Social cohesion breakdown can be evidenced by factors such as crime rates, family disruption, inequality, corruption, an increase in mortality rates among infants and divorce. A family as a unit provides the right atmosphere for children to grow to be moral citizens of the society, although this may not always be the case. In situations where families break apart because of divorce, children may tend to get negative aspects and images of how they are to behave in their adult life. Chances of such children sustain a marriage become lower.
Divorce contributes to financial pressures in the society. As a couple, individuals are able to manage and help one another in hard economic times. However, divorced couples have to figure out ways to make more income or provide for their children who may be in school. What follows are court battles where one spouse may fail to meet their financial obligations as stipulated in their divorce agreement.
Divorce is constantly contributing to the lack of social cohesion. According to Fagan and Rector (2000), divorce contributes to the destruction of the family as a basic social unit. According to the Federal Reserve Board’s 1995 study of Consumer Finance, only 42% of children between 14 and 18 years of age live in a first marriage. Children end up being raised in a second marriage or even individual who were married earlier (Fagan and Rector, 2000). Furthermore, divorce contributes to poverty, which is another aspect or indicator of social disintegration. Children who grow up from families have experienced divorced problems may end up developing behavioral problems such as drug abuse. Children raised by single mothers as caused by divorce may end up engaging in crime. According to Fagan (1995), an analysis of crime provides evidence that a 10% increase in children abandoned by their fathers causes an increase in juvenile crime by 17%.
References
Fagan, P., & Rector, R. (2000, June 5). The Effects of Divorce on America. Retrieved June 25, 2015, from http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2000/06/the-effects-of-divorce-on-america
Fagan, P. (1995). The Real Root Causes of Violent Crime: The Breakdown of Marriage, Family, and Community. Retrieved June 25, 2015, from http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1995/03/bg1026nbsp-the-real-root-causes-of-violent-crime
