CHILDREN OF DIVORCE - FAMILY SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE

This paper is a report of a study of marriage and divorce as processes through which emotional attachments are established and resolved. The concepts of family systems theory and therapy are used to describe the ways in which emotional attachments in general, and child focus in particular, operate in families undergoing separation or divorce. The report begins with a general description of family systems theory, including an examination of the patterns of management of emotional attachment in families and the relationship of these patterns to the ways children experience their parents' separation, divorce, and custody arrangements. Then the management of emotional attachment in families which may have either a mild or severe degree of child focus is compared and contrasted. The final section considers family therapy in relation to these issues. 1979 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues