Adolescents and Divorce

This includes the relationship disturbances that are seen between parents and their children, how socially different their life becomes when divorce is present, and overall the future impact these children have on our society. During a divorce, each family member is affected in some way. The truth is most spouses as well as their children are not ready for the emotional and physical impact of divorce. Overall, divorce ends up disrupting the family life cycling process, adding intricacy to the development tasks already at hand. With the configuration of the family being altered, family members have to adjust to new situations and feelings.

Effects of Divorce on Children Today Divorce and its effects on children are common issues that are on the rise in the world today. Divorce affects more than just the married couple. Children often bear the brunt of divorce, which makes divorce a complicated decision for most parents. Understanding the effects divorce has on a child is important to know exactly why a child acts a certain way. A divorce can affect a child psychologically, intellectually, and even behaviorally.

Web. Apr 16 2014 Matthews, Wayne D. “Divorce on Children” Ces.ncsu.edu 05 Mar, 2011, Web 02. Mar. 2014 Pickhardt Carl “The Impact of Divorce on Young Children and Adolescents” Surviving (Your Childs) Adolesence. 19 Dec. 2011.

It can send the child back and forth between the two parents over various distances, leaving the child feeling confused or lost. A child’s sense of continuity is disrupted and this can often lead to serious psychological effects on the child. The topic of the effects on the child of relocation after divorce is growing in interest as there are more cases of divorce than ever before. Custodial parents sometimes want to relocate which can cause great stress for the child as well as the non-custodial parent. This essay will discuss the effects the relocation after divorce have on the child, the best interests of the child, the presumptions before the divorce trial, the impact of modern technology and the flaws in this research.

Divorce is hard for any person to cope with, let alone a child to go through. During a divorce, the child/children involved are losing the most important relationship in their life from the two most important people in their life, their own mother and father. The two people upon whom the child is dependent are no longer equally accessible to the child and the foundation of the child’s world is splintered. (Gindes) Divorce causes long-term negative impact on the child involved bringing upon emotional, behavior and social issues. Children, whom are involved in divorce deal with much emotional baggage, which carries along other issues dealing with behavior and social issues.

Children's adjustment to divorce: Theories, hypotheses, and empirical support. JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY, 55, 23-38. Amato, P.R. (1994). Life-span adjustment of children to their parents' divorce.

Often times children that have parents who go through divorce are mentally and emotionally unstable. Children that have parents who are divorced or who are in the process of going through a divorce respond and react differently. There are four major effects that divorce has on a child: stress, risk, resilience, and painful memories with ongoing worries (Emery). Most children do not want to see their parents' marriage end in a divorce unless there is major conflict or they are arguing constantly. Children often blame themselves for their parents' divorce.

A divorce can affect the traditional family dynamic in a multiple ways, including the relationship between children and their parents. The relationship between adolescent children and their parents in post-divorce families is often strained as a result of poor communications. Research indicates that a high degree of conflict between former spouses is one of the strongest detrimental influences on children and parent–child relations (Afifi & Schrodt, 2003). Two key behavior phenomena that can be observed in adolescents, in respect to their relationship to their divorced parents, are “feeling caught” as a mediator and inappropriate parental divorce disclosures. It has been suggested that, because older children have developed cognitive maturity, parents tend to rely on their adolescent offspring to provide support and advice, resulting in increased pressures and responsibilities (Wright & Maxwell, 1991).

The negative side of divorce is that families sometimes stay torn apart, therefore: There is a lot of anger, rage that happens because going through a situation like this is not something that is easy, and many emotions become involved. Dealing with their parents can be difficult for some teens, but for many others, they feel as if a divorce will make their family happier without seeing all of the fighting. Handling divorce is so difficult when it comes to teens, and is a process of life. Not all teens have the same reactions that other teens may experience in the different living environments. Seeing that your parents are drawing further apart and are going through many heartache puts teens through a lot of emotion.

The biggest outcomes that come from divorced families would be psychosocial development of internal and external stress sources, and intimate and social relationships. Other factors that can come into play are closeness with parents, well-being, and reactions to life situations and choices that involve social influences. If the effects of divorce on an adolescent are extreme, then the feeling of being overlooked and ignored can develop. People of all different ages and occupations need to know and realize that these factors are very important; people also need to be knowledgeable on how to improve these outcomes and prevent horrible consequences in teens and people in general. Divorce effects on adolescents can become issues in their psychosocial development throughout their teen years and beyond.