The Effects of Divorce on Children
As a child, there are many things that affect a view, memory, opinion, or attitude. Children have many of their own daily struggles to cope with, as peer pressures are an example.
As an adult, we sometimes forget what it is like to be a child dealing with some of the childhood pressures. Many parents do not realize how something like divorce could possibly
affect their children as much as it does themselves.
As the case may be, children are strongly affected by divorce. Some react differently than do others, but all experience some kind of emotional change. Exposure to a highly
stressful major life change event on children, which may overwhelm children's coping capacity, and thus compromising favorable adjustments (Garmezy, Masten, & Tellegen, 1984; Gersten, Langner,
Eisenberg, & Simcha-Fagan, 1977; Rutter, 1983). Research has indicated that this is particularly true for children in the circumstances surrounding parental divorce, and in the immediate
aftermath (see reviews by Emery, 1982, 1988; Hetherington & Camara, 1984). Compared to children of intact families, many children of recently divorced families are reported to demonstrate less
social competence, more behavioral problems, more psychological distress, and more learning deficits (Amato & Keith, 1991a; Hetherington, 1972; Hetherington, Cox, & Cox, 1979, 1982; Peterson &
Zill, 1983, 1986; Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980), and are over-represented in referrals to clinical services (Guidubaldi, Perry, & Cleminshaw, 1984; Kalter, 1977). Further, an accumulating body of
evidence from longitudinal studies of divorce supports continuity of negative affects beyond the 2-year postdivorce crisis period in a substantial minority of ...
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Divorce has become an unquestionable remedy for the miserably married. Currently, the United States has the highest divorce rate in the world. Every year in the US approximately one million children experience divorce which, is about one in every three children (Amato 21). The effects of divorce can be tremendously painful for both children and adults. Children of divorce are more likely to suffer from behavioral, social, academic, and psychological problems than children raised in two-parent families.
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Divorce has emotional and behavioral problems on children. “Children of divorce display higher levels of depression and anxiety, lower self-esteem, and more frequent use of psychological services (Portnoy).” This causes stress on children in the short-term; however, it has been proven that only 25% of children have long-terms problems due to divorce. Some even compare the side effects of divorce on a child to the same as a child losing a parent. This causes many feelings including sadness, longing, worry, and regret on the children (Rappaport). Continuing into adulthood, higher levels of depression have been found in both women and men
In America, about one in every two marriages will end in divorce. Around 60% of those divorcing couples have children. (Cherlin, 2012). Half of the marriages in America end in divorce, and more than half of those couples have children, which means that about every other divorce that is filed in America, a child is impacted. Between 850,000 and 950,000 divorces occur each year. (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC., 2014). Given that roughly 60% of those divorcing couples have at least one child, at least 510,000 children are affected a year. Estimates have been done to suggest that in the near future, 70% of divorces could involve children under the age of eighteen. (Block, Block, and Gjerde, 1986). Because of the large number of children in America having broken families, it is important to understand the effects of divorce on children’s' day to day lives so that they may be provided for in a proper and beneficial way.
Does divorce have more of an impact on the way American children act today than originally thought? Long ago divorce was a rare occasion and generally people feared it. Nowadays, fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. With that being said, the amount of children subjected to divorce is increasing. Individuals seem to believe a divorce is subjected to just the husband and wife relationships but research has found this not to be the case. Children today are becoming more distant from their parents and peers; some consider divorce as the reason. In research and studies done, it is proven that divorce does have an impact on American children and their emotions. Paying attention to children’s attitudes and the way they interact with other children is one of many ways to know there could be a problem in their life. Adults typically overrun the reality of a child’s feels, especially if they were subjects of intact families as children and aren’t familiar with the feeling of parental divorce. Most children do not want to upset their parents so instead of talking to them about their thoughts and feelings, they choose to stay quiet and distance themselves from everybody. The currency of divorce in modern society damages not only our children’s emotional development, but also their social attitudes.
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Hetherington, E. Mavis, and Margaret Stanley-Hagan. "The Adjustment of Children with Divorced Parents: A Risk and Resiliency Perspective." Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry & Allied Disciplines 40, no. 1 (January 1999): 129. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 8, 2011).
Kelly, J. B., & Emery, R. E. (2003). Children's adjustment following divorce: Risk and resilience perspectives. Family Relations, 52(4), 352-362.
Hughes, Jr. R. Ph.D. (2009) The effects of divorce on children. University of Illinois at urbana-Champaign
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.
Most people, when thinking about divorce, worry about the impact that it has on the children that are involved. Even though children are most likely better off if totally incompatible parents separate instead of staying together, divorce is about loss and change, and it is still hard for children. Everyone knows that divorce has its effects on children. There are three different sources that try to explain these effects. Graham Blaine Jr. states that divorce is a threat to all children, whereas Rhona Mahony states that divorce is not always the cause of behavioral or academic problems in children coming from divorced families. Yvette Walczak and Sheila Burns state that the extent of the damage can be determined by the parents and their methods of explanation to the children.
Children are psychologically and socially affected by divorce and may need counseling either at the time of their parent’s divorce or in the future. They may react instantly by getting lower grades or becoming depressed or anxious. Younger children may begin to cling to the parent that remains in the home with them for they fear that both parents will eventually leave them. Older children may begin to rebel or become extremely disobedient and disrespectful. You may see unpleasant attitudes develop and they can become unsocial and no longer desire to be around their friends. Most children feel guilty for their parent’s ...
Kelly, J. B. and Emery, R. E. (2003), Children's Adjustment Following Divorce: Risk and Resilience Perspectives. Family Relations, 52: 352–362. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2003.00352.x