Effects Of Divorce On Teenagers

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

Divorce is one of the most common happenings in the world experienced by children. Most children go through different adjustments to become comfortable with the fact that their parents are not together anymore. Children of divorced parents are prone to lifelong effects. Seventy-five to eighty percent of children have divorced parents and twenty-five percent of those children have serious social, emotional, or psychological problems for the rest of their life. Most adults think that it is best for parents to stay together for the sake of their child because having two parents in different households can become difficult for the child socially and academically.

Overnight their entire life has changed and everything they had believed up until that point is broken. They are left powerless to the decisions of their parents and must learn to cope with feelings of depression, stress, abandonment, and anxiety often times alone. These emotionally scarred children then grow into adults haunted by the parental earthquake that shattered their once happy family and they must live in fear of their own commitment. Divorce is not only the separation between a child’s parents and home, but also the separation between the child and who they thought they

“Teen Health and Wellness” expresses that the result on children ages six to eight is most profound. It says they are old enough to realize what is happening but do not have adequate skills to deal with the disruption. It asserts that they often feel a sense of responsibility, experience tremendous grief, and have a pervasive sadness and yearning for the departed parent. According to this article, adolescents' reactions to divorce include anger, a desire for a stable home, and a need for clear boundaries between them and their parents, especially around such issues as sexuality, dating, and household responsibilities. “Dysfunctional Family” testifies that teens that already have to deal with their maturing bodies and minds, divorce is just an added burden (Dysfunctional Family).

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 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

In the United States alone, there is 876,000 divorces every year, or one every 36 seconds. This staggering statistic not only affects the lives of the divorcees, but their immediate family as well. The children of divorced parents have a much higher chance of depression as opposed to those whose parents are married. Depression in children with divorced parents can be described by discussing the psychodynamic perspective of psychology, analyzing research methods, exploring necessary components, and debunking common controversies, proving that the divorce of parents directly contributes to depression in children.

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

     Adolescents also develop mixed emotions and have mood swings, which makes the relationship with their family members difficult to maintain. Males have a difficult time dealing with fact that they are lacking a father figure. They sometimes feel as if they were betrayed and no longer loved by him. This rejection from their father adds to the difficult time for adolescents. The are continuously wishing for a reunion of their parents. In some cases, harsh feelings and negativity are displayed towards the mother because of the father missing. Females, on the other hand, lean toward their friends as support figures. They try not to allow the divorce to bring them down. "They were happier and also more likely to view the divorce as an improvement to their family situation prior to the separation," (Dufour, p.10).

The article Excessive Anger, Sadness and Insecurity in the Children of Divorce (COD) published by the Catholic Education Resources Center outlines the effect divorces have on children. As stated in the title, children of divorce often experience anger, sadness alongside paranoia and anxiety. This article focuses more so on teens whose parents are divorced as opposed to infants or toddlers. Many COD feel anger or resent towards their parents for not working hard enough on their relationship and often bottle this anger up inside for prolonged periods of time. They feel that their parents failed to provide them with a stable family. This anger can be expressed in

Anger, resentment, depression, helplessness, hopelessness, for parent divorce child think they can’t do anything to change parents separated.

“Since 1972, more than a million youngsters have been involved in a divorce each year” (Zinsmeister). When one reviews the countless ways that divorce affects children, this statistic becomes overwhelmingly depressing. Nearly half of all marriages end in divorce. How did society get to this point? Divorce has become so normalized in the culture today that many people do not even realize the harm that divorce is causing children on a daily basis. Even what most people would consider to be the least harmful divorce situation possible is typically still wreaking havoc on a child’s life. Studies done by sociologists have found that divorced couples describe being happier and more satisfied than individuals who stayed in unhappy or failing marriages (Issitt). However, what these researchers fail to realize is that the children in these families are being negatively affected by their parent’s actions. A recent study showed that “As many as 25 percent of teens whose parents divorce end up depressed or abuse dangerous substances” (Gallup). Parents need to grasp the fact that their happiness is not the only important factor to consider in situations of divorce. The child’s emotional, physical, and psychological wellbeing is at stake when a couple decides to divorce. Divorce often negatively affects children by causing emotional trauma and guilt, behavioral changes, financial difficulties, and eventually problematic future

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).

Divorce can significantly result in, "higher rates of school dropout, teenage pregnancy, [and] juvenile delinquency" (Berlin, CYBRARY). Children habitually imitate their parents' behavior and following a major life change such as divorce, they may attempt to release their withdrawn emotions through anger and participating in illegal activity.