has never had such a luxury. It is evident in talking to Ann that there is somewhat of a difference between whom she is and who she would like to be. Carl Rogers states that the greater the discrepancy between the real and ideal self the more maladjusted one will be (Halonen & Santrock, 1997). I agree with this statement completely. Ann practically believes everything she portrays is negative. She repeatedly compares herself to her friends, herself being the inadequate one. Ann dislikes her physical appearance. When I commented that I thought she was beautiful, she could not accept the compliment. She responded I hate the way I look and I cant stand looking at myself in the mirror. She can not accept flattery because she has little self worth and low self esteem. She does not even trust in the fact that a man finds her attractive. She is always the center of her own jokes. I conclude that this is the way she copes with her feelings of inferiority (which are much more deep routed than I first assumed). I am not attempting to make the claim that Anns problems are due to her parents divorce. This is just one story of some of the issues a child may have to cope with following her parents separation and what some of the repercussions may be. However, Anns case does in some ways relate to researched effects of divorce on children. First, her initial feelings of being sad, lonely, and withdrawn are common among children following parental divorce (Gold, 1992). These children share a sense of being deprived or needy as Ann claimed she was. I believe a major hurdle for Ann was the complete loss of a relationship with her father. Dr. Gold states that contact between the noncustodial parent and the child is critical to the future of the child. Ann, unlike many young adults whose parents divorced, is still angry. Unfortunately, she has never had much of a support system who could buffer the emotional despair she has had...
