Anna Karenina Research Paper

Living Two Different Lives

As a child, your biggest fear growing up is your parents getting a divorce. In Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel, Anna Karenina, he says “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Divorce rates in the United States have increased tremendously since the 1970’s. Many people believe the children from these divorced families are the ones suffering the most. Depression, poor academics, high risk behaviors, and risk of suicide have all been severe issues occurring among children from divorced families.

Not surprisingly, depression is a major factor concerning children coming from divorce. Depression is a very dangerous effect and can not be looked at as a little problem. Children from divorced parents are seven times more likely to suffer from depression than those whose families are still together. One may find depression in children appears to be gender-neutral and also does not appear to have a correlation with family history. Children in circumstances such as divorce often feel unwanted or unloved. They are surrounded by fighting and stress by both of the parents which causes the children themselves to feel stressed. Too much pressure can cause children to feel overwhelmed with problems that they cannot handle by themselves. Therefore, they begin to feel as though nothing is going to be the same again and depression becomes a major issue in the lives of these children.

Poor academics is another effect divorce has on children. Children whose parents have separated tend to have less self confidence than those whose parents are still together. Self confidence is a major part of academics. If children believe they can accomplish a certain task they, are more likely t...

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...final. Father’s are a crucial part of a young male’s life because they act as role models for their sons. If the father is not around, the child may feel abandoned, which adds another problem to the child’s life. Even though a majority of children from divorce do not become suicidal, they do have a higher chance of exposure to the idea of it.

Divorce is not only hard on the adults but also on the children who are involved. Parents do not realize the emotional stress of a divorce causes many emotional and behavioral issues for children. The chances of depression, poor academics, high risk behaviors, and suicide are all greatly increased in children who have been through a divorce. The children, not the adults, are the ones who suffer the most after going through such a life changing experience. Divorce has an effect on the entire family, and not just the parents.