NOREEN BROPHY,
Sir, - I agree with Tony Humphries (Education & Living, February 5th) that "there is an urgent need for society to address the fall-out of marital breakdown in the lives of children". I also think there is an urgent need for famous psychologists to stop using the label "broken family" or to at least define what it is before using it in the same breath as marital breakdown. My concept of a "broken family" is a dysfunctional one, whether there are one or two parents.
Perhaps children of "broken families" are 40 per cent more likely (than who?) to achieve poorly in school and more likely to engage in anti-social behaviours because of the negative labels that are applied to them and subsequent negative attitudes. As Mr Humphries is well aware, self-esteem is the key to a child's future and self-esteem is transmitted to children mostly through language. Would it be a helpful idea to start to address the "fallout of marital breakdown" by examining our use of language? Would it then be helpful to talk about (dare I say it?) possible successful outcomes for children when their parents' dysfunctional relationships come to an end? - Yours, etc.,
NOREEN BROPHY,
Coosan,
Athlone,
Co Westmeath.