Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
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UNIVERSITY
ON
Submitted To Submitted By
MRS. RAJ POONAM HEER IKJOT DHAWAN
Dept. of Law B. Tech – ECE (VI Sem.)
Lovely Professional University Roll No. RB6601A13, Reg. No 3060060048
Phagwara, Punjab, India Department of Electronics and Communication
ikjot_dhawan@yahoo.com
Contact No: 9417666548
PREFACE:
This paper is made to study the various family laws, the grounds of divorce,
consequences of divorce and difference between divorced families and intact families. In
the paper there is the analysis of the factors and the solutions of those factors which are
responsible for the difficulties faced by the children of divorced families. Our research
created the understanding that infant styles create a disposition for later behavioral traits.
More current research has questioned the significance of how the disruption of the
attachment structure as in divorce can affect children's behaviors throughout life. The
research on this topic is contradictory and somewhat inconclusive, with research asserting
that either attachment style or external environment has been the main contributor to the
behaviors seen in members of divorced families, while many sources stated that it is
likely to be a combination of both influences. With either explanation, research concludes
that children of divorced families have a disposition to these behaviors, but the end
development of behavior and personality is in the hands of the individual and the external
factors that are present.
IKJOT DHAWAN
Department of Electronics and Communication
Lovely Professional University
Phagwara, Punjab, India
30 April, 2009
IKJOT DHAWAN
Phagwara
2. GROUNDS OF DIVORCE 9
2.1. Adultery 9
2.2. Desertion 9
2.3. Cruelty 10
2.4. Impotency 10
2.5. Chronic Disease 11
3. CONSEQUENCES OF DIVORCE 11
3.1. Economic 11
3.2. Social 11
7. WHY DO CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS FORM DIVORCED FAMILIES STILL SEEM
TO BE MORE DISTRESSED THAN CHILDREN FROM INTACT FAMILIES? 17
8. OVERALL CONCLUSION 18
INTRODUCTION:
The family is traditionally seen as the basic foundation of society. Children tend
to do best when raised within their family. Attachment can be defined as the strong bond
that develops first between parent and child and later in peer and romantic relationships.
Research on divorce and separation of attachment figures has yielded conflicting results.
It is often reported that children of divorce have trouble adapting to different stages of
their lives because of their experience with broken or detached attachment bonds. These
children are said to have no accurate template for successful relationships to replicate in
their lives. Other research boasted results that children of divorce adapt to life's situations
and relationships within normal ranges when compared to their. Taking this into account,
we looked to peer relations, socioeconomic status, general distress, or poor parenting
skills to explain the appearance of troublesome behavior or poor grades. The study of all
aspects of divorce and attachment is important to how parents, psychologists and teachers
approach and understand children of divorced families in order to help them reach their
full potential as adults.
The mode of research for this paper is analytical. To analyze the difference
between divorced families and intact families I met the persons from intact families and
the persons from divorced families. I communicated with those persons verbally and tried
to understand their feelings toward the divorce. I also had some words with the children
and young ones from the divorced families and got their views about the divorce and the
life of a child after the divorce of their parents.
SOURCES:
Primary Sources:
Secondary Sources:
α http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l209-Extra-marital-Relations-and-its-
Impact-on-children.html
α http://www.indiavisitinformation.com/indian-law/Divorce.shtml
α http://www.sethassociates.com/divorce_in_india.php
α Solutions:
Muslims are governed by their personal laws under which "Nikah" (i.e. marriage)
is a contract and may be permanent or temporary and permits a man 4 wives if he treats
all of them equally. To have a valid "Nikah" under the Muslim Law, presence of a Qazi
(Priest) is not necessary. Merely a proposal in the presence and hearing of two sane males
or one sane male and two sane female adults, all Muslims and acceptance of the said
proposals at the same time constitute a valid Nikah under the Muslim Personal Law. A
husband can divorce his wife without any reasons merely by pronouncing thrice the word
"Talak". However for a Muslim woman to obtain divorce certain conditions are
2. GROUNDS OF DIVORCE:
In most Western nations, there are approximately 16 distinct reasons for which
divorces are granted. In India, however, only five main reasons are generally accepted as
sufficient grounds for divorce.
2.1. Adultery:
While no formal definition of adultery exists, it does have "a fairly established
meaning in matrimonial law", namely "the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married man
or woman with a person other than the offender's wife or husband". While the law
considers it valid grounds for either sex, adulterous women are "judged more harshly"
than men. The various religious regulations a e not unanimous on this issue. The law
regarding Hindus allows divorce to be granted on the grounds of infidelity of either
husband or wife. The Christian law, however, would traditionally not have granted a
divorce to a woman solely on the grounds of adultery. She would have had to prove
another violation, such as cruelty. A recent Bombay High Court decision "recognized
cruelty and desertion as independent grounds for the dissolution of a Christian marriage,"
striking down a section of the law that allowed for an unconstitutional distinction
between the sexes.
2.2. Desertion:
2.3. Cruelty:
As with adultery, "the definition of the type of behavior that constitutes cruelty
varies according to the gender of the petitioner" of the divorce. "Despite the fact that
cruelty is often equally available to husbands and wives, the way in which the law is
interpreted and applied suggests that women and men are evaluated by rather different
standards". This category includes both physical and mental abuse and neglect. A court
decision made in early May 1997 made cruelty sufficient grounds for a Christian woman
to obtain a; previously, the law required both adultery and cruelty to be proven. The
national Indian Christian community seems to have embraced this judgment.
2.4. Impotency:
Ikjot Dhawan Page 10
This refers to the physical inability of the couple to consummate the marriage or
the refusal by one spouse to do so. Some cases have established that sterility can be
construed to mean non-consummation if the other partner is not aware of the condition
before the marriage.
Both mental and physical illnesses are included in this category, as well as
sexually transmitted diseases. Not all religions recognize identical diseases as grounds for
divorce. Christians and Parsis do not allow divorce for a sexually transmitted disease or
leprosy while the other communities do.
3. CONSEQUENCES OF DIVORCE:
3.1. Economic:
3.2. Social:
While India feels that one should have the right to divorce, it is still a highly
stigmatizing action. Women are looked upon more harshly than men in this regard. There
continue to be segments of Indian society that feel divorce is never an option, regardless
of how abusive or adulterous the husband may be which adds to the greater disapproval
for women. A divorced woman often will return to her family, but may not be
One of the most frequently asked questions about family life has been, "Is divorce
harmful to children?" Although this may seem like a very important question, I would
suggest that it is time to examine a more important question which is-- "what are the
factors in divorcing families that contribute to children having difficulties?" The
explanation for why children have difficulty and the scientific evidence regarding these
factors is discussed below in the following manner.
The implications of these findings are two-fold. On the one hand, the majority of
children from divorced families do not have serious problems requiring professional help.
On the other hand, a larger percentage of children from divorced families than intact
families are likely to have serious problems. Another way to say this is that most children
in divorced families do not need help, but more children in this group than in intact
families are likely to need help. This is a complicated message and the media often errs
on the side of one or the other of these two types of findings. Both findings are important.
PARENTAL LOSS-- divorce often results in the loss of contact with one parent and with
this loss children also lose the knowledge, skills and resources (emotional, financial, etc.)
of that parent.
ECONOMIC LOSS-- another result of divorce is that children living in single parent
families are less likely to have as many economic resources as children living in intact
families.
MORE LIFE STRESS-- divorce often results in many changes in children's living
situations such as changing schools, child care, homes, etc. Children often also have to
make adjustments to changes in relationships with friends and extended family members.
These changes create a more stressful environment for children.
The amount of contact between the nonresidential father and their children is not
the determining factor; it is the quality of the father-child relationship that matters. There
is a growing body of evidence that illustrate how nonresidential fathers affect their
children. First, when a nonresidential father has frequent contact and there is minimal
conflict, children are faring better; however, when there is conflict, frequent visits are
related to poorer adjustment of children. In a study that looked at results across a broad
range of factors, I found that when fathers helped with homework, set appropriate limits
and expectations and demonstrated warmth, children fared better. In other words, good
parenting by noncustodial parents matters. In short, children benefit from continued
relationships with nonresidential parents.
Another risk that causes children's difficulty is conflict between parents prior to,
during and after the divorce that contributes to lower well-being. There have been a
number of studies examining this issue. Generally, it has been found that children in high
conflict families (either intact or divorced) fare worse than children in low conflict
families. Some studies have found that children in non-confliction single parent families
are doing better than children in confliction two-parent families. There is also evidence
that children begin to have difficulties prior to divorce and that some of these difficulties
are associated with the conflict present prior to divorce. Post-divorce conflict has a strong
influence on children's adjustment. Children in those families that can cooperate and
reduce conflict are faring better.
6.7. Summary:
There are a number of factors that account for why children in divorcing families
may have difficulties—loss of contact with a supportive parent, fewer economic
resources that lead to multiple changes, more stress, poor parental adjustment, lack of
parental competence and conflict between parents. When these risks can be reduced or
overcome, then children will fare better.
There is also some evidence that young adults whose parents divorce feel as if
they had little control over their lives following divorce including the transitions between
households. Less than 20% of children report that both of their parents talked to them
about the impending divorce and only 5% say that their parents tried to explain why the
divorce was occurring and were given a chance to ask questions. Children report more
positive feelings and less painful memories of household transitions when they were
given some chance to voice their ideas about visiting or living arrangements.
8. OVERALL CONCLUSION:
The overall results of these studies suggest that while children from divorced
families may, on average, experience more major psychological and behavioral problems
than children in intact families, there are more similarities than differences. The most
important question is not whether children from divorced families are having difficulties,
but what particular factors cause these differences. Current evidence suggests that the
loss of contact with parents, economic difficulties, stress, parental adjustment and
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to Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews.
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