Divorce And Its Effects On Children Research Paper

Divorce is one of the most common happenings in the world experienced by children. Most children go through different adjustments to become comfortable with the fact that their parents are not together anymore. Children of divorced parents are prone to lifelong effects. Seventy-five to eighty percent of children have divorced parents and twenty-five percent of those children have serious social, emotional, or psychological problems for the rest of their life. Most adults think that it is best for parents to stay together for the sake of their child because having two parents in different households can become difficult for the child socially and academically.

Children react differently yet similarly in divorce. Every child caught up in the distress of divorce has a hard time coping with it and imagining their life without a parent. Their

Divorce may affect young children somewhat differently than older children. According to Karen DeBord, a child development specialist, there are different stages in childhood, and at each of these stages children have a different understanding of divorce. At the infancy stage children are not capable of understanding the conflict, but may notice a difference in the parents' disposition (DeBord, 1997). Here she states that children may react with a loss of appetite, upset stomach, or anxiety. As a toddler they recognize the loss a parent but cannot reason

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 is a very harsh and challenging thing, especially on children. In today’s society, it is very common. It takes hard work and determination to keep a marriage going strong. It is also something that both spouses have to work at every day. Children grow up seeing their mom and dad together, and they become immune to it. When suddenly one day their parents are no longer together, there can be long term and short term effects on the child. Effects of a divorce on children include depression and anxiety, separation from one or both parents, and lastly, stepfamilies.

We will start by examining the affects that the actual divorce process has on children. During this traumatic time, children will tend to pick up on all of the negative behaviors that the parents are exuding. Parental discord can actually be more disturbing to a child than

Divorce can have a long lasting impact on everyone involved, but most often, it is the children who suffer this dramatic change the most. When a couple decides to divorce, there are considerations that are made during the process, however, most often, the lifelong effects of the divorce on children is underestimated. Children undergo severe psychological, emotional, and mental trauma during a divorce process. This is due to the immense changes of lifestyle and households that can seem overwhelming to a child.

In the Scientific American’s article “Is Divorce Bad for Children?” authors Hal Arkowitz and Scott Lilienfield discuss the short-term and long-term effects divorce has on a child’s well-being. The popular media article claims that children generally suffer negatively in the immediate aftermath of the separation but in the long run have few psychological differences from children of married parents as long as they continue to grow up in a stable environment. Short-term effects of divorce by examined by looking at the naturalistic observation of the University of Virginia. The study looks at children immediately post-divorce and see negative emotions like shock, anger, and confusion. However, the study also shows that these effects usually disappears

In the article “Psychological and Emotional Aspects of Divorce” (1997) Kathleen Corcoran describes psychologically how divorce positively and negatively affects children whose parents have divorced. Corcoran claims that there are three factors that influence the degree dependent on how his or her relationship was before the parents’ divorce, the intensity and duration of the parental conflict, and the parents’ ability to focus on the needs of the children during the divorce. Boys and girls suffer about the same, they just experience a different situation. Boys more likely than girls will act their frustration and anger. They may get into trouble in school,

Usually in this scenario a kid is upset at first but seems to be resilient and uses their strength to get through the divorce and stays normal and strong. This is the uncommon situation beyond most kids that have gone through this pain between their parents but it does occur.

50% of all the children born to married parents today, will experience the divorce of their parents’ before they are eighteen years old. Divorce in and of itself doesn’t necessarily harm a child, but the conflict between parents does. A child’s behavior correlates directly with the effects of their parents’ separation. Deep emotional wounds are created before, during, and after divorce and separation. It is rare that you find a child that actually wants their parents to separate, unless the marriage was full of intense conflict and anger. Parents going through a divorce don’t always think about how their child is going to be impacted by it. Children suffer when their parents go through a separation. Divorce increases the risk of psychological and behavioral problems, it makes way for difficulties in the classroom, and the emotional well-being of the child is in danger.

Parents in separation and divorce are very concerned about the effects of divorce on children. They wonder whether their decision will affect the happiness and health of their child. Reliable information about the effects on children is still being gathered and analyzed by sociologists and psychologists.

Child and adolescent development is already a sensitive time with the emotional and physical changes, so divorce of the parental figures may only make it a more fragile process for the child (Newman, et al., 1993). Young children about five to nine years old will perceive divorce as a physical separation of the spouses, whereas older children about ten to fourteen years old will perceive divorce as a psychological and emotional distance between the spouses (Newman, et al,

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

Divorce and its effects on children are common issues that are on the rise in the world today. Divorce affects more than just the married couple. Children often bear the brunt of divorce, which makes divorce a complicated decision for most parents. Understanding the effects divorce has on a child is important to know exactly why a child acts a certain way. A divorce can affect a child psychologically, intellectually, and even behaviorally. Children can suffer physiologically from things like depression, intellectually by having trouble in school and behaviorally by having trouble in social settings. Legally, a divorce is a single event, but from a psychological standpoint, it is a complicated,