The Effect of Divorce on Children
In the world today, divorce has become more and more relevant, as many people of all ages are more open to the idea of ending their marriages and starting over. In fact, according to the article “Children Divorce Statistics”, it quotes from Furstenberg and others that “50% of all North-American children will witness the divorce of their parents. Almost half of them will also see the breakup of a parent's second marriage” (Bloem 1). With the divorce rate going up, the effects of the separation must be acknowledged. The stress and change of a divorce of two parents on children, especially older, causes many development issues, such as depression, anger management problems and anti-social disorder, which may
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In fact, according to another article by Reinier Bloem, it states that “The age of the children plays a role in how they react to the divorce. Effects of divorce on children under 9 years - the so called preschoolers - are that they tend to blame themselves for the divorce; [however] adolescents (children between 9 and 13 years) react in the opposite direction. They tend to behave more independent. They feel betrayed by their divorced parents. Mistrust enters the relationship.” (Bloem 2). All children will more than likely act out in some way as a reaction to this situation. Although, children aged three to five usually do this in a different way than one might imagine. According to Allison Clarke-Stewart and Cornelia Brentano, co-authors of “Divorce”, children of these ages dealing with a divorce commonly “regress in their toilet habits”, isolate themselves and become fussy. They then continue on and state that “They suck their thumbs, cry for their cuddlies, cling to their mothers. They withdraw in fear and anxiety, whereas once they were outgoing and sociable. They wet their beds and refuse to eat their vegetables. They are profoundly upset, anxious and irritable” (Clarke-Stewart 112). With the confusion and stress that comes with a divorce, children through these early years of three to five become anxious already about losing a parents and worrying about losing the other one that they react in
Throughout time, people from all over the world have chosen to live together, or “get married”. Marriage is a beautiful thing, but there are some couples who are unable to maintain their relationship, because they choose divorce as a solution to cope with the problems between husband and wife. Although divorce can be solution to cope with problem between the husband and wife, it still has dangerous effects especially on their children. Children with divorced parents are vulnerable to risk. Divorce has a dangerous impact on children. Divorce of parentss causes many problems to children. It causes children to have a loss of Knowledge, skills, and resources from parents, behavioral problems, emotional problem, and health problem
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
Divorce is a heavy concept that has many implications for those involved. The situation becomes even more consequential when children are considered. As divorce has become more commonplace in society, millions of children are affected by the separation of the nuclear family. How far-reaching are these effects? And is there a time when divorce is beneficial to the lives of the children? This paper will examine some of the major research and several different perspectives regarding the outcomes of divorce for the children involved, and whether it can actually be in the best interest of the kids.
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.
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 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,
Divorce can have a significant impact on the children involved in many different ways. Studies show that the effects of divorce on children can also continue throughout adulthood. These children are more likely to have failed marriages themselves, have children out of wedlock, and earn lower salaries. It is common for the depression of the parents and their relationship to pass on to their child. Children who grow up with depression symptoms are more likely to eventually experience divorce in their own marriage. Research also shows that teenagers who experience divorce are 50 percent more likely to abuse alcohol than those of “Two-parent homes”.
Divorce is a serious matter in this time and day. To children, divorce is their world shattering before their eyes. Some children try to see the positive aspects of divorce such as more family gatherings and more Christmas gifts, but most children seem to look at the negative aspects. Divorce affects children differently and they have their own way of coping with it.
Over studied in the 40 years, parental divorce has caused a wide range of behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents. Although the media tends to emphasize the negative aspects of divorce and impact that divorce has on children, not all married families are happy ones and they do not always offer a better environment; the majority of children from divorced families are emotionally well adjusted. In the article, reasons of divorce could be difference in cultural values and social integration, race and ethnicity, extramarital affairs…These weren’t the stressors on the kids, it is the diminishing of parenting from the separated parents that made them suffer. The loss of important relationship means the erosion of closeness and meaning of relationship with
This hypothesis has been debated by many experimenters. One of these critics is Marriage, Family and Child Counselor Jessica St. Clair. Jessica St. Clair (2007), argues that “In the early months after a divorce, young children especially, are less imaginative, more repetitive and passive watchers. They tend to be more dependent, demanding, unaffectionate and disobedient than children from intact families”. The most significant discovery that was found in the Bulduc etl. Study was that cross-sectional approximations often exaggerate the damaging consequence of parental divorce.
“In 2009, there were close to 50,000 divorces granted, with nearly 25,000 of those involving children under 18 years of age” (Coulson). Children under the age of 18 are dramatically affected by divorce because they are just learning about relationships themselves. This can give them a negative start to their own relationships, because what they have seen from their parents. Children who see their parent's relationships fail may have them believe that their relationships will fail too. Children do not understand why their parents are separating because it is something they are not familiar with. They begin to question if it is their fault, which is never something parents want to be asked by their children. Even though divorce is something
The rate of divorce and separation of parents around the world are increasingly high. The consequences are more likely to be destructive for children. The impact in the lives of these children are several levels. The child will need to go with one of his parents. This has more negative effects on young children than older children; however, this factor becomes more complex. In a follow-up study ten years with preschool children whose parents had divorced, Wallerstein found that the initial reaction to the divorce was more severe in young children, but that they, late the follow-up period, appeared to be more suitable than their older counterparts (Wallerstein, 1984). It concluded that very young children during the marriage breakup may be several
Divorce is becoming a worldwide phenomenon, significantly affecting children’s well-being. It radically changes their future causing detrimental effects. According to (Julio Cáceres-Delpiano and Eugenio Giolito, 2008) nearly 50% of marriages end with divorce. 90% of children who lived in the USA in the 1960s stayed with their own biological parents, whereas today it makes up only 40% (Hetherington, E. Mavis, and Margaret Stanley-Hagan, 1999). Such an unfavorable problem has been increasing, because in 1969, the legislation of California State changed the divorce laws, where spouses could leave without providing causes (Child Study Center, 2001). This resolution was accepted by the other states and later, the number of divorced people has
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,
In modern society, divorce is common among many married couples. Everywhere you look, a new couple is separating and slowing destroying their family. Divorce is a legal dissolution that allows a couple to freely remarry in the future and occurs when a married couple can no longer handle being in each other’s company (divorce). Their problems result in constant arguments that cannot be resolved. The problems faced within a couple not only affects the two involved in the fight, but also their children’s lives in a negatively manner. Marriage is not viewed as highly in today’s society as years before due to the amount of marriages not lasting and ending in a divorce. Divorce is common today because of couple’s uneasiness to try and work