Building healthier families: helping parents and children cope with divorce. 1997

B M Melnyk, and L Alpert-Gillis
University of Rochester School of Nursing, New York, USA.

Marital separation and divorce are stressful transitions for families. Due to the multitude of stressors imposed, parents and children are at risk for negative emotional, behavioral, and psychological outcomes. Advanced practice nurses are in an excellent position to provide early interventions to separated families that may prevent the need for mental health services that are costly to families and communities. This article discusses the effects of divorce on children and parents and provides guidelines for assessment and intervention with separated families. A description of the Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (COPE) program, a newly developed intervention program for separated parents and their young children, is also included.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D002666 Psychology, Child Branch of psychology involving the study of normal and abnormal behavior of children. Child Psychology,Infant Psychology,Pediatric Psychology,Psychology, Infant,Psychology, Pediatric
D004243 Divorce Legal dissolution of an officially recognized marriage relationship. Divorced,Separated,Separation,Divorces,Separations
D005192 Family Health The health status of the family as a unit including the impact of the health of one member of the family on the family as a unit and on individual family members; also, the impact of family organization or disorganization on the health status of its members. Health, Family
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D016487 Parenting Performing the role of a parent by care-giving, nurturance, and protection of the child by a natural or substitute parent. The parent supports the child by exercising authority and through consistent, empathic, appropriate behavior in response to the child's needs. PARENTING differs from CHILD REARING in that in child rearing the emphasis is on the act of training or bringing up the children and the interaction between the parent and child, while parenting emphasizes the responsibility and qualities of exemplary behavior of the parent.

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