Divorce

Hi Jeff,

If you find any studies out there please share with me. I created and developed DC4K, DivorceCare for Kids (www.dc4k.org)

It is a faith-based video group support program for children whose parents have divorced or are divorcing. We've equipped almost 75,000 children through churches that host this program. 

I have a lot of my own thoughts after having worked with children of divorce since back in the late 60s. I am seeing through DC4K that the kids who go through this 13-week program once and sometimes twice are healing in amazing ways. The ones that first went through it are now late teens or early adult years. I believe even though they may have a high ACEs score, after DC4K they are betting able to manage their stress, set goals for their future and in general are healthier emotionally than kids who don't have access to DC4K.

I'm sure you have read all of Elizabeth Marquardt's works and Dr. Judith Wallerstein. Both of these women have done tremendous work and publications about children of divorce. 

Currently I blog 4 times a week about children of divorce. My purpose is to educate children's ministers and church volunteers about the child of divorce. You are more than welcome to check out the "Kids & Divorce" blog at www.blog.dc4k.org 

Linda Ranson Jacobs

DC4K Creator, Ambassador and Blogger

919-653-2179 (office)

Email:  ljacobs@dc4k.org

Hello Jasmine,

Thanks for getting back to me. I am a PhD candidate in Marriage and Family Therapy and I would like to conduct a Qualitative study of how experiencing a divorce as a child effects people's lives as adults. I would like to utilize the ACES framework. What type of work do you do at Stanford?

Hello Jeff,

Sounds like a great study. I found this nice summary from the CDC about the effects of childhood stress on health across the lifespan: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/pdf/childhood_stress.pdf

I will continue to look for further research on the topic.

I work in employee wellness at Stanford. I advise employees on the biometrics a few days a week while I am finishing up my MPH at San Jose State. Looking forward to continuing to research this topic with you.

Thanks!

Jasmine

Great inquiry Jeff. I'll look for some studies regarding Divorce and ACEs and share once I find something.

Thanks!

Jasmine

Hello Linda,

Thanks for the info. I have read Wallerstein's work but not Elizabeth Marquardt's work. I will look look into your work.

Jeff, and as a subset of that, how Collaborative Divorce impacts kids (compared with other types of divorce, especially the litigation model).  Also, I hear that there are new studies out, talking to grown adults who were children of divorce (these adults talked about how there was no love or warmth in the home and how they wished their parents had divorced sooner rather than when they did).  So the divorce topic and its implications are complex.