Exam 3: Divorce

Question 1

Most children do not respond to divorce with serious challenges

Answer 1

-children’s responses vary by development
-children’s adjustment depends on the balance between risk factors across multiple systems

Question 2

Divorce in Infancy/Toddlerhood

Answer 2

Sensorimotor stage
-limited understanding of potential attachment disruption

Question 3

Characteristics of Divorce in Infancy/Toddlers (0-2)

Answer 3

-cannot comprehend divorce concept
-experience stress through disrupted routines
-sensitive to caregiver emotional states
-attachment relationships may be disrupted

Question 4

Common responses to divorce in infants/toddlers

Answer 4

-sleep disturbances and nightmares
-feeding difficulties
-developmental regression
-increased clinginess or withdrawal

Question 5

Divorce in preschool age

Answer 5

Preoperational stage
-self-blame
-magical thinking

Question 6

Charactersitics of divorce in preschoolers

Answer 6

-preoperational thinking
-magical thinking patterns
-concrete understanding
-limited emotional vocabulary

Question 7

Common responses in preschoolers

Answer 7

-self blame
-fantasy: I can fix the family
-increased aggression or withdrawal
-regression in milestones

Question 8

Divorce in School age

Answer 8

Concrete operational stage
-loyalty conflicts
-academic impacts

Question 9

Characteristics of divorce in school age (6-12 years)

Answer 9

-concrete operational thinking: understand cause and effect
-developing sense of fairness and justice
-peer relationships become increasingly important
-increased capacity for empathy and multiple perspectives

Question 10

Common responses in School age

Answer 10

-loyalty conflicts: feel torn between parents, take sides/mediate, stress abt disappointing parents
-academic/social impact: concentration difficulties, changes in peer relationships, possible withdrawal or acting out

Question 11

Divorce in adolescence

Answer 11

Formal Operational Stage
-identity formation
-relationship templates

Question 12

Characteristics of divorce in adolescence (13+)

Answer 12

-identity formation (identity vs role confusion)
-autonomy issues: natural push towards independence
-formal operations: can understand complex, abstract, relationship dynamics
-future orientation: impact on life planning and goals

Question 13

Unique challenges in adolescence

Answer 13

-relationship template formation
-premature independence vs regression
-increased risk behaviors

Question 14

Long term considerations in adolescence

Answer 14

-effects on future relationships
-marriage and commitment beliefs’-parenting style development
-intergenerational transmission

Question 15

Risk factors for poor adjustment

Answer 15

-high parental conflict
-economic instability
-multiple transitions
-loss of parental contact
-parental psychopathology

Question 16

Protective factors for resilience

Answer 16

-low inter-parental conflict
-authoritative parenting
-social support systems
-child characteristics
-professional support