Effects Of Divorce On Children : Children 's Growth And Development

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.

The first three years of a child 's life are the most significant for growth and development, both mentally and physically. Young children perceive situations and events that occur in their environment differently depending on their developmental stage. Urie Bronfenbrenner is a psychologist that came up with the Ecological Systems Theory which is a modern theory of development. The Ecological Systems Theory was created into a model that has multiple system levels. The first level that directly impacts a child the most is called the microsystem and this system consists of family, peers, school, and health services. Divorce is being seen more often in society today and is happening earlier. Divorce can be very traumatic to a child even if the divorce was mutual and as peaceful as possible; imagine if it was a bad divorce? This puts stress and anxiety on young children and can affect their development. More and more studies are being conducted in the last thirty years showing the negative effects divorce has on young children. The more we find out exactly how and why it affects children so greatly we can come up with recommendations and strategies to help deal with it in a way that will not hinder the child 's development. This paper will connect the modern day developmental perspective with studies that have shown

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.

Although needed in severe cases of abuse, divorce harmfully impacts, wives husbands and children. The lack of understanding of the primary nature of marriage has brought about a withdrawal from the institution of marriage. Parents need to slow on the uptake and proceed with care before the decision is made that divorce is the best solution for the child. Parents’ marital misery and friction harmfully affect their children’s happiness, comfort and security, but as does being subjected to going through a divorce. Children who are living in very high conflict and tension filled homes may be at an advantage by being detached from the conflicts. (Marriages that run at a lower level of upheaval, conceivably over two-thirds of divorces are of this kind; however divorce can make the children’s circumstances much worse on the heels of a divorce).

In modern day society, many people are finding it is becoming more and more acceptable to get a divorce. Even the word family itself has changed so drastically, it’s no wonder divorce is so high. What many people don’t realize is that divorce can possibly have a serious effect on children and their behaviors. Many studies have been conducted and have shown a variety of long term, as well as short term effects that children have developed after they’ve experienced going through divorce, one effect divorce could have on children is the risk of the child developing behavioral issues.

The change in a family dynamic, such as a divorce, will have a huge impact on a child’s development. During childhood, divorce in a child’s early life is one of the most stressful life events that can occur. Although, all children are not affected, majority of children are more likely to become affected and have a negative impact when it comes to their social and cognitive development. According to Velez et al (2011), “evidence shows that factors such as parental warmth, acceptance, support, family cohesion and firm rule enforcement are positively associated with engagement efforts and negatively associated with disengagement efforts” (pp. 245). At a young age, if children are experienced with a change in their family dynamic, this will lead

Research Question: What are the effects of divorce on the socioeconomic and emotional well-beings of children as they progress through life?

The dissolution of a marriage, or ‘divorce’ as it is known, was once an infrequent occurrence and often considered the failure of a wife to maintain a happy marriage (Lewis, 2013). Following a change in legislation in the 1960s that allowed partners to end their marriage without having to provide justification, in conjunction with the sexual liberation movement, the incidence of divorce more than doubled (Wilcox, 2009). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012), the number of marriages ending in divorce has continued to rise, however, despite an increase in social acceptance, the negative impact divorce has on children has remained prevalent (Kelly & Emery, 2004). It is imperative for researchers to assess the repercussions

In the following paper, the various consequential effects of divorce upon children and adolescents and their development will be examined. The main purpose of this review is to determine the effects of the effects of the growing epidemic of divorce, what is happening to our children when they confront the reality of divorce, how we can plan for the future where growth is redirected by divorce, and how the world may prepare for a population where over half of children will experience divorce. No matter the stage or direction of development, divorce may have an effect on the child’s natural path of growth psychologically. However, with the help of many different studies that range from religious adjustment, to physical health, to a father’s well being in relation with a child’s well being, this review pinpoints the most crucial elements of divorce in the modern day and the subsequent effects upon children’s psychological development.

Divorce is a hard thing for anyone to go through. If you’re having a troublesome time going through the divorce, imagine how difficult this must be for your child. Divorce affects every person in the family, especially children, no matter how old they are. Every child has their own way of reacting the divorce. Many children react by acting out to get attention, while others withdraw and turn their anger inside.

In order to explore my topic and answer my inquiry question, I began by searching through a variety of website articles. I then searched through the articles and narrowed it down to two that had opposing views. Lastly, I conducted interviews with two primary sources. All these sources gave me a better understanding of my topic, and how to answer my question. 1.5 million children deal with divorce every year. Researchers have found that only a relatively small percentage of children experience severe problems in the wake of divorce. Also, they have found that most children, after the initial blow of divorce, only suffer for a short period of time. Many children experience short-term negative effects from divorce. For example some of the effects include: anxiety, anger, shock and disbelief. These effects often disappear after the end of two years. In a quantitative review of the literature in 2001, a sociologist, Paul R. Amato, examined the possible effects on children several years after divorce. The studies compared children of married parents with those of divorced parents. The researchers followed kids into later childhood and adolescence. They assessed their academic achievement and emotional and behavioral problems. On average, the studies found only a small difference between children of divorced parents and those of married parents. Though, not everybody agrees on those premises. During the 70’s when the psychological literature first discussed the

"The human species has evolved to make commitments between males and females in regards to raising their offspring, so this is a bond" (Lancaster). This means that humans were not meant to be with one mate their whole life. People only stay by this tradition so that children can grow up with the bond of both parents and not have to leave full responsibility on one parent. Couples without children, however, stay together because that is how they were raised, and that is what they are supposed to do in the eyes of god. “Marriage rates have increased between the years 1963-1975” (Gruber). Although marriage is meant to be forever, as humans, we naturally make mistakes and many couples get divorced. Divorce is two people deciding that they will be happiest without the other person and separate (Toth).

Children need intact families to flourish. It is hard to imagine that if the family is torn apart, a child can simply adjust to a new situation, home, step-parent, siblings, and entire change of life as they know it without suffering significant effects upon their mental health and development lacks. Despite voices that serve to minimize the effects of divorce on children, this paper will show that the negative effects upon their mental health and development are such that the best solution is to avoid divorce all together. According to Stinson and Jones, “well-being on the road to adulthood for both children and teens hinges on family relationships.”

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 an unfortunate event, especially for those with children. Divorces can be ugly filled with accusations and disagreements. When parents’ divorce they sometimes have trouble setting aside their differences in order to do what’s best for the children. Parents actions during this process can either benefit or harm a child. Divorce can have some negative as well as positive long-term effects on children. This term paper will discuss how divorce can impact children as well as things parents can do to help their child through a divorce.