A divorce intervention programme, known as Project HEART (Healing and Reconciliation Therapeutic Programme), has been developed by the Family Justice Centre of the Subordinate Courts of Singapore. The primary objectives of Project HEART are to arrest potential divorce proceedings at an early stage (ie at the initial consultations with a lawyer) and to provide therapeutic intervention in order to restore and reconcile at-risk couples. The following article is an insight into the development of the Project and its aims.
Introduction
Project HEART was developed in response to the alarming, rising number of divorce petitions filed at the Family Court of Singapore. Between 1996 and 2000, the increase in the number of petitions was 8% per annum. In 2000, a total of 4,144 petitions were filed, averaging 345 petitions per month and over 5,000 divorces were granted islandwide. According to the statistics provided (Singapore Department of Statistics, Statistics on Marriages & Divorces 1999 (September 2000)), 50% of divorced couples had dependent children under 18 years of age with an average number of 1.6 dependent children per couple. Given these numbers, it is projected that on an average, 11,600 persons are affected by divorces in Singapore each year.
In addition, according to an informal sampling of lawyers in private practice handling divorce cases, about half of the clients who sought legal advice on divorce did not proceed with divorce. However, these clients were noted to return after approximately two years in order to begin divorce proceedings. Based on these informal estimates, it is possible that, given around 5,000 divorces a year, there is a probability that another 5,000 people might be contemplating ending their marriages each year. Therefore, including children, this results in over 23,000 individuals who are 'at risk' of suffering the ravages of divorce each year.
These general statistics do not sufficiently reflect the trauma, sorrow and ripple effects that tragically result from these broken families. The effects of the disaster certainly touch the children and extended families significantly. Beyond emotional and psychological stresses that the dependants experience, the effects of divorce are criminogenic. Although the legal process of divorce involves only the Family Court, the effects of divorce often extend to the Juvenile and Criminal Courts as well. Indeed, the contamination flows downstream and the problems of parents are visited upon their offspring.
Criminogenic Effects of Divorce
Divorce has been shown by research to have extensive and long-lasting effects on individuals. An individual's emotional, physical health as well as social well-being is often affected by the legal proceedings and corresponding financial strain that couples have to go through in the process of dissolving their marriage.1 In many cases, financial situations may be altered after the divorce. In addition, divorcing couples contend with long and exhausting legal procedures, including dealing with issues of asset division, child custody, maintenance, etc. According to research, this results in a host of psychological distress to individuals, such as separation anxiety and uncertainties, grief, depression and lowered self-esteem.2 Studies indicate that these psychological and physical effects could last for as long as four years after the divorce.3
Examining the ripple effects of such a significant life event and its effect
on individuals, in marriages with children, the effects of divorce are
especially pronounced as the effect extends to their dependants. Many couples
who are parents tend to become neglectful of or are unable to attend to the
feelings of their children while undergoing the process. For young children,
with a general lack of understanding of the complexity of the situation, the
divorce process often inflicts feelings of self-blame; children can become
highly anxious and exhibit such regressive symptoms as bedwetting or tantrums.
Children who are not old enough to comprehend changes in the dynamics of
families can often manifest their distress through depression and withdrawal
(ie internalising behaviour) or disruptive acting out (ie externalising
behaviour).1 These are all antecedents predictive
of subsequent delinquency during adolescence.
Very often, inconsistency between parents, with regards to their parenting styles, expectations and rules of behaviour, may also come about with separation/divorce. Confusing, conflicting and contradictory messages are usually sent to the child from both parents and the child may find him/herself entangled in a web of parental disagreement and conflict. In such situations, children may begin to set their own standards and rules for behaviour and manipulate their parents to escape discipline for deviant behaviour.4
The effect on juveniles is substantial. Studies have demonstrated that teenagers, who come from incomplete homes, are more prone to problems in multiple areas of their lives, including education, social relationships and marriage. In the area of education, they are more likely to fare worse - in terms of their academic achievements - and have higher truancy rates and greater tendency to drop out from school. For girls, the probability of teenage pregnancy is increased with repercussions, such as single parenting and lowered education prospects and socio-economic status.5 These related social problems increase the probability of involvement of these juveniles with criminal activity.
These adverse effects on juveniles are especially pronounced during the already tumultuous transition from childhood to adulthood. It is not difficult to imagine that during this critical period, adolescents from broken families would be hindered and less successful compared to those from complete and well-functioning families.5 Indeed, these at-risk youths have a higher tendency to turn to drugs for comfort6 or to engage in criminal behaviours during this difficult transition.
Various studies from the USA have confirmed these theories of the criminogenic effects of divorce and broken families on youth. In 1987, Sampson7 reported that divorce posed the strongest correlation of all factors with robbery rates in American cities. In 1988, the LA Times8 reported that 72% of the 25,000 incarcerated juveniles studied came from broken homes. The US Department of Health and Human Services9 reported, in the same year, that children in fatherless homes are more likely to be in trouble with the law than their peers, who grew up with both parents. Clark10 also noted that, of the juvenile criminals in the USA who were of threat to the public, 70% came from broken homes.
Looking at home in Singapore, the criminogenic effects of divorce appear to reflect the same patterns found in the USA studies. From studies undertaken by the Ministry of Community Development11 and Subordinate Courts,12 it is found that 54% of male and 37% of female juvenile offenders came from broken homes (refer to figure 1). Of the beyond parental control cases ('BPC'), where parents express their inability to discipline and manage their children, 50% of the cases came from broken families.
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| a) Marital Status of the Parents of Male Juvenile Offenders |
b) Marital Status of the Parents of Female Juvenile Offenders |
Thus, it is evident that divorce has adverse effects on couples and their dependants, and is closely correlated with juvenile crime. In corroborating this finding, the Family Justice Centre of the Subordinate Courts of Singapore has targeted the restoration of marriages as a high priority, alongside the already proven ability of Family Court to provide expeditious and less acrimonious dissolutions of marriages. Project HEART was formed in order to provide professional intervention strategies from a multi-cultural variety of community agencies in order to arrest the developing negative national trend.
Development of Project HEART
Project HEART was developed in order to deal with divorce by intervening right at the point when the consideration of divorce is first triggered in an individual. Through working with couples at this critical period and addressing the key contributing factors which cause divorce, it is hoped that reconciliation could be possible and divorces averted.
In examining research perspectives on divorcing persons, some areas of concern are consistently found in relevant literature - perceptions of marriage (both positive and negative aspects) and the ability to manage conflicts within marriage.13 Negative perceptions comprise general negativity (the vagueness of expression of attraction for spouse or display of negative affect towards spouse) and disappointment/disillusionment (expressions of giving up on the relationship). Positive perceptions include expressions of pride and affection for a spouse (fondness/affection) and indications of unity in the marriage ('we-ness'). These positive or protective factors will often override the negative perceptions towards a marriage.
In the area of managing marital conflict, there are essentially three factors that mediate the extent of marital breakdown. They include:
Project HEART is based upon these and other research findings which have formed key tenets for intervention and treatment. Thus, the treatment interventions are not based so much on simply intuitive-counselling approaches, but on empirically-tested methods validated by research.
The key objectives of Project HEART are:
Overview of Programme
A couple contemplating divorce will be approached at their first point of contact with a lawyer for legal advice. At the couple's consent, the lawyer will present a Screening Questionnaire to the couple for completion. The questionnaire screens for suitability and willingness to undergo the programme and the couple's personal preference for type of intervention (with options for those who desire a specific form of religious intervention).
Subsequently, if deemed suitable and willing, the couple will be referred to
the appropriate service provider to participate in the intervention programmes.
These programmes include counselling sessions, marriage enhancement classes,
residential two to three day programmes, special focus clinics that deal with
specific issues and befriender programmes. Please refer to the general work flow
diagram below.
The programme is a partnership between the Family Justice Centre, Legal Aid Bureau, volunteer law firms and professional marriage counselling service providers from a multiplicity of community agencies. For the initial launch of this programme, in September 2001, the Law Society, the Legal Aid Bureau and law firms were approached. Ten law firms and six counselling and treatment agencies have responded thus far, with the hope of the inclusion of even more law firms and agencies. As a primary focal point for poorer couples at risk, the Legal Aid Bureau will play a substantial and most significant partnering role in Project HEART.
Another objective of Project HEART is to provide interventions which are suitable for individuals in Singapore from a diversity of religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The participating agencies, thus far, include: AFLAME, Eagles Mediation & Counselling Centre, Family Life Society, SINDA, Shan You Counselling Centre and Wesley Methodist Church. Couples at risk will be presented with a veritable menu of agencies which are designed to suit their backgrounds and individual affiliative needs. This diverse partnership ensures that the programme is readily accessible to its target audience and the main issues of concern for these couples are adequately addressed during intervention for reconciliation.
Research and Evaluation
In order to examine the effectiveness of Project HEART in bringing about reconciliation for couples on the brink of divorce, research and evaluation will be conducted during the course of the programme and also at the end of a one-year period from the programme launch. Research will target programme evaluation in order to maximise treatment effectiveness. In addition, the research aims to determine the most efficacious points of intervention, what can often be termed 'critical periods' in psychology - eg a specific time frame (such as the first five years of life which is a critical period for certain bonding needs). It is, heretofore, assumed that the first several consultations with a lawyer may be one of those critical periods, but this assumption will be examined further.
Specifically, Project HEART will begin with a profile analysis of 100 couples in order to develop a contextualised, Asian and local analysis of couples at risk. This study will examine such critical factors as: (a) demographics (eg age group, race, occupation, educational level, etc); (b) history of marriages/divorces; (c) key motivations for considering divorce; and (d) current feelings about marital problems (eg level of coping, degree of perceived control, level of commitment, perceived similarities, etc). Not only is this study designed to provide empirical data for the development of Project HEART, it will also yield demographic and interpersonal descriptive data which will be a 'first' for Singapore.
Finally, at the completion or end of the programme, post-treatment evaluation questionnaires will be given out to assess the outcomes of the interventions in Project HEART. Comparing this with the pre-treatment evaluations will give us a strong indication of the efficacy of various programme components, as well as an examination of the effectiveness of a diverse set of agency programmes.
Conclusions
Acting in a decidedly proactive manner, the Family Justice Centre of the Subordinate Courts has endeavoured to tackle the issue of rising divorce trends in Singapore. Recognising the ripple criminogenic effects of broken families on delinquency and the mental health of children, Project HEART was thus designed. Further, Project HEART has targeted the first legal consultations as the potentially critical moment when divorces can probably be averted (through specified treatment), and thus the Legal Aid Bureau, the Law Society and law firms are joining together to address the national concern over divorces.
Offering a multiplicity of potential treatments, the enthusiastic participation of many community agencies has provided a welcome involvement in treatment and rehabilitation of at-risk marriages. As the lead agency, the Family Justice Centre of the Subordinate Courts has endeavoured through Project HEART to: (a) stimulate commitment and involvement; (b) provide empirical data based on an in-depth study of research literature; (c) conduct programme evaluation; and (d) gather in the broader community into a synergistic and co-ordinated programme. It is hoped that the entire community of the Family Justice Centre, lawyers and social welfare agencies will join together to provide a pilot project which will expand into a major national intervention strategy, to successfully diminish the currently increasing number of disintegrating families due to divorce.
Project HEART is in the early stages of implementation. The recruitment drive for treatment candidates and the gathering of data for the preliminary profile study commenced in late July 2001. The initial launch will be implemented by the Legal Aid Bureau and other law firms which are willing to participate. A handful of trial interventions was and will be run from July-September 2001 and the full-fledged implementation of Project HEART is targeted to commence in September 2001.
Joseph Paul Ozawa, Han Li June & Elaine Teong
Criminal, Family & Juvenile Justice Centres
Subordinate Courts
Endnotes
1 Schwartz, LL & Kaslow, FW, Painful Partings
(1997) John Wiley and Sons Inc, USA.
2 Sclater, SD, Divorce: A Psychosocial Study (1999)
Ashgate Publishing Co, USA.
3 Kitson, GC & Holmes, WM, Portrait of Divorce:
Adjustment to Marital Breakdown (1992) Guildford Press, USA.
4 Dornbusch, BM, Adolescents After Divorce (1996)
Howard University Press, USA.
5 McLanahan, S & Sandefur, G, Growing Up with a
Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps (1994) Harvard University Press, USA.
6 US Department of Health and Human Services,
National Centre for Health Statistics (1993) Washington, DC.
7 Sampson, RJ, Crime in Cities (1987).
8 LA Times, 19 September 1988.
9 US Department of Health and Human Services,
National Centre for Health Statistics (1988) Hyattsville, MD.
10 Clark, R, Crime in America: Observations on its
Nature, Causes, Prevention and Control (1970) Simon & Schuster, NY.
11 Ministry of Community Development, 'Wait Till
your Father Comes Home!' (March 2000) Research Digest issue nos 3-4.
12 Subordinate Courts, 'Profile of Female Juvenile
Offenders' (March 2001) Research Bulletin issue no 26.
13 Carrere, S, Buehlman, KT, Gottman, JM, Coan, JA
& Ruckstuhl, L, 'Predicting Marital Stability and Divorce in Newlywed
Couples' (2000) Journal of Family Psychology vol 14, nos 1, 42-58.
Steven Lim
Rajah & Tann