Divorce Impacts a Child Emotionally, Mentally and Academically

Divorces in the United States are often only thought about from a single perspective, that being the two spouses involved. However, children are severely affected by the aftermath of divorces probably even more so than the parents, especially on the long-term basis. About one third of children experience this fallout, and of those divorces only a third claim to have done all they could to save their marriages (Holst). Based on middle-class cultural norms in modern society, both the psychological and physical effects on children from parental separation constitute many factors during and after the divorce.

The effects of divorce can be both short and long term. Studies show that divorce can have positive and negative effects. The positive effects being that if a child is in a tumultuous, abusive, and violent household the process of divorce is a positive effect. The divorce process can be short and sometimes lengthy. Children are faced with challenges that they think will never end. Their mental, social, educational, and religious parts of life are pushed to unimaginable limits. With the right support system, strategies, and securities partnered with the comforts at home, children can lead healthy normal lives just as children from intact

...nocence and sincerity. Children are not able to completely understand what the whole divorce course means. The effects children experience, such as anxiety, depression, guilt and grief, are some ways in which children express their feelings towards separation. Divorce does not signify separation for parents only; it also implies the consequence of a series of eternal effects for children if not treated carefully.

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 is a serious matter, whether it is proven to have affects on individuals or not, it is not something that people wish to endure. Bruce F. Dykeman, Marita p. McCabe and Stacey Richardson, and Linda Nielsen have all done great research on the outcomes of a divorce on children. Conflict theorist as well have done great job on providing factors that go into a divorce. While there are some positive outcomes from children of divorce, the majority of the research provided by the researchers above conclude that there are more negative impacts than positive.

The argument over how divorce affects children is one that has been going on for a very long time. Some people believe when parents get a divorce the children are not affected at all, while others believe when parents get a divorce the children are affected by the impact of divorce more than anyone in the family. In some cases, married couples can be in such a terrible marriage that divorce can in no way be avoided, and these divorces are usually the ones that children benefit from and are affected in a positive way. Many times though, a couple will choose to get a divorce because their marriage is not exactly the way it used to be, and they want that aspect of life back; these are the divorces that negatively affect children. Even though in some cases divorce does not affect children negatively, many times when parents obtain a divorce, the children are negatively harmed in many different ways that will forever change their lives.

In conclusion, divorce can change the child physically and emotionally. During the process for divorce the child is the suffering factor and can seem as if they are not important. Even though divorce is an event that no child wants to go through it can also have its rewarding factors.

I. Introdution 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?

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.

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).