Changes, Trauma, And Guilt : How Divorce Affects Children Essay

Each year as families are progressing to be built there are more familes decreasing. The online database “The Effects of Divorce In America” connects to how many children will grow to see there parents divorce before the age of 18. “Mounting evidence in social science journals demonstrates that the devastating physical, emotional, and financial effects that divorce is having on these children will last well into adulthood and affect future generations”. This problem that is occurring with children being involved in divorces is causing the world to be kept at a low with violence and education. Which is allowing behavioral effects and the rate of divorces to be kept at a high. With the lowering of children having families also only “42 percent of children aged 14 to 18 live in a “First Marriage” family”. Having such high rates with divorces, child influence is a major factor when separating.

The rapid epidemic of divorce in the United States within the last 20 years has affected more than one half of the families in the United States. In the past, we have viewed divorce as a short term crisis and not as a longitudinal view of the effects divorce might bring. Divorce does affect children. However, it is not the divorce that is the problem; it is the ongoing conflict between the parents and the child’s coping mechanisms in their own stages of development. Counseling, family therapy, and also having a divorce mediation are all successful ways of coping with the family.

However, this is not the reality of our times. McConville (2013) states 41-50% of first marriages end in divorce in the United States. The affect the divorce has on the child is dictated by how the parents maneuver through the transition. Potter (2010) states that elementary and high school students both display poorer psychosocial well-being versus children from non-divorced families (pg. 933). Adolescents face many struggles and challenges throughout this developmental stage. Being a child of divorced parents can heighten stress and anxiety leading to depressive symptoms. To avoid and or decrease this instance, adolescents affected by divorce can benefit heavily through group counseling with others facing identical

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

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.

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

On average in America 45 percent of marriages end in divorce. Divorce does not only affect the parties involved; it also affects the children involved. In America, 40 percent of children will see and experience divorce first hand alongside of their parents. Divorce is one of the most stressful events a family can undergo. On average, 80 percent of children will be placed in the primary care of one parent. Often times the parent that receives primary custody of the child or children are the biological mother (Hopf, Sarah-Marie). Divorce has many effects on different factors of a children’s’ lives. Many children are affected by divorce: divorce effects: 1.

In the recent years, divorce rates have been continually trending upwards (Reiter, Hjorleifsson, Breidablik, & Meland, 2013). It is factual that children who have parents that have divorced typically face more obstacles in numerous aspects of life than children who have married parents. Children that experience divorce have up to a 300% increase in probability to be impacted by issues in mental wellbeing than their peers without an incident of divorce in their parental structure (Shifflett & Cummings, 1999). These issues can arise due to the various conflicts that may come into play throughout the divorce process, or even the mere experience of parental divorce for the child. The

Divorce can be one of the biggest environmental pressures put on a child with lasting affects that can lead well into their adulthood. With an increase in the number of divorces taking place each year it is starting to become a major concern for not only children and their families but also for society as a whole. Every year around one million children are affected by divorce; furthermore when looking at this year alone half of the children born will see their parents divorce before they reach age eighteen (Fagan & Rector 2000). There is multitude of research showing the multiple effects that divorce can cause on a child that will last well into adulthood, potentially affecting future generations.

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.

“In the United States, about half of all first marriages end in divorce and more than a million children experience their parents’ divorce each year” (Fagan and Rector). Therefore, many children will experience a parental divorce in their lifetime. It is clear that divorce is common and can cause many effects on the family, especially the children. This is important because the negative effects of divorce on children and families are more amplified today than ever. Experiencing a parental divorce can have negative effects that will last a child’s lifetime. Some of the negative effects parental divorce has on children are psychological problems, negative academic and social behavior, and physical problems.

When two people go through a divorce, they are making the decision to leave each other’s lives. Some of the many reasons include abuse, early age, and lack of commitment. Over half of children in the United States will go through their parent’s divorce at a young age. It is said that the behavior of children living in a broken family is different than those that grow up with both parents. A divorce can have negative outcomes on a child; things like early sexual practice, loneliness and depression, and poor academic performance.

Getting a divorce is not an easy decision. As a matter of fact, for many people getting a divorce is one of the hardest things they will have to deal with. Divorce has a long-lasting effect on the entire family. For example, according to Clarke-Stewart and Brentano (2006, p. 56), the couple getting a divorce can feel anxious and depressed by the situation. They also mention that children can be the most affected because they might feel confused and betrayed. However, the aftermath of divorce is different for everyone. For instance, the ages of the children can have an impact on how they deal with the divorce. Furthermore, the way parents cope with the aftermath of the divorce can have a negative or positive outcome in their children’s

Every year at least a million children are effected by divorce. Because the family is a developmental integral part of growing-up, parental divorce has shown to have negative short-term as well as long-term effects that often last into adulthood. Studies have highlighted the short and long-term impact, divorce has on children’s mental health. Anxiety, depression, and mental stress has been implicated as some of these far-reaching effects. Children of divorced parents are at increased risk of displaying a variety of behavior concerns compared to children living with happily married parents. Some of these problems include social misconduct, substance abuse, and unsafe sexual practices. Research shows that academic performance is