When I was about 14 months old, my parents separated which then led to a divorce. Since I was extremely young, I cannot remember how it affected me. But once I got into grade school, I was in great knowledge that something was different. I then started to understand the affects my parents’ divorce had on me such as anger, resentment, feeling of loneliness, and prob-lems with communication. Now that I am a young adult, I still feel like I am being affected by those same problems except now I am able to control myself when I start to feel the symptoms. Divorce has had a huge impact on my life. Divorce has many factors that can affect the development of a child and the path leading up to that child’s adulthood. In most cases, the children …show more content…
In addition to, other scholars have elaborated on the higher rates of divorce in America than other countries. The high rate of marital instability has been increasing for decades. Marriage is being sought for personal stability and clarification as a substitution of marital values, there-fore, leading to short term marriages. In the scholarly article written by Frank Furstenberg Jr., Di-vorce and the American Family, the topic about divorce rates being higher due to changes of age composition is proposed. Furstenberg says that the many experts believe that the velocity of changes are due to voluntary dissolution. He also expands on how divorce alters the course of childhood.
Frank Furstenberg Jr. used statistics from the Us Bureau of the Census 1989 to talk about how there more children are born to single mothers in black households. African American moth-ers mostly will remain unmarried for years and only one in five born in the 1980s will spend the majority of their childhood living with both parents. Most children acquire a step-parent because most unmarried or previously divorced parents enter or re-enter marriage (Furstenberg, 383). He did limit his information and understanding of why black families have high rates of family vari-ability.
Furthermore, divorce has a long-term effect on adolescents with their fathers. It has been shown through many studies that fathers have less contact with their adult children and
In a journal discussing the behavior risks of children during a divorce, Gustavsen, Nayga Jr., and Wu state that “Divorce can also cause disruptions and emotional stress for children through parental separation, hostility, and residential/school dislocation” (474). Yes the loud arguing and vulgar words used between the parents while in the process of a divorce can be very emotional and hard for the child to hear, but so can the physical separation of the family in general. When a family is separated through divorce, the children can be bounced around from parent to parent depending on the legal situation or parenting schedule. The children may not gain a close relationship with one of the parents through this setup. A problem that may arise out of the setup is the hatred of the other parent being presented to the children. The children may form a bias of one of the parents based on the parents expressed views of one another. In a journal discussing the long-term effects of a divorce, it says that “Initially, Hetherington (1972) found that compared to other girls, daughters of divorced parents sought more attention from men” (Johnsson, Njardvik, Olafsdottir, and Gretarsson 101). Many children may not have had a strong connection or personal relationship with their father or mother because of the legal parenting schedule
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.
Throughout my childhood, my environment consisted of switching between my mother's and father's house every week. Since I was an infant, my parents have been divorced and I believe that being a child of divorce has shaped my life tremendous ways. Through the hardships that came with living in two houses for 16 years of my life, I had the time to mature and learn a lot about myself and who I wanted to be as a person. Watching my parents for many years, I realized what I did and did not want to be when I grew up. From my father, I wanted to have the dedication and perseverance that he exhibited. From my mother, I wanted to be friendly and beautiful like her. However, there was many qualities that my parents carried that I did not want to take
The impact of divorce on children has been associated with lower academic scores, behavioral difficulties, and depression. Therefore, it is important to make compromises that benefit the
Often enough, divorce usually has a negative effect on people. I am no exception to that. Though I was too young to remember what life was like before my parents separated themselves, having that life for as long as I can think of was not a good experience. It caused me to have a serious case of anxiety before going to my dad’s house for visitation, during, and after. No one likes to feel anxious or stressed, and I felt that everyday, all the time. I was a self-conscious, shy girl who wasn’t ready for complex
With the large and growing number of divorce rates, research is now discussing the effects it has on the children of divorced parents. Now divorce does not just impact the individuals going through it, but their children as well. Not only do children have to live with one or the other parent, have shared custody, or various other living arrangements that may change, but their entire life that they knew changes. Research is
Divorce causes many problems for children and has many implications. Psychological implications include mental health problems and behavioral problems. Social roles are turned inside out and upside down. Children are often pulled in many directions. In the United States divorce is very common and often leaves children confused and without options. Many turn toward violence, crime, drugs, and isolation. Studies show how adults can reduce the tension for these children. Other
Divorce can have a huge effect on a child. Divorce is a long process that can affect a child for a period of years. Most children are affected by divorce but the process can be generally more difficult for boys. According to Hetherington and Stanley- Hagan (1999) most children are resilient enough to adapt to their parent divorce after a period of time has passed. The main facotrs of divorce that can affect a child are, how often they see the non- custodial parent, the lifestyle or financial implications of being part of a single parent family and if one or both parents remarry, this can cause a massive difference in family life due to the child having to come to terms with their new
My parents' divorce was one of my most significant life events. As a result of my parents' divorce, I lived in a divided home. I spent part of my time with my father (usually weekends and a few holidays) and part of my time with my mother (weekdays and other major holidays). Unlike other children my age, who tended to conceive of their parents as infallible well into adolescence, I understood at a young age that my parents were not perfect. My mother frequently criticized my father and vice versa. At first, I felt resentful towards both of them for shattering my world. It was uncomfortable and awkward having to deal with both of them when the anger of the divorce was still festering.
Through out this discussion the reader has seen the effects of divorce on children. These effects are primarily shown in three areas of the childrens lives. These three areas are emotionally, physically, and
According to the Encyclopedia of Psychology, one half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. With these one million children are affected each year. Eighty five percent of these children live in single parent households, with the mother being the head of the house. The father is usually distant or does not speak to the children at all. These children are highly affected and experience a great deal of emotional and academic problems. Especially when you compare them to children with non-divorced parents. During adolescence, these children have twice as high as a rate of dropping out of high school, having teenage pregnancy, and experiencing deliquiate behavior. I am not a child of divorce, but a child dear to me is. I have seen firsthand the emotional tear that it can play into a child’s life, and the way it affects a family. Divorce may cause children to grow up anxious and scared. Children may even ask themselves “why me?”, “what can I do?”, and “where should I go from here?”.
For couples with children divorce can wreak havoc on family relations. The behavior of children can change rapidly, in Cherlin (1993) it has been stated that, “children whose parents separated or divorced displayed more behavior problems and performed more poorly in school than children whose parents remained married” (para. 3). It is important to note that each child is affected differently and relationships with parents will not always be bitter (Cherlin, 1993). The personal source is a friend of many years whose parents divorced when she was very young. Her brother was also very young at the time of the divorce; each of them as male and female reacted differently to the divorce, just as it has been seen in many studies (Alex Pringle, Personal Communication, May 10,
Adolescents also develop mixed emotions and have mood swings, which makes the relationship with their family members difficult to maintain. Males have a difficult time dealing with fact that they are lacking a father figure. They sometimes feel as if they were betrayed and no longer loved by him. This rejection from their father adds to the difficult time for adolescents. The are continuously wishing for a reunion of their parents. In some cases, harsh feelings and negativity are displayed towards the mother because of the father missing. Females, on the other hand, lean toward their friends as support figures. They try not to allow the divorce to bring them down. "They were happier and also more likely to view the divorce as an improvement to their family situation prior to the separation," (Dufour, p.10).
Children who grow up in a fatherless home have a tendency to lose education. It surveys four groups: white men, white women, black men, and black women. White men lose education and then black men however white women lose more education than black women. Indicating the cause of this is because of the lack of financial resources. Being in a single parent home the parent will have to work hard to take care of the more important things. Some will not be the only child so
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,