Divorce is more prevalent in Jessica's family, and while most in my family are very happily married, Jessica and her family have faced more marital issues. While I grew up in a traditional family with both parents, in Jessica’s family of origin and in her current family, the father(s) is absent. Jessica's change in family structure caused her to have to take on a different, androgynous behavior role; that of father and mother (Bradbury and Karney, 2014). This resulted in her being competent in a wide range of roles and situations.
Also, whereas I am an only child, Jessica’s family of origin and current family includes siblings. Unlike Jessica’s, there are no members of my family who are mixed race. Likewise, it seems to me like my family is slightly less dependent on those living outside the immediate family unit than Jessica’s immediate family is. What I mean by this is that my family of origin takes care of itself until outside assistance from other members is needed. Jessica seems to have a smaller extended family unit than I …show more content…
Sometimes, blended families face issues with juggling many different kinship ties and conflicting loyalties. According to Bradbury and Karney (2014), children are affected by divorce, and in this case, it seems that Jessica’s children have little to no interaction with their father. They seem to be coping well, possibly due to the fact that they witnessed little to no turmoil from the divorce due to their young age and there is no ongoing conflict. It is important to note that “early family experiences affect a wide range of phenomena that will bear upon the formation and development of intimate relationships later in life (Bradbury and Karney, 2014, p. 205). Jessica’s mother was also divorced. Thus, Jessica’s own life experiences, and the experiences of her children, may have affected or will affect their views on divorce and cohabitation as children exposed to parental divorce are more likely to divorce as adults. The broaden and build theory usually relates to two people in an intimate relationship. However, in Jessica’s case, her mother appears to be assuming the role that an intimate partner usually