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How Divorce Affects Children

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Social scientists are becoming more concerned about how divorce effects children. Today, more than one out of four U.S families is a single-parent family and half of all children will become stepchildren. Our textbook states that 60 percent of divorces involve children but couples with children divorce less than couples without children. Children from a divorced family can suffer from interpersonal and psychological problems as well as emotional distress. Research by Heather Westberg, Thorana Nelson and Kathleen Piercy indicates that children’s reaction to divorce is influenced by how the news is delivered and is shaped by the perception that life at home will be better or worse afterward. Data collected over a 12 year period studied parent-child relationships before and after divorce showing that marital conflict may intensify children’s behavior problems making them …show more content…

School-age children may blame one parent directing their anger toward them. Adolescents usually distance themselves and shut down putting the blame on both parents. One of the most difficult and unhappy occasions in life is telling children their parents are getting a divorce. The response children have with divorce also depends on the age and developmental stage of the child. Psychologist Judith Wallerstein suggested that children must take on six developmental tasks during a divorce. Acknowledging parental separation is the first task and disengaging from parental conflicts is the second. These two tasks need to be resolved during the first year of divorce. The feelings of rejection, sadness and anger are normal for children to have, but they need to face the fact that their parents are separating and must learn to accept it. Children need to distance themselves from the issues their parents are having at this time.

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