preview

Divorce Effects On Children

Decent Essays

The Effects of Divorce on Children
Divorce, once considered deviant has become the social norm of modern society. Also, secularization, the declining influence of religion on society has reinforced the acceptance of divorce (Cook, 2011). This contributes to the rise in the divorce rates. Forty to Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce (E. Kazdin Ph.D., 2000) and sixty percent of second marriages will end in divorce (Dr. William, 2013). Divorce is easier to get because of secularization has led to marriage becoming less important and sacred. (Cook, 2011) Changes of the laws allow anyone to file for divorce if they can afford the annulment process. Divorce is the resolution for failed marriages caused by different things such as lack of interest, …show more content…

If a decision is made to marry, there is a thirty- nine percent likelihood their spouse is also a child of divorce (Wolfinger, 2003). However marital instability is passed down to the next generation. Compared to children of intact families, children of divorce are thirty-eight percent more likely of divorce (Teachman, 2002). Children of divorce has only been exposed to lower marital quality. Judith Wallerstein discovered in her study that children of divorced parents still held onto their persistent anxiety about their opportunities of happy marriage even decades beyond their parents' divorce. Some unsuccessfully formed satisfying romantic ties, while others rushed impulsively into unhappy marriage (Wallerstein, Blakelee, …show more content…

Twenty –two percent of children of divorce were in poor health compared to their peers in intact families (NCHS/CDC, 2012). The children of divorced families are prone to injuries, Asthma, and cancer. In addition to normal injuries sustained from actively playing they also acquire injuries from physical abuse. In correlation to children of intact families, children of divorce are two times more likely to be abused and neglected. Children that live in a female –headed home is fourteen times more likely to be physically beaten or murdered (Fagan, 1997). Also, researchers Kari Hemminki and Bowang Chen states "The results show that offspring of divorced parents have increased cancer risk at tobacco- related, alcohol- related and sex- related sites (Romelsjo, Kaplan, Cohen, Allebeek,1992). For example, cancer was contracted in the upper aerodigestive tract, anus, cervix, esophagus, lungs and pancreas. The long-term health effects of children of divorce are traumatic. Children that experience parental died almost five years earlier on average than children from intact families (Friedman,

Get Access