h school where she did not know anyone. She remembers being extremely lonely. Ann did not adjust well to the new environment. She was not confident enough to join any sports or activities where she could make new friends. This turmoil lead to a tremendous decrease in her self-esteem, which has taken her much effort to improve, even if only slightly. Overall, I believe Ann has had much difficulty in her life because of the divorce. Dr. Gold makes some important points, which I believe are completely relevant to Anns case. First, she states that the most important predictor of a good adjustment in the children was the overall quality of life within the postdivorce family. Second, there are long-term and lasting effects in the nonclinic (those without psychotherapy) population of divorced children. Third, the long-term effects seem to be most severe in girls. And fourth, visitation and regular visitation patterns seem to be prophylactic in regard to preventing long-term problems. Ann has not seen or heard from her father since a few months after the divorce, eleven years ago. She blames him entirely. In her words, I really dont care if he is dead or alive. I believe the fact that she has not had the opportunity to resolve feelings of resentment and anger towards her father has not allowed for her to properly cope. She is quite cynical towards love and trust within relationships. Unfortunately, forgiveness is not in Anns vocabulary. Trust does not come easily for this 20-year-old. She claims the main reason for this is numerous accounts of betrayal by her family, including her father. She is extremely doubtful of everyones loyalty. She believes once someone takes advantage of your trust they will continue to do so repeatedly. According to Erik Erikson, trust requires a feeling of physical comfort and a minimal amount of fear and apprehension about ones future (Halonen & Santrock, 1997). I feel my interviewee ...
