Does Divorce Affect Children?

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.

Most researchers look at how children react and are effected when they experience parental divorce. Divorce is looked at as something “bad” for everyone who is effected by the situation. Divorce in the United States has the highest rate in the world. Over one million people a year get divorced and sixty percent of those divorces effect children (article 2). At the time of the divorce it seems like a horrible experience but, people never think about what would happen if the marriage stayed the way it was. Couples get divorced for many different reasons it could be because there was abuse, fighting, cheating and even if the couple was just no longer in love. “Children appear to be better off in cases in which the divorce substantially reduces

Divorce has many victims; they do not fall under a specific category and do not target a specific gender, age, race, or ethnicity. The effect of divorce on children differs from the effect on the spouses. The reasons for divorce are endless; they have many side effects on the spouses but most importantly affect the children. Divorce is one of the main reasons for disruption in our communities. Regardless of the reason, divorce always harms the children’s decisions, personalities, and futures.

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?”.

When a person starts considering marriage, that person is looking for the marriage to last for a life time. That person thinks that they have found their soulmate in life, the person they want to spend eternity with. Maybe one day start a family with and start a life of their own together. What someone thinks is the perfect marriage or perfect relationship for them could turn out to be the exact opposite. What they thought was a nice a person turned out to be an abuser or someone that was not ready for a big commitment like marriage. Therefore, their relationship turned into a divorce. About 25% of the children in the US live with a single parent (1 Bernet). Now if its just the two adults in the relationship,

In the last two decades divorce has increased substantially leaving couples single and families broken. Divorce is the reality for many families as there is an increase in divorce rates, cohabitation rates, and the number of children raised in step and single marital families. Divorce cannot be overlooked as it negatively affects and impacts youngsters for the rest of their lives. Although it is the decision between two parents’s children are hurt the most in the process. The concept of divorce is extremely difficult for children to understand as there are many unanswered questions and uncertainties. “Will my mom or dad remarry and who will I live with?” are concerns children express while going through divorce. Many

The effects of how children experience divorce mostly depends on their age, though can also depend on how the parents themselves react after their divorce and if there is no hard feelings between them. Currently, we do not know the rate of divorces because “The National Center for Health Statistics stopped publishing numbers of divorce and remarriage in 2000 because some states no longer count them” (Berns, 2013, p.83). The effects on children are drastically different based on their age at the time of the divorce. A child that is a teen will understand that the divorce is not their fault, though at the same time come to resent one parent for tearing apart the family, while a young child might feel that they are the reason for their parents'

The Effects Of Divorce On Children begin long before parents physical separate, Theses effects are primarily the result of family dysfunction and economic stress. The typical youngsters feel torn in two after a divorce, particularly in case of joint custody where they must physically bounce back and forth between two house its hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye all the time says jill krementz (Zinsmeister 3). The children have to go through many changes when their parents get a divorce their feelings really be hurt. The Effects Of Divorce On Children changes their grades suffer, have behavior problems, and family issues.

Not only can a divorce strain a child emotionally but, it even affects them financially. “Because the custodial parent 's income drops substantially after a divorce, children in divorced homes are almost five times more likely to live in poverty than are children with married parents.” Sara McLanahan and Gary Sandefur, Growing Up with a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994), p. 82

When I was five years old I was forced to make a choice. This was a choice many children should not have to make and can never really be prepared for. My parents were getting a divorce and they decided it was in my best interests to give me the option to live with whomever I chose. It was a burden that to this day affects my relationship with one of my parents. Ultimately, I chose to live with my mother and from then on, my father would barely be a part of my life. I often wonder would I have been better off in life had my parents decided to stay together and not divorce each other. This lead me to find out whether there are negative effects of divorce on children.

In today’s society, divorce has become a normal occurrence. Married couples today are getting divorces due to many different reasons; conflicts in the marriage, a loss of romantic feelings, perhaps a spouse is having an affair, or other types of problems. Most divorces have children that are really young and due to their age, they do not have any idea how to deal with this type of situation. Most people know of someone who has dealt with or is dealing with a divorce. Children are the ones who are normally affected the most; they will have to learn to deal with their parents ' divorce at such a young age, the situation either affecting them in a positive or negative way.

The purpose of this research is to assess if the consequence of divorce will affect the development of the child or if they will be able to adjust to the dramatic change in their lives. Are children better off living in strife or as a divorced family? Will parents be able to come together for the sake of raising their children? In the past research revolved around the necessity of a two parent household. It was assumed that divorce would have an inconceivable, dire effect on the children. Ultimately, it is the well-being and needs of the children that parents should think about.

When parent choose divorce as a solution, their children become exposed to countless stressors. These children know for a fact things are about to change, but they are unsure how which can be quite a frightful experience. These kids have to learn to cope with the whole situation with no anticipation since divorce tends to be a sudden decision rather than a planned, pre-meditated option. On the other hand, some couples choose to stay together since they do not want their children to face the amount of stress brought by divorce. Children may need to change schools or move to another house, which can be very taxing on them. The stress can be increased when their quality of life decreases after moving to a different home. This can also affect the parent who becomes overwhelmed since he or she cannot provide as much as the parent with the better quality of life. Although the changes in the child’s life may vary depending on the sex of the parent they stay with and the sex of the children. Divorce has a very taxing effect on children, and presents stressful challenges to their lives.

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.

Parents’ divorce has both short- and long-term effects on children. Some short-term effects include (1) children might feel guilty or responsible for the divorce, (2) they may become increasingly aggressive, violent and/or uncooperative, lashing out at both parents, (3) may become emotionally needy out of fear of being abandoned, (4) may lose the ability to concentrate which could then affect academic performance, and (5) may develop intense feelings of grief and loss. Although many of the effects of divorce on children are short term after which they fade once the child has time to adjust to the new family situation and all the changes that have occurred, there are many cases where the effects may be long term. The children of divorced parents may be more likely to: (1) be less educated, (2) experience poverty and/or socio-economic disadvantage, (3) exhibit anti-social behaviour as well as other behavioural problems, (4) suffer from drug and/or alcohol addictions, and (5) experience separation and/or divorce themselves.