Divorce and Its Effect On Children Essay

Children of divorce are numerous, the effects of their biological parents separation and subsequent divorce has lasting effects on their behavior, academics, and their emotions. No one seems to care about the prevalence of divorce in society today; it is no longer considered taboo.

Divorce is one of many controversial subjects in family and human development research. What inspired me to critically analyze the article “Does Divorce Create Long-Term Negative Effects for Children?” is the challenge it would be for me to put my bias aside considering I am from a divorced home. After reading the article and analyzing it over and over, I can’t help but think that the writer answering “YES” to this controversial question overlooked many variables and over generalized his findings and research. With Zinsmeister overgeneralizing his research, not considering enough alternate explanations for long-term negative effects divorce, and his lack of relevant information needed to assess reliability and validity are why I find this article to be insightful but not accurate and hope to show why.

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 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

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

The dissolution of a marriage not only leaves an impact on the adults in the courtroom but upon the children involved as well. With one in every two marriages ending in divorce, more and more children are left as byproducts of a broken home. The divorce process can be blamed for how children will handle issues both as they mature and after they enter the adult world. This paper will analyze statistics associated with children of divorce, detailing the short term and long term effects that divorce has on children and will discuss what can be done by parents to lessen the impact of divorce on a developing mind.

In today 's society, divorce or remarriage rate has been growing rapidly. Divorces is a legal action between married people that is on longer together. Over the last twenty-five years, several studies has indicated that divorce process may affect family characteristics and most especially children 's cognitive performance. Divorce changes children 's lives through parental emotion and behavior. Divorce may also increase the risk of negative outcomes for younger and older children. Children from infant and toddler are less likely to be affected by divorce because is a early development stage (Leon, 2003). The purpose of this study is to better understand how parental divorces affects a child 's development, how children transition from living with both parent or divorces single parent and also.studies, how divorce could influence a child 's behavior, emotions, a child academic and their future relationships. Between young children and older children who react or adjust more to parental divorce.My hypothesis is to see divorce effect a child 's cognitive, emotional and psychological aspect class or at home.

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”.

The impact of separated or divorce parents on children can have a devastating effect. Parents who are going through the motions of separation or divorce should pay attention to the children’s emotional and physical state. The effects of divorce and separation may be particularly important for children under the age of four as the rapid developmental changes in the cognitive, emotional, and social domains take place in childhood. (D’Onofrio 1-7) I will be analyzing three different pieces of literature that pertain to this topic. The first piece of literature is a website titled Divorce and Separation by Brian M. D’onofrio; the second, the magazine article Protecting a Child's

Many social scientists’ greatest concern regarding divorce is the impact it has on children. More than half of all divorces involve children and how the children are effected has left social scientists with diverse opinions and theories. Sociologists’ research shows the effects of divorce really depend on the child's age at the time of the divorce. The child’s gender and personality also play a part. Psychologist Judith Wallerstein found that young children were more affected than older children and boys tend to deal with things worse than girls. That being said, it is very difficult to have a general and conclusive understanding of the impact of divorce in children’s lives because there are so many different aspects to study. Many other factors should also be considered when studying the effects divorce has on children including the family atmosphere, the changes the child will face

The question continues to be asked, “Is divorce harmful for children?” Everyone wants their children to be happy; however how does one decide when to choose their own happiness over their child’s? With divorce, parents have to choose to leave their partner even if it is detrimental to their children’s happiness. Over the years, divorce rates continue to increase. The reasons for divorce varies from each couple. However, in all cases it is true that the children involved do not get to decide the outcome. Divorce comes with many other factors that affect the child involved. While some experience increases of stress, decreases of parental competence and parental loss in general; these factors lead to a child having mental and emotional distress (Hughes 2009). Even though each differing factor can lead to distress within the child, the exposure to the marital conflict caused by divorce harms the child the most. Emotional and mental distress from marital conflict in divorce is caused by loss of security, emotional disorders, and disconnections with other relationships.

Divorce is the act by which a valid marriage is dissolved, usually freeing the parties involved to remarry… (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013). A divorce generally has a negative association with children and brings about a massive change in the life of any child regardless of his or her age. The stress of commuting back and forth between households, the consistent absence of one parent while staying with the other and seeing the loss of love and commitment between them can be something quite devastating. Researchers have also shown that children of divorce have a disadvantage when it comes to many of life outcomes when compared to children with married biological parents (Kim, 2011).

Alison Clarke-Stewart and Cornelia Brentano, (authors of the book “Divorce causes and consequences”), writes that: “Compared with children in intact families, children from divorced families are more likely to have conduct problems and show signs of psychological maladjustment; they have lower academic achievement, more social difficulties, and poorer self-esteem” (107). This shows that children of divorce might need more support than children in unified families. Additionally, children of divorce can have physical health problems. Clarke-Stewart & Brentano state that: “A link with diabetes has been found: 40 percent of children with diabetes had gone through a divorce before the onset of the disease, compared with only 17 percent of a randomly selected comparison group from the same community” (108). Children of divorce face many different challenges growing up. One type of challenge they can face is emotional challenges such as fear of abandonment, embarrassment, grief, anxiety, concern about their parents’ well- being, and lack of trust in relationships (Clarke-Stewart & Brentano, 2006). Special attention should be given to these children to help them deal with their psychological, behavioral, and health

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,

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.