Cause and Effect Essay: Divorce Causes Problems For Children

The effects of divorce can be short or long term. Divorce is a stressful process for children at all ages and developmental stages. Although this process is not ideal for any child to experience individuals are able to live healthy lives. This paper will discuss the progression of relationships with the custodial and non-custodial parent, it will also discuss the possible psychological implications that children will face, the economic and educational effects, and the social and spiritual aspects.

The Effects of Divorce on Children Divorce is a process that many people in America go through. The divorce rate continues to escalate over the years. Divorce is a serious problem, it is a gradual process that ultimately results in families breaking up. There are various factors in which a marriage can fail and end up in divorce. Some skip the step of trying to reconcile things and make it work.

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+)..

The Impact of Parental Divorce on a Child Divorce has increased dramatically since the beginning of this century. Unfortunately, the probability that a marriage will today end in a divorce is a whopping 50 percent. Also, the average duration of a marriage has decreased from 17 years in 1971 to just over 9 years in 1990 (Halonen & Santrock, 1997).

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.

Divorce can get many different reactions from children. They may start out in denial, or have feelings of abandonment; some react with anger and hostility, get depressed, or have feelings of blame or guilt (“Psychological”). Denial is the usual reaction from younger children; they will fantasize and make up stories about family activities that they are going to do (“Psychology”). They will believe that both parents will still remain in their life as normal and nothing of significance will change. Children also fear abandonment at a young age when their parents divorce. They believe that because their parents abandoned each other they will also be abandoned (“Psychological”). This problem can get worse if one or both parents try to turn the child against the other parent. The child may side with one parent and start to see the other parent as the bad guy. In some cases the child may feel that they don’t have “perm...

Assessing consequences of divorce on children are both subjective and problematic because many factors and personal experiences are taken into account. Overall, the psychological context of this event is traumatizing for the child, usually to a greater degree than between the parents that are separating. However, the negative effects of divorce on children are not inevitable. “They either undergo the major emotional disturbances to a point where it disrupts their development, or they learn to manage the stresses in order to cope with the situation and emotions that accompany” (Judy Mann), mainly through parental intention and intervention.

In this case of divorce, that is not a good thing. It’s been shown that the kids who experience divorce between their parents will have a higher likelihood of divorcing in the future (Hetherington, 2016). Divorce is something that can be avoided too, but many parents feel that the marriage is too far gone to save and they do not want to put the effort in. Some of the many things that can be done are going to counseling, reading books, talking to friends and family, and other methods. Two parents are essential for a child’s growth and development so they can grow up to be productive and healthy in society with experience from both the mom and dad. Amato adds, “The spread of single-parent families contributes to many social problems, including poverty, crime, substance abuse, declining academic standards, and the erosion of neighborhoods and communities.” Not only is this a dangerous environment in some cases for children, but it will affect their behaviors in the future as mentioned earlier; not just with divorce but with other issues like poverty and crime as well. Therefore, parents should stay together and work out their problems in order to sustain a healthy atmosphere and developmental life

Effects of Divorce on Children Children will be suffered conflict with the interaction with their parents and siblings, and other aspects in their family life by cause of the divorce (Berk, 2010). Some parents who decide to get divorced that they were waiting the time on arguments and fights. Also, these parents use their children to punishment to one to each other. For this situation, children have a lot of conflicts on their emotions, and they have issues in their security. For instance, the custody’s fights are the biggest battle during the separation, and parents develop a lot of stress during this process.

The Effect of Divorce on Children Divorce is a common transition in many families and has begun to become a natural standard of living in marriages (The Effects of Divorce on Children). Couples seek divorce for a variety of different reasons, the main goal being to find happiness that they are not finding in their current marriages. When a couple is going through divorce, sometimes they don’t notice the impact their separation has on their children. Children may feel very alone and turn to other things to help get them through this rough time in their life.