|
Surviving the Breakup, by Wallerstein and Kelly
Basic Books, Inc. 1980, 341 pages.
-
The buzz:
The report on the authors' groundbreaking research on
which much of today's child-oriented counseling in divorce situations
is based. Long on anecdotes, short on statistics, it covers many
different topics and situations, often concluding sections with a
"some children did well, but some did poorly" kind of summary. The
value here is in the details, the sketches of the individual
situations which fill this book. It is difficult to read as a "how
to" book. And we don't learn enough about any one family in the
study to gain a well-rounded insight into divorce situations. But
the parades of snippets themselves build to a kind of rounded picture
of what happens to families in the divorce.
-
The authors:
The authors are social science researchers who
conducted a study using a staff of 4 social workers and 60 white,
generally middle-class families in the San Francisco area of
California. The staff spoke with the parents and each child in 1971 at the
time of divorce, 18 months after the divorce, and 5 years
post-divorce. The book chronicles what happened to both children and
parents, with a strong focus on the children.
-
Topics covered:
- How children viewed the divorce.
- How children and parents viewed the visitations.
- The economic impact of the divorce on each spouse.
- Mother-child relationships post-divorce.
- Father-child relationships post-divorce.
- New families and step-parent relationships post-divorce.
- How children coped (or failed to cope) with the stresses of the divorce.
- The lingering effects of divorce at five years.
- Factors that contributed to children doing better or worse.
-
Difficulty:
Moderate
-
Sidenotes:
This was the first, and even to date only study of
its kind. It has drawn very wide attention in academic and policy
circles.
-
Key insight:
The presence of both parents, working together, is
very important; without it, children will not simply "bounce back" from
the divorce, as had been previously thought. Children can be
profoundly affected by the divorce at least five years afterward.
-
Read if:
You want to see the relationships from many
different angles. You learn by reading lots of little snippets of
various people's lives.
Email this page on to a friend.
Disclaimer: We are not giving legal advice. No warranties. We disclaim all legal liability. More...
| 
