Divorce Essay

There is a staggeringly large amount of divorces in the United States (US). In total, the US had a recorded total of 2,140,272 marriages in the year 2014 alone, and of those marriages, 813,862 ended up in divorce or annulment (Center for Disease Control). This means that as recently as 2014, there was a divorce rate of approximately 40%. This supports the statistics that the divorce rate for the US has stayed within 40-50% since the 1970’s (Austin Institute, 2014). While the numbers themselves are important, it is also important that the causes for the high divorce rate be explored, so that it can be known what pitfalls to avoid when participating in such an important union as marriage. There are many causes of divorce in the US such as conflicting gender roles, socioeconomic status, religious conflicts, physical abuse, emotional abuse, alcohol addictions, and many more (Amato & Previti, 2003). This paper will look at many of these reasons, but it will also focus on the differing reasons reported by men and women.

Divorce can harm couples without children as well. One way is that divorce is much more popular to those who are getting married for the second or third time. This is can be explained by a few different reasons. One reason is simply because the spouses know how easily they can get divorced. They are more likely to focus on their spouse’s imperfections than on how they can mend their dissolving marriage. Also when a person remarries there is a higher chance for the other spouse to have children. This can put stress on both people because the new spouse will want more attention, but the attention will be given to the kids or vice versa. Money can also be a problem in second marriages more than the first because spouses are more likely to be financially crippled from having the previous divorce; this in turn will make them less financially secure. Divorce can also make people feel insecure with themselves and make them think that everything is their fault. It can cause depression and in certain cases could even lead to suicide.

As generations pass by, divorce is becoming more of a social norm than a problem between two individuals. Divorce once was a private household issue but it became widespread only a couple of decades ago. According to the statistics, in the 1950s only 3% of families got divorced and in the 1960s it was already 10%. In the 1980s, 33% of families opted for divorce due to various environmental factors. Recent studies in Canada today, show that the rate of divorce is changing to an extent such that 4 in 10 marriages end in separation. Divorce is a sensitive concept which lies beyond two individuals simply falling out of love as is both the cause and an effect. The many factors that contribute to divorce are extramarital affairs, financial struggles, and the lack of communication.

The husband and wife would support one another and would overcome obstacles, whether it was financial or emotional conflicts. Real culture began to surface later on when divorce was deemed legal, when divorce slowly became the norm. “As social historian Barbara Dafoe Whitehead has observed of this period, ‘divorce was not only an individual right but also a psychological resource. The dissolution of marriage offered the chance to make oneself over from the inside out, to refurbish and express the inner self, and to acquire certain valuable psychological assets and competencies, such as initiative, assertiveness, and a stronger and better self-image (Wilcox 2009).” This became common thinking in society during the 1960’s and 1970’s when the meaning of divorce blossomed into a new perspective.

Divorce is a rising social issue in the United States of America, but it is not a new concept. Divorce has been a social issue since at least 1867 when for every 35.9 marriages, one couple were to get a divorce (Huth, 1947). Although divorce is not a new concept, it has become more social acceptance which is raising the divorce rate over the years. Another controversial topic in divorce is when the two people divorcing have a child or children together. Approximately 150,000-200,000 children in the United States of America are affected by divorce yearly (Huth, 1947).

Divorce is becoming all too popular in our society today. When a couple experience tough times or have one too many arguments, they automatically think divorce. Despite its prevalence couples are not prepared for it’s long, drawn out, hurtful process. Divorce does not only hurt the individuals involved, it also affects the children tremendously. While many people don’t think divorce is a bad thing. Hollywood makes divorce look cool and uneventful. When in all reality, it is disruptive. Some people would say that divorce is a lazy way out of a marriage; the cowardly thing to do when a situation presents itself. Divorce is not the only answer to marital problems, in most cases.

Money. Money. Financially divorce can not only be traumatic to family members but also to your wallet. Divorce is a costly thing that can ruin several families. Think about it your average marriage can cost up to one hundred fifteen dollars mean while a divorce can cost up to thirty thousand dollars in court fees alone. Divorce is such an ugly thing and maybe that’s why it cost so much mean while a marriage can be such a beautiful thing and cost next to nothing. Saying goes “love doesn’t cost a thing” so why should we pay to fall out of love when it’s all we have ever wanted to begin with. Marriage is definitely something that is thought through and does not happen at first sight but after courting together and thinking everything through thoroughly. Think about all the things that can come into place when having a divorce financially the cost can be devastating money you could possibly spend on a child’s future is put towards doing what should have never been done. You would have to split all cost such as child support, sometimes your children them self…another example a single home may have to go up for sale that could be completely paid off and by the time you by a new home you have tripled at this point the whole cost of one single house and you thought court fees was bad how about vehicles reselling at an underpriced value and having to put money with half of a subsidized amount of money the cost of divorce just seems to keep accumulating.

According to lots of studies, a divorce has a huge influence not only on the former husband and wife, making them emotionally and financially unstable, but also on their children and relatives, bringing loads of stress to the life of both families.

In addition to the three causes I mentioned, there are also two effects of divorce. Most couples normally have children when they get married. Divorces can directly affect the children of the couple. Children living in a single parent house hold are more likely to get pregnant as a teenager, drop out in high school, abuse drugs, and have aggressive emotional and behavioral problems. Some children decide to leave their home and subsequently become homeless and they do not have good opportunities to find a job due

However, if one of the individuals in the marriage is resisting the divorce, or situations are complex, such as children being involved, then divorces can take a long time to finalize and can become extremely messy affairs. The constant arguing, disagreements, snide comments and hateful words that occur during this time frame, which most likely started before the topic of divorce was even brought up, can take a toll on not just the two individuals whose marriage is ending, but everyone else who is involved, no matter how little their involvement is.

The number one cause for divorce is financial difficulty, before a couple enters a marriage they have their own bills and spending habits, they do not need to consult anyone about their money. They want to be able to spend as they please, like when they

One of the biggest effects of divorce is the effect it has on our children. Most couples get married and have children shortly after, and all decision made by the couples directly affect their children. Studies show that divorce has one of the most negative effects on children. Children living in single parent homes are more likely to be pregnant as teenagers, drop out of high school, abuse drugs and have behavioral issues. Furthermore due to the high dropout rates of single parent children they often have hard times finding jobs due to their lack of education. Often times we will see that children from broken homes will also have issues maintaining long term relationships as well. Studies show that children who parents are divorced or separated marriages will end in divorce as well. One last scary effect of divorce is that 92 percent of inmates in California State correctional facilities are products of single parent homes; in other words at some point when they were children their parents either divorced or became separated.

Broken families are on since the beginning of humanity. In fact, divorce, which has been very common in today’s societies, is the major cause that leads to family devastation. However, although, in some cases, divorce is the only solution for a family to live in peace, one must think many times before taking such decision, and that is because of many .

“DIVORCE” – Just the sound of such word in any married couple or children’s ear can cause great agony that can even become terminal. Research and personal experience, has proven that in today's society, divorce is more common amongst newlyweds. Since 2009 the rate of divorce has increased to approximately forty percent, There are three out of every ten marriage that ends up in divorce before it reaches the stage of maturity, and the most prevalent results are – lack of communication and infidelity.

As many people have discovered, divorce is a process that usually takes several months or even years rather than a single event. The process of complete divorce sometimes takes as long to finalize just like marriage takes to dissolve, which depends on the degree of marriage commitment and its length. While the process of divorce usually dissolves the legal marital relationship, there are other effects that are not dissolved by the process. Some of these aspects or effects include the economic, parental, emotional, psychic, and