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Effects of divorce on children introduction
Effects of divorce on children introduction
Academic effects on childhood divorce
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Parental Divorce: A Destructive Attempt to Pursuit Happiness
Introduction
During the past 3 decades divorce has increased dramatically. Many marriages were expected to end up in fatal marital dissolution. In the 1970s almost 40% marriages were predicted to end in parental divorce and more than half of these marriages were expected to include children (Fine, Moreland, Schwebel, 1983 & Hetherington, 1979). The process of divorce has been a major controversial topic in the past several of years. Some argue that it is a tension and stress reliever for both the child and the parents. In a situation where the parents are in a constant battle, the child experiences a great amount of stress, which eventually affects his or her grades at school and
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Although some researches are trying to view divorce in a more optimistic way, it does not compensate for its serious damaging consequences.
Background
Divorce is a life altering process, not a single event (Hetherington, 1979; Morrison & Cherlin, 1995) that ends as soon as the papers are filed and the court rules its verdict. It is a major transition in a child’s life. It can mean moving to another neighborhood and transferring schools and saying goodbye to friends, but most importantly parental divorce means the loss of a parent. The nonresidential parent, usually the father, not only leaves his family but he also leaves a huge gap in his child’s life. It is very important to have a role model in a child’s life. Children tend to pick up on things, maybe negative things and they need someone to tell them what is right and what is wrong. Although, divorce is blamed for the child’s modest well-being, poor academic performance and bad behavioral problems such as aggression,
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It gives a child a new start away from the tension and stress of living in a house with constant marital conflict. However the damaging consequences of parental divorce on a child outweighs the positive outcomes. A child of divorce might emerge with aggressive behavioral problems, poor psychological well-being and most importantly maintain a negative parent-child relationships. Parental divorce also has a long-term effect that extends to adulthood and does not withdraw during time. Long-term effects might result from the absence of the father in the child’s life. Losing a parent in a divorce has a huge negative impact on both the emotional well-being and the economical security of a
Taking Sides Paper Brianna Miller Brigham Young University SFL 210, Section #001 19-425-0539 Taking Sides: Divorce Centuries ago, divorce was illegal as well as rarely discussed, but now it is viewed as a common life event for children. In the article “Divorce’s Toll on Children”, author Karl Zinsmeister uses a variety of sources to explain his reasoning that divorce has negative and lasting effects on children. The purpose of this paper is to summarize Zinsmeister’s article, to analyze the research methodology by identifying three weaknesses and one strength in the critical thinking that the author uses, and to provide an opinion on the topic of divorce. Summary Zinmeister’s article focuses on the impact of divorce on the millions
Investigated, studied and recorded outcomes are given in many articles and books. Specifically in Judith S. Wallerstein’s book, The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce, she explains that, “[t]o understand how divorce affects children over the long haul, we need to explore the fact that the divorced family is not just a cut-off version of the two-parent family. The postdivore family is a new family form that makes very different demands on each parent, each child, and each of the many new adults who enter the family orbit” (10). The various occasions that divorce is sought out are many. Distinguishing between necessary divorce and purely selfi...
Children of divorced parents may have a lower sense of psychological well-being than children who grew up with intact families the range of feelings that a child may encounter include: disbelief and denial, sadness, loss, loneliness, depression, anger, anxiety, fear, relief, and hope. Some children may experience long-lasting emotional effects into their adulthood that damage their ability to preserve relationships. The result of parental divorce shapes children emotionally and may impact self-esteem, future relationships, dating and marriage (Armando Loomis and Booth 895+)..
Many Americans would be shock to learn that “in America, there is one divorce approximately every 36 seconds. That’s nearly 2,400 divorces per day, 16,800 divorces per week and 876000 divorces a year” (32 Shocking). Divorce causes many negative effects and has become too accepted in society. Children and parents are affected physically through the divorce process. There are psychological effects for the members of the family that are involved. The negative impacts on the family’s future life should be taken into consideration.
Divorce is becoming a worldwide phenomenon, significantly affecting children’s well-being. It radically changes their future, causing detrimental effects. According to (Julio Cáceres-Delpiano and Eugenio Giolito, 2008) nearly 50% of marriages end with divorce. 90% of children who lived in the USA in the 1960s stayed with their own biological parents, whereas today it makes up only 40% (Hetherington, E. Mavis, and Margaret Stanley-Hagan, 1999). Such an unfavorable problem has been increasing, because in 1969, the California State Legislature changed the divorce laws, where spouses could leave without providing cause (Child Study Center, 2001).
Divorce is a heavy concept that has many implications for those involved. The situation becomes even more consequential when children are considered. As divorce has become more commonplace in society, millions of children are affected by the separation of the nuclear family. How far-reaching are these effects? And is there a time when divorce is beneficial to the lives of the children? This paper will examine some of the major research and several different perspectives regarding the outcomes of divorce for the children involved, and whether it can actually be in the best interest of the kids.
Marano, Hara Estroff. "Children of Divorce: 25 Years Later." USA Weekend. Sept. 15-17 2000: 16-17. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 04 May. 2014.
Girgis, George, & Anderson (2011) define marriage as the union of a man and a woman who make a permanent and exclusive commitment to each other of the type that is naturally (inherently) fulfilled by bearing and rearing children together. These marriages are intended to last eternity and are partially accomplished by raising children together, yet four of every ten marriages lead to divorce and of these divorces, 35% involve children (Ambert, 2009). Children tend to blame themselves for the divorce and are usually caught in the crossfire. These divorces lead to both stress and depression for children and without a strong sense of family, children will have a huge disadvantage over children with a stable healthy family (Arreola, Hartounian, Kurges, Maultasch, & Retana, 2013). Without the ability to cope with the stress of a divorce, children can be effected in multiple ways including a change in mentality, unacceptable behavioural traits and both short and long term emotional factors that will ultimately lead to a critical issue in child development.
Divorce is a very common word in today's society. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage or a complete or radical severance of closely connected things"(Pickett, 2000). This dissolution of marriage has increased very rapidly in the past fifty years. In 1950 the ratio of divorce to marriage was one in every four; in 1977 that statistic became one in two. Currently one in every two first marriages results in divorce. In second marriages that figure is considerably higher, with a 67% average (National Vital Statistics Report, 2001). One critical aspect of divorce is often not taken into consideration: How it affects children. Every year 1.1 million children are affected by divorce (Benjamin, 2000). Children from divorce or separation often exhibit behavioral and long-term adjustment problems (Kelly, 2000). Throughout this paper I will discuss divorces effects on children at different age levels, how they react, and what can be done to help them.
It is unfortunate that marriages sometimes end and there are children caught in the middle of the marriage but it may be worst for the parents to stay together simply for the children’s sake. However when parents do divorce the children are the most effected by the divorce. Often enough the divorce causes children to feel displaced and also to have feelings that their world is coming to an end. These children tend to grow into adults with either extreme emotional detachment and self-esteem issues or they will have strong family values and try to prevent the cycle from repeating itself but the majority of these children grow up suffering from the divorce.
Moon, Michelle. 2011. “The Effects of Divorce on Children: Married and Divorced Parents’ Perspectives.” Journal of Divorce & Remarriage 52:344-349.
For a child, it is very hard loosing a parent. The child's life becomes more stressful because of economic loss and the loss of a supportive parent. Since many children do not adjust well, their behavior is affected. The change is devastating for many children and it affects their entire life. Divorce of parents causes many problems and affects children negatively.
The divorce damages the parent-child relationship for as many 40 percent of divorced mothers (Amato and Afifi, 2006). They do not receive at home support like children who do not have divorced parents. The parents tend to show less emotional support towards the child. There is a sense of neglect because the parents are so caught up in their personal life, that they do not see their child suffering. In younger children, there is a presence of fewer toys, possibly because their parent tried moving out of their house quickly.
Furthermore, divorce affects children by increasing "behavioral, emotional, and psychiatric risks, including even suicide." (Fagan & Churchill, 2012). This shows that the effects of divorce on children can be very dangerous if the situation was not treated wisely. In short, children feel that they lost their sense of safety which triggers all these sad feelings which may develop into depression, anxiety, or anti-social
Third and fourthly, despite suffering through their parent’s divorce, most children will recover from the sudden transition, however, many will report that they still remember the trauma and the occasional worries about their own relationships, their parent’s relationships, and divorce in general. In conclusion, there is no escaping the grief of divorce, every child will suffer some sort of psychological or behavioral problem when confronted with their parent’s