Are Happy Endings Possible? Essay

For the past decades, divorce has been increasing dramatically throughout the United States; it is a common issue in this society. Approximately one million children experience divorce or parental separation every year(Shinoda, Kevin Seiji, 2001, La Mirada, pg. 9). According the 2000 census data, about 28% of divorce or separated parents, have at least one children who is under age of 6(Kim Leon Jul., 2003 pg. 258). Also, slightly more than half of all divorced children are under the age of 18, and about 40% of all children will experience divorce or parental separation before reaching adulthood(Shinoda, Kevin Seiji, 2001, La Mirada, pg. 9). Divorces strongly affect the development of children, and most of time, problems

Amato, Paul R, and Alan Booth. “A Prospective Study of Divorce and Parent-Child Relationships.” Journal of Marriage and Family 58.2 (1996): 356–365. Web. 5 Nov. 2016.

The scholarly article “The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children: A Review,” by Judith S. Wallerstein, explores various studies conducted by psychologists over a twenty year span, about the long term social and psychosocial difficulties experienced by children of divorce. The majority of the research for this particular topic discusses how the problems for these children began long before the actual separation of the parents, a theory that had not been previously researched in full until these studies. After reading the article, it is evident, that often the divorce itself is the last resort of the quarrelling parents. By waiting several years before finally breaking off the failed marriage the parents are unintentionally

Most researchers look at how children react and are effected when they experience parental divorce. Divorce is looked at as something “bad” for everyone who is effected by the situation. Divorce in the United States has the highest rate in the world. Over one million people a year get divorced and sixty percent of those divorces effect children (article 2). At the time of the divorce it seems like a horrible experience but, people never think about what would happen if the marriage stayed the way it was. Couples get divorced for many different reasons it could be because there was abuse, fighting, cheating and even if the couple was just no longer in love. “Children appear to be better off in cases in which the divorce substantially reduces

Divorce is comparable to an epidemic since it has been filtering through many societies at an increasingly alarming rate. According to the most current statistic, there are more than 2.1 million marriages in the United States (“Children of Divorced Parents”). Out of those, almost half end in divorce. Divorce nowadays is extremely common. In fact, in America there is one divorce every thirty-six seconds (National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends”). Each year over a million American children suffer from the divorce of their parents (Amato 24-26). Even though it might be shown to benefit some individuals in their own personal case, for the majority it causes a decrease in an individual’s life and puts many people “on a downward trajectory from which they might never fully recover” (Amato). Over long term, the United States divorce rate has been on a rise since 1980, which means more children being affected (Macionis). These children that are affected are faced by emotions of anger, confusion and even fear. These emotions affect their academic performance, social interactions, behavior, self-esteem and other negative effects. This literature review is important in calling attention on the current research studying impacts of divorce on children. The topic of divorce is a wide-ranging topic. However, this particular literature review focuses only on the effects that divorce has on children. The data presented in this paper is collected from

When it comes to divorce, it is common for children to be mixed up in the middle of things. In 1981 somewhere around 1.2 million kids were affected by divorce. Divorce causes major disruption within the family (Peck). When divorce begins to erupt the whole family, especially the children, is thrown off track. Many routines become estranged as the parents begin to divide households and divide the time spent with children. Other times one parent may move out, more commonly the father, and not see the kids at all. This can put a huge financial and responsibility burden on the remaining parent. Which

According to the Encyclopedia of Psychology, one half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. With these one million children are affected each year. Eighty five percent of these children live in single parent households, with the mother being the head of the house. The father is usually distant or does not speak to the children at all. These children are highly affected and experience a great deal of emotional and academic problems. Especially when you compare them to children with non-divorced parents. During adolescence, these children have twice as high as a rate of dropping out of high school, having teenage pregnancy, and experiencing deliquiate behavior. I am not a child of divorce, but a child dear to me is. I have seen firsthand the emotional tear that it can play into a child’s life, and the way it affects a family. Divorce may cause children to grow up anxious and scared. Children may even ask themselves “why me?”, “what can I do?”, and “where should I go from here?”.

Divorce has enormous obstacles in child’s life As mentioned in the book that 50% of marriages end in divorce, with just over 60% of American children living in married couple-household (Casey foundation, 2008).these problems Start from trust, aggressive behavior, crying, short-term anxiety. We do need to do more to help those children and assess them to the right direction.

For couples with children divorce can wreak havoc on family relations. The behavior of children can change rapidly, in Cherlin (1993) it has been stated that, “children whose parents separated or divorced displayed more behavior problems and performed more poorly in school than children whose parents remained married” (para. 3). It is important to note that each child is affected differently and relationships with parents will not always be bitter (Cherlin, 1993). The personal source is a friend of many years whose parents divorced when she was very young. Her brother was also very young at the time of the divorce; each of them as male and female reacted differently to the divorce, just as it has been seen in many studies (Alex Pringle, Personal Communication, May 10,

Divorce is a topic that most commonly involves feelings of anger, conflict, anxiety, sadness or depression for all parties involved in the process of divorce (American Psychological Association, 2012). Research suggests that the divorce is not the direct cause of children’s problems, but rather miscommunication that can happen along side the divorce (Afifi, Granger, Joseph, Denes, & Aldeis, 2015; Stallman & Sanders, 2014). The risks of problems do increase when children are drawn into their parent’s conflict (Stallman & Sanders, 2014). Risks include the loss of contact with a parent, experience of significant environmental changes, or strain on parent-child relationship.

In today’s society there are many different type of families, such as traditional families, broken families, blended families, and single families. Blended families are becoming more and more common. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services(2002), one third of marriages after ten years end in divorce. About sixty five percent of remarriages involve children, therefor one in three Americans are now a stepparent, a step child, a step sibling, or some other member of a blended family.(Lucas, Nicholson, Erbas, 2013) Research has shown that children that have experienced divorce have more personal issues as well as problems with their own romantic relationships because they are unknowingly repeating the communication behaviors set by their parents than children with a stable

In the last two decades divorce has increased substantially leaving couples single and families broken. Divorce is the reality for many families as there is an increase in divorce rates, cohabitation rates, and the number of children raised in step and single marital families. Divorce cannot be overlooked as it negatively affects and impacts youngsters for the rest of their lives. Although it is the decision between two parents’s children are hurt the most in the process. The concept of divorce is extremely difficult for children to understand as there are many unanswered questions and uncertainties. “Will my mom or dad remarry and who will I live with?” are concerns children express while going through divorce. Many

Each and every day a child somewhere in the world is experiencing major changes within their family. One of those major changes is divorce or separation of parents. Divorce is “the action or an instance of legally dissolving a marriage”(Webster, 2011 p1). Today’s reality shows that couples only have one in two odds of remaining together. “ The U.S. Census bureau – involved in research about counseling children of divorce- estimating that approximately 50% of all American children born in 1982 lived in a single-parent homes sometime during their first 18 years. Mostly are due to divorce”(Children of Divorce, 2008 p.1). The rapid increase in divorce rates is a factor that has contributed to the large decline of the typical family. “Over 1

In the last 25 years, divorce has become a major issue in American society. Since the turn of the century, the divorce rate has held steady between 4.0-3.2 divorces per 1000 people per year (National Vital Statistics System, 2015). With this rising divorce rate, more children are living between parents, or in single family homes, and many of these children have been exposed to altercations between parents, as well as rough custody battles and divorce settlements. Traumatic experiences like these are highly likely to stick with children of divorce throughout their life, especially if the child is older at the time of the divorce.

Divorce is a plague that is destroying numerous families across the United States of America. Sadly, when husbands and wives divorce, the children are often caught directly in the middle. Throughout the years divorce has been becoming more and more common. In the 1920's it was a rare find to know a person whom had been divorced, today it is a rarity not to know of one who has been, or will be divorced. Divorce has numerous effects on the structures of families, and many devastating effects on the children that must experience it, although sometimes necessary, divorce radically changes the lives of adolescents and adults alike.