In her book Fly Away from Home, Author Jennifer Weiner once said “divorce isn’t such a tragedy. A tragedy is staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love…” This is the general idea of divorce, once one has decided they’ve had enough it’s okay to quit. In some situations I would agree that it is absolutely necessary for divorce. I am not against divorce but I am in favor of the children that have to experience it. If you google ‘divorce’ what pops up is celebrities that have gone through it, an ad for a comedy television show about divorce, and a certificate for a free marriage counseling session. Not much is said about the children. Children from the ages of 5-13 experience the bad side of divorce because during that age is where most of the imprinting takes place. There is not much information on the topic of children that are having to go through divorce, custody battles, moving away, mental illness, etc. The reason for my research is to develop more information about the children, how to help them cope with it, how to tell them, and how to avoid trauma. The purpose of my research is to be the voice for children, as a future child psychologist and as someone that went through it as a child. There is not enough research out there about the toll this takes on a child so I figured I could change that. On average, children manage better in a happy two-parent family than a divorced one. Although, this cannot always be the case. Some
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.
and their world. He or she may be uprooted to a new school, city or
Divorce is is already a messy situation but the second a child gets thrown in the middle of this situation, it gets even more complicated. It is the end of a marriage for the couple but it is the end of a family for the child. Not every child is affected the same. There are a list of things that change emotionally for kids of divorce. They withdraw, they have a stronger temper, they doubt love, they deal with guilt, and having different coping mechanisms with loss (What). Children of divorce miss out on things like family dinner, which plays a bigger role in childhood development than we think. Statistically, according to the CASA report, Children “who eat with their family fewer than three times a week, 20% get C 's or lower on their report cards (Klein).” Children of divorced parents never
This meta-analysis involved ninety two studies that compared children that lived in complete two parent families with children who lived in divorced, single parent families based on the measures of well-being. Children that were in divorced families scored significantly lower than children that resided in a two parent home. The median age of the effected children was fourteen which means children who were younger and older were also drastically effected by the divorce of their parents.
With the large and growing number of divorce rates, research is now discussing the effects it has on the children of divorced parents. Now divorce does not just impact the individuals going through it, but their children as well. Not only do children have to live with one or the other parent, have shared custody, or various other living arrangements that may change, but their entire life that they knew changes. Research is
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
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 factors that can affect the development of a child and the path leading up to that child’s adulthood. In most cases, the children
The at-risk group I have chosen for my project is the child of divorce. The reason is more and more family and children face this problem both in the different country. Children from divorced homes are more likely to have problems with physical and emotional health, experience academic and behavioral difficulties in school, engage in risky behaviors——alcohol, drugs, and sexual activity——as teen, and even be incarcerated for committing a crime. Children psychologist, Dr. Lee Salk, calls divorce “the forever funeral.” He says, “To a child, the trauma of divorce is second only to death. Children sense a deep loss and feel they are suddenly vulnerable beyond their control.” Children may feel hopeless, they need caring and hope. Church and Good
Although I agree with the main argument of supporters of divorce to protect children from seeing a dysfunctional family, my personal stance would have to be with the opposition. I believe that divorce has long-term effects on children that parents don’t often consider when initially making the decision to separate. Personally, I have experienced depression as a direct result of the mayhem caused by my parents’ divorce and the every-other-weekend lifestyle that I had to adapt to. This is referred to as the “difficult transition that occurs only after couples separate--the emotional upset, fall in income, diminished parenting, continued conflict, and so.” (Cherlin) This could potentially create a chain of divorce in my family because studies show that “parents with psychological impairments are reportedly more prone to divorce and their children are more likely to experience developmental difficulties.” (Cherlin) This would become important when I am married with children and have to battle my own past and the resulting psychological
I would like to study the effects of divorce on children. I am mostly interested in my research methodology focusing on identifying the issues holistically that might be detrimental to the psychological or physiological health of children. I want compare the different experiences that each family has when dealing with divorce and measuring how each child copes with the separation of their parents. I would conduct a research design that is based not only on the issues that are related to divorce, but also the possible measures that could alleviate such impacts. I will focus on identifying issues that might be detrimental to the psychological or physiological health of children through my research methodology. My research
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 has many effects on a child’s growth and development, many of which may be through the psychological development. Once the children are impacted, it is difficult to approach and alter the traumatic situation because the root had already been planted pre-divorce within the term of the relationship. As divorce rates have increased over the years, so has the effect on child’s psychological growth, which may occur in children of all ages. The Effects of Divorce on Children, an article by Psychologist Donald A. Gorden details the drastic difference the effects have on depending on the children and their age. Depending on the age, the child will experience a higher or lower effect and will react differently. For example a pre-schooler will take on guilt and fear while a teenager might be concerned, but will understand what is going on (Gorden). One may not know the exact reactions to look out for but you cannot expect all reaction to be the same. Adults must be careful when they approach their children because it may result as a harmful expression towards them. Lisa Herrick collaborated with other Psychologist and Therapist groups in her article, Healthy Divorce, How to a make your slip as smooth as possible, expressed how children everyday are being impacted by the conflict and separation between their parent. In reality, when children are involved, it is very traumatic for them to adjust, but a child has an easier time adjusting if they are exposed to less
“About 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States divorce. The divorce rate for subsequent marriages is even higher” (American Psychological Association). Divorce occurs on a daily basis. As long as people continue to get married, people will continue to get divorced. When two people are divorced, it not only affects them but, it affects the other people in their lives, such as their children. Childhood is a delicate time in a person’s life. It is a time of learning and development. When looking at how divorce affects children, it can be seen, that it has both positive and negative effects. Ultimately, there are more negative effects than positive effects when it comes to how divorce affects children. Studies have shown that children of divorced parents have a higher rate of mental illness, are more likely to have behavioral problems, eating disorders and substance abuse issues. Also, it can be noted that children of divorce have life long issues due to the divorce of their parents (Effects...Health). Divorce is a serious matter and when handled improperly it can be detrimental for the children involved.
Unfortunately divorce is a very common and ordinary occurrence in today’s world. Many families and children witness the horrible feeling of this awful, some would say, nightmare. It is no longer seen as an awful deed like it used to be by the representing members of society. But this begs the question, “Do the children affected by divorce view it in the same manner, or do they see it as the vile thing it is?” While it can have some positive outcomes, such as a cease in violence in a child’s life, these are certainly overshadowed by its numerous ill effects. No child wants to see their parents constantly fighting and not loving each other as they should. Divorce has a number of critical influences on a child’s life, reaching beyond just their life at home, and affecting both their performance in school and their own ability to create relationships.