Divorce Paper

Parental divorce can result in devastating effects on children. These children suffer tremendous long-term consequences as a result of an event that is not their doing. This paper reviews literature and opinions concerning the long-term effects of divorce on adolescents. The paper outlines four major areas of interest: aggression as a result of parental conflict and the different types associated with boys and girls, depression in the lives of boys and girls in its various forms, the choice boys and girls make to marry or not later in life and the possibility of adolescents expressing parental alienation. The results of this

Several factors play a role into individual mental health following a divorce. Age, gender, and socioeconomic status are three of the key demographics that determine the consequences associated with parental divorce (Fischer 2007). Research demonstrates that divorce can affect the mental health of adolescents, but the divorce itself is not specifically the trigger of issues but rather to consequences following a divorce (Chase-Lansdale, Cherlin Kiernan 1995). Some common effects known to shape the mental state of adolescents from broken homes includes: less time with parents, relocation and economic issues (Strohschein 2005). My study will look at how a change in economic status following a divorce shapes the individual mental health of those involved in the divorce process. While there is a lot of research that suggests those with low socioeconomic status are more susceptible to divorce (Fischer 2007), there are not many conclusions on the effects a change in socioeconomic status has following a divorce. Typically, the better a family’s financial situation, the more likely parents are able to minimize the impact of divorce (Fischer 2007). The presence of economic resources likely ensures that an adolescent will be able to maintain their daily life schedule. More importantly, families with high levels of resources face a significantly decreased chance of falling below the poverty line following a divorce (Fischer 2007). Conversely, adolescents coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to fall below the poverty line. Economic status plays a pivotal role into how divorce effects all

The statistics for divorce in the 1990's suggest that nearly sixty percent of marriages end in divorce. Given this startling figure, the assumption can be made that many children will experience some effects caused by the life-changing event called divorce. What is it exactly about divorce that causes negative consequences for these children? In what ways will these children be effected? Will these effects show outwardly? I will attempt to uncover some of the complexities surrounding these psychological questions in the following text. The unsettling fact is: young children of divorced parents face great psychological challenges due to the environmental conditions and changes associated with divorce (Wolchik and Karoly 45).

Each year as families are progressing to be built there are more familes decreasing. The online database “The Effects of Divorce In America” connects to how many children will grow to see there parents divorce before the age of 18. “Mounting evidence in social science journals demonstrates that the devastating physical, emotional, and financial effects that divorce is having on these children will last well into adulthood and affect future generations”. This problem that is occurring with children being involved in divorces is causing the world to be kept at a low with violence and education. Which is allowing behavioral effects and the rate of divorces to be kept at a high. With the lowering of children having families also only “42 percent of children aged 14 to 18 live in a “First Marriage” family”. Having such high rates with divorces, child influence is a major factor when separating.

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 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

The last effect in children of divorcing parents is the academic failure. As a result of the parents getting a divorce, the child may stop becoming a good student and slide more towards the slacking behavior. They may stop participating in class and in group work, even passing time chatting with friends instead of doing school work. Sometimes students do this because they feel they can get even with their parents who are divorcing.They feel their parents should not be getting divorced. It changes all aspects of the children’s lives. And often children don’t believe their parents have had any consideration for them in the decision to divorce. Children also sometimes feel they are the cause of their parents decision to divorce. This results in the students decision to get an F in classes. The student hopes this failing academic behavior will awaken the parents to his or her needs instead of the parents thinking about only themselves.

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,

An absence of a parent or a parent’s separation, divorce, when a child is developing, may affect the child’s future relationships. “Evidence shows that, on average, children who have experienced parental divorce score somewhat lower than children in first-marriage families on measures of social development, emotional well-being, self-concept, academic performance, educational attainment, and physical health” (Demo, Supple)

For my final project in this course, I will be exploring the long term effects of divorce on adolescents. In terms of motivation and experience in researching this subject, I have hands on experience with the results divorce brings onto families. As a child of two divorces, one at age five and the other last year, I want to understand not only what truly causes divorce, but the physiological consequences the split brings upon the children involved. The decisions of my parents have weighed heavily on my life thus far and in researching and communicating the research behind my findings, I hope my audience will receive additional information on how divorce affects everyone involved, especially adolescents, to hold a better grasp on the growing epidemic and what it

Children of divorce are far more likely to experience psychological difficulties, and these difficulties are likely to carry into adulthood. These children are faced with high rates of depression and anxiety, low self-esteem, and less satisfaction within their daily lives. In the novel “For Better Or for Worse”, expert of family dynamics Mavis Hetherington, reveals that “[t]wenty-five percent of youths from divorced families in comparison to 10 percent from non-divorced families did have serious social, emotional, or psychological problems.” They will also require more frequent use of mental health services than those with intact families. In the American Journal of Family Law, Doctor Sandford Portnoy investigates the psychological effects divorce has on offspring. “Girls from divorced families have, in some cases, been found to be significantly more depressed than girls from intact families, while boys are more hopeless and discouraged as the level of family distress increases.” These psychological difficulties will then accompany them into their adult relationships, where they will struggle with marital instability, satisfaction, conflict, and

“Bang” is all you heard as little Johnny slammed his door as he found out that his parents are splitting up. Growing up with divorced parents is one of the hardest things a kid must deal with when growing up. Kids have a hard time regardless when it comes to growing up already, but worrying about why their parents don’t like each other should not have that burden put on them. Even psychologist Jann Gumbiner said, “Divorce is bad, plain and simple.” Kids who are going through a divorce have shown that they are more likely to show development problems. A study has shown that kids who do go into a divorce have 50 percent worse grades than students who have parents who are still together. This is because they go

These include academic deterioration, antisocial and delinquent behaviors, anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression. Early promiscuity, relationship difficulties, and illicit drug use are also noted. Other studies correlate resiliency in adulthood as one product of living in a conflictual family system”(Rich et al., 2007 p.164). The effects of divorce vary depending on the situation and the child. “Hess and Camara found that many children of divorce suffer severe emotional consequences such as depression, anger, anxiety, and withdrawal, any of which, if prolonged, can have a negative impact on the child’s overall emotional development. It is also reported adjustment problems in the area of cognitive, emotional, and social development among children of divorce as well. In addition, parental separation has been found to be particularly stressful for adolescents”(Bornstein and Walters, 1988 p.248).

The Journal of Youth and Adolescence manifests that divorce does not damage a child's existence as, "being exposed to conflict within the family in the form of arguments and violence is positively related to feelings of anger and depressed mood among adolescents" (LIRN). The various authors of this complex article attempt to clarify that there is a definite correlation between depression and anger as well as family conflict. The article distinguishes that divorce does not harm children but in actuality provides relief from continuous turmoil and an oppressive environment. This