Divorce: The Impact It Has On the Family
Introduction
Marriage is a sacred communion between two people that vows to love each other until the end of time. No one gets married with the intent to divorce. Unfortunately, marriages are challenged with acts of infidelity, change in family incomes, and many other factors. These factors most likely lead to divorce. Divorce perpetually deteriorates the family and the relationship between children and parents. It can lead to negative effects of the family, especially the children. Everyone is affected by the split. In addition, the experience of divorce is different for everyone involved. The relationship the children have with the parents changes drastically. One study shows that divorced mothers have poorer and less stimulating home environments, especially for mothers that are raising boys. Furthermore, divorced mothers, despite their best intentions, are less able than married mothers to give emotional support to their children (Pat12).
The purpose of this research is to explore the impact of divorce, concentrating on parental styles and children’s behavior. In addition, this paper will explore how divorced couples cope with the change in the family structure. The research will examine the response to divorce relative to a child’s age and gender. This paper will evaluate the literature and examine statistics relative to negative effects of divorce. This paper will highlight research method and frame two hypotheses in
In the introduction to the article, the authors David Gately and Andrew Schwebel best wrote “Karl Zinsmeister uses studies of children and divorce to argue against the contention made by many parents that it is better to divorce than to rear children in a marriage with conflict. He maintains that children’s sense of stability and family structure supersedes parental needs.” Throughout the article Zinsmeister uses the headings “Fear and Loathing of Divorce Among the Young”, “Short and Long-Term effects of Divorce on Children”, and “A Catalogue of Behavioral Changes” as a platform to prove/explain his opinions and back them by research.
Amato, Paul R, and Alan Booth. “A Prospective Study of Divorce and Parent-Child Relationships.” Journal of Marriage and Family 58.2 (1996): 356–365. Web. 5 Nov. 2016.
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
There are instances where divorce is essential. In cases such as verbal or physical abuse of a spouse or child, divorce may be the only solution. However, the negative effects of divorce have a large impact on family structure. Divorce can be very stressful for young adult children, with a sense of increased responsibility to their parents and a vulnerability to loyalty conflicts with both parents. In addition, this article proclaims that young adults may experience a sense of loss of their family home, abandonment by their parents, and a concern
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).
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
Divorce is a major sociological issue. Divorce rates continue to rise annually and more and more the definition of ‘family’ begins to change. Around 40% of marriages ended in divorce in 2004 (West). This is an epidemic that at one point shocked many People. While, divorce use to be socially and for many, religiously unacceptable it is becoming more and more a social norm. Even though it is becoming more common for couples to end marital issues with the decision of divorce, it is still a major social problem. Divorce is reshaping our culture (A Sociological Analysis of Divorce and its effects). Many people do not realize that not only does divorce affect the couple, it also greatly impacts any children involved, the extended family and the society as a whole.
Among industrialized countries, the highest divorce rate is in the United States, where about half of all first marriages end in divorce and more than a million children experience their parents’ divorce each year. During the '80s and '90s numerous examinations in different fields researched the inquiry whether there is a negative impact of this procedure on kids. Albeit most investigations demonstrated that separation has negative effect on kids, there are a wide range of elucidations about the outcomes of this circumstance on kids, particularly about the force of the impact, regardless of whether the negative effect is emerging from the separation itself or from the procedure, and whether this procedure can entirely be useful for the children in a few circumstances. Notwithstanding the negative impacts of the separation itself on youngsters, we ought to consider additionally the negative consequences for kids coming about because of the contention between the guardians, which is every now and again terrible and unpleasant. There is presumably that extensive losses of this battle are simply the
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.
The term divorce is a legal term that denotes the separation of two individuals in a legal manner that was once connected to each other as a result of marriage. Divorce can be a lifetime separation between couples and can even be a limited time separation between couples. Recently, the world has witnessed a surge in the number of divorces taking place and the occurrence of this event is even at its peak in the United States. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported during the period of 2011, that out of every 1000 individuals, almost 3.6 individuals have experienced divorce (cdc.gov, 2013). Divorce does not only impact the couples who are being separated, it even impacts the children of the couples. Much emphasis has been
They hope to reunite with their father and try to convince him and their mother to get back together so that they can be a happy family again. Believing that their father continued to be a single man, they were surprised to see that when they arrived at their fathers house that he has another family. Here, they see that the father already has another child who is just as young as their parents divorce and has a new significant other by his side. At this moment, the children begin to suffer from “boundary ambiguity,” because they still believed that there was hope that their parents would reunite (Cherlin 15). They still believed him to be the main father figure in their life, but at this moment, they came to realize that he might not want anything to do with them. As the kids watch their father happily play with his newborn child, Nick finds them and watches they move into a miserable state. He then brings them away from the house and into the car so they can proceed to travel toward the mother. While in the car, Nick notices the tears coming from the children’s eyes and then attempts to cheer them up. When his attempts at bringing about smiles on their faces, he tells the children that his father walked out on him, too. This scene is significant because it is at this point when the children and Nick begin to understand each
In this paper, I will focus on the different ways in which divorce can affect children both socially and mentally. I will discuss how divorce is a process as well as an alternative developmental path that can lead to different outcomes for different children. The questions I will attempt to answer using methods such as focus groups and surveys are: How does divorce affect children overall? What are the factors that contribute to the well-being of children after divorce?
Divorce can effect many things that happened in a person’s life. Many of the research done today focuses on the effect of divorce on work and finances; things that effect a person’s wellbeing for their future. However, not many research done on divorce discusses what happens to the family system in a family as a result of divorce, including the effect it has on the many relationships that make up the family. After researching the affects of divorce on relationships, it has become clear that relationships in the family decline in each relationship that makes up the family. What has not been prominent until now is that these relationships continue to decline as the children of divorced families become adults. The five articles reviewed in this
The proportion of single-parent families has increased world wide in the last few decades, mostly due to high divorce rates. (H. Junkkari. M.D.) Divorce has become a common solution among many families all over the nation. Studies have been conducted and these studies show the negative effects divorce has on the children involved. Perhaps a different solution is
Divorce is a plague that is destroying numerous families across the United States of America. Sadly, when husbands and wives divorce, the children are often caught directly in the middle. Throughout the years divorce has been becoming more and more common. In the 1920's it was a rare find to know a person whom had been divorced, today it is a rarity not to know of one who has been, or will be divorced. Divorce has numerous effects on the structures of families, and many devastating effects on the children that must experience it, although sometimes necessary, divorce radically changes the lives of adolescents and adults alike.