Children of divorce
Studies of divorce have indicated that in the child’s natural environment there are several factors that can moderate the effects of stress from parental divorce such as the availability of support from other family members (Felner & primavera 1985) and to lesser extent peer support (Lustig wolchik & Braver 1992) In fact there is a consistent and fairly strong negative correlation between the child ‘s adjustment to divorce and the availability of social support especially from other adults (Wolchk, Ruehlman Braver & Sandler 1989) However in this same research it was discovered that social support is a complex issue The effectiveness of support depends on the level of stress and the source of support for support for example children under high levels of stress with support from both nonfamily and family adults report fewer adjustment problems than children with no support However children under low levels of stress with high support from nonfamily adults were significantly more poorly adjusted than were children with no or low support Some interventionists prefer not to take a passive role by waiting to see whether there are tools available in the child’s natural environment that can help the child cope The schools can build and participate in interventions for children of divorce Cowen (1996) and his colleagues at the primary mental health Project , a comprehensive school-based program that promotes overall mental health in children of just that One aspect of the multifaceted Primary Mental Health Project is the children of Divorce Intervention Program (CODIP) CODIP is based on the premise that timely preventive intervention for children of divorce can offer both important short –and long term benefits CODIP’s goals , simply stated are to provide social support and to teach coping skills to children of divorce
The program was initially designed for fourth to sixth-graders Newer versions have been tailored to younger children CODIP is conducted in groups because children who have gone through common stressful experiences are more credible to peers than those who have not had these experiences Developmental factors shape the group size as well as the methods used for example younger children have shorter attention spans and are more prone to want concrete activities than older children
In a typical group both a man and woman (selected from school personnel ) act as leaders They are selected because they are interested skilled and sensitive to the needs of the children of divorce and are trained in the CODIP program techniques. Modules for a typical fourth-to sixth-grade group might include the following