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Social Issue Divorce Essay Example

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Social Issue Divorce Essay Example

One of the major social and economic issues in our society is increase in divorce rate. Divorce, or dissolution of marriage means the marriage ending. It can be contrasted with an annulment which declares that a marriage is invalid, though the marriage effects may be recognized in such unions as spousal support, child custody and property distribution (“Divorce.”). Divorce is like an epidemic in our society that is spreading very quick, and the offspring are most affected in this epidemic (Chandler). According to facts one out of every two marriages ends in divorce (Chandler). It is very bad because many children are raised in single-parent families, and this has a negative impact on their development.

In the biggest countries of the world such as the United States, Japan, Korea, Canada, the members of the European Union, the United Kingdom and some other developed Commonwealth countries divorce rates have increased essentially in the last half of the twentieth century and divorce has become commonplace in them (“Divorce.”). It is considered that the divorce rate in the USA is the highest in the world and it was primarily caused by the changing role of the husbands and wives in their household, early marriage, infidelity, additional marital affairs, domestic violence, unstable financial situation and psychological incapacity. All this has the negative effect on social stability in the whole and, of course, it can be the reason of social change and social conflict among people. That is why divorce problem is also the social problem and the impact of divorce is not limited to couples and families, their actual interactions.

The theme of divorce as a social phenomenon is an essential research topic in sociology. A new understanding of the real causes and effects of divorce on the families and society began in the mid-1980s (Crouch). Sociologists reported that the incomes of women and children lost after divorce. Economists and legal researchers outlined that the current divorce laws cause far more divorces than it would be economically efficient for the people who are going through the process of divorce, because these laws allow wife or husband to divorce for any reason. This is a stimulus for people to be prepared for the ending of marriage and to search their own self-interest in the process of divorce, rather than live together all their life in a marriage which has no legal protection. Many other scholars pointed out that divorce has all kinds of negative influence on child. The divorce may cause the risks of emotional problems of children, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol addiction, smoking, crime and poverty (Crouch).

The custody issue on who is going to be responsible for the children care is also an important one for many people each year.

Women also generally suffer financially after divorce because of the lack of equal pay for equal work in many countries and that is why many women stop to work after marriage to bring up their children. They are often left with the big responsibility and the burden of looking after their childs after the divorce while they have to find low-paid jobs. Child support collection is the most important problem because many fathers do not want to be obliged towards their children. In turn, many national and local governments help divorced mothers and their children providing some kind of welfare system.

As it was above mentioned, most people know the present social consequences of the divorce process such as the increase of single-parent families and massive growth in fatherless children (Baskerville). For example, many women now, accepting the single-parent home, decide to have children outside marriage because there is remaining social stigma for unwed mothers. But every major personal and social pathology can happen in result of fatherlessness more than any other pathology as violent crime, substance abuse, unwed pregnancy, truancy, suicide, and more.

Fatherlessness is already a predictor of social deviance because it far surpasses poverty as well as race. Thus, all these problems are enough dramatic in themselves.

Yes, we know that marriage is a very happy event in the life of many people, however divorce in our culture is also a common reality (Quattrocchi). To decrease the divorce rate, our society needs to be supportive and caring; not punitive, biased, accusatory or self-righteous. Divorce will not go away himself. Unless much can be done in order to redefine the status of what marriage means and what it is for people, divorce and other marital problems will extremely arise. To have a peaceful, happy and healthy relationship, either spouse must be patient, strong, trustful and they have to love each other. Marriage for our life is an ideal of God, but divorce is an unpleasant reality in our society.

Works cited:
1. Allison, Quattrocchi. “DIVORCE: TAKING THE HIGH ROAD © The Choice and the Challenge.”
2. “Divorce.” From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 3 Jul 2004.
3. John, Crouch. “THE MARRIAGE MOVEMENT: AN INTRODUCTION TO DIVORCE REFORM AND OTHER MARRIAGE ISSUES.” 1999.
4. Lacey R., Chandler. “The social and educational effects of divorce.”
5. Stephen, Baskerville. “Divorce as Revolution.” The Salisbury Review. Vol. 21, no. 4. Summer 2003.

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