Glenda Riley

Glenda Riley, a source from Social Issues in America: An Encyclopedia, states that United States is the country with the most divorces (Riley, 2013). This affirms that divorce is rather commonplace. In contrast, some Americans believe that divorce undermines the norms and goals of their society (Riley, 2013). Here, Riley’s notion affirms that there are adverse effects of divorce since the feeling of rejection makes separated people or their children feel ashamed. Another major part of Riley’s argument that undeniably proves that divorce is difficult is the effect that it has on children. Children of divorced parents have a higher probability of being juvenile delinquents and/or sexual risk taking (Riley, 2013). As people know, making poor decisions

A key detail to note is that single-mother families have increased rates of financial and emotional stress characterized by negativity towards the future and feeling worthless (Thio & Taylor, 2012). The effects of divorce on emotion are precisely supported by this statement. Additionally, as mentioned in several sources, children of divorce have higher chances of doing worse academically and have more run-ins with the law (Thio & Taylor, 2012). This analysis defends the position on the effects of education by demonstrating how children of divorce do not perform as well in the classroom as compared to children of a two-parent family. However, the authors continue to say that several researchers do not agree that the fact of having an absentee parent contributes to these outcomes; instead, they point to economic and academic differences between children from single-mother homes and from two-parent homes (Thio & Taylor, 2012). Nevertheless, certain studies assert that single-mother homes yield increased negative results on children as compared with children who are raised in two-parent homes despite the economic or academic history of the adults (Thio & Taylor, 2012). This fact affirms that divorce has unfavorable consequences on the children’s lives, especially on their education. Transitions for children and teens of

Structural Functionalism is the paradigm that describes social problems as parts of life which are essential to maintaining balance (Thio & Taylor, 2012). As Wienclaw writes, structural functionalists perceive divorce as merely a challenge, supporters of the conflict theory find that it is the result of contradictory opinions of people in the family, and symbolic interactionists think divorce or different types of families are a product of modern outlooks surrounding the family in general (Wienclaw, 2014). She also addresses the shortcomings of the Functionalist Theory by pointing out that it does not call attention to the issue of abuse in the family (Wienclaw, 2014). However, if someone is married to an abusive spouse, this conveys that divorce is a way to escape an unsafe relationship and thus making it a positive outcome. Structural Functionalists believe that divorce is a necessary evil in which the family adapts to the new set of circumstances it brings about (Wienclaw, 2014). Overall, Wienclaw assesses the different perspectives about divorce through the lens of the three key paradigms which resulted in the assumption that divorce can be both helpful and hurtful. From the viewpoint of divorce freeing someone from an abusive relationship, Wienclaw does defend that this social problem could have an effect on one’s emotions