leaves home, things will never be the same again. When a child sees other children with both parents when they only have one, they start to feel guilty and lonely. This will make them bitter and finally hostile. A child growing up hostile is a dangerous thing since end up doing something bad in the future. Apart from the hostility, one starts to develop suicidal thoughts since they feel no longer loved (Martin & Fabes, 2008). When one parent leaves, they lose trust upon human beings and even believe that the remaining parent might abandon them as well.

Application of Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems Theory to Effects of Divorce on Childs Development

Ecological systems theory states that the human behavior is significantly affected by the environment in which they develop. Human beings behave differently depending on the environment in which they grew up. Moreover, most people will behave differently when they are at school, office, and home. This theory relates to effects of divorce on childs development.

Firstly, there is the microsystem. The micro system refers to the people you interact with directly, the everyday people who fall under this group include family, teachers, friends and neighbors. Since you interact with this people on a daily basis, they tend to influence your behavior. You will find yourself borrowing certain behaviors from some of these people.

Secondly, there is the mesosystem. Mesosystem refers to the relationship between a persons microsystems. This highlights how one relation affects the other. When the parents divorce at home, it affects the child emotionally. The effect of the divorce on the child extends to school where they will drop drastically. Moreover, the child might start avoiding their friends since they feel unwanted.

Exosystem is the third part of the ecological theory. According to exosystem, the distance between two people might affect their relationship as well. The best example is a family where the child is much closer to the father than the mother is. When the father leaves the country, they child might either have a hard time with the mother or might develop a love for the mother. Moreover, there is the macrosystem. This refers to the social, economic status in which a person grows in reference to their character. Social, economic status focuses on matters of race, tribe, and financial status. A child who grows up in a poor family tends to work much harder than that one who grew up in a rich family.

In conclusion, divorce has adverse effects on the child's development. This closely relates to the study of ecological systems theory developed by Bronfenbrenner. Some of the effects of divorce towards the development of child include drug abuse, suicide thoughts and acts, early sexual activities and withdrawal from friends. An emotional breakdown is evident when parents divorce. When one of the parents leaves, the childs trust disappears since they believe that even the remaining parent might leave. Divorce is rampant across the world thus the reason for the choice of this topic to discuss in relation to ecological theory. According to microsystem, people you interact with directly influence your characteristics. The common people who fall under this group include family, teachers, friends and neighbors.

References

Lamb, M. E. (2010). The Role of the Father in Child Development. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Martin, C. L., & Fabes, R. (2008). Discovering Child Development. Chicago: Cengage Learning.