Short Term Effects Of Divorce On Children

Every year more than half of all marriages between a male and female end in divorce (Weaver & Schofield, 2015), and data from the 1990 census states that over one million children experienced parental divorce (Amato, Sep. 2001). Compared to the 1960s 90 percent of children in the US grew up with two biological parents. Today that figure is only 40 percent (Bryner, 2001). Clearly, the prevalence of divorce should be a concern for the adults who live and work with the children who are affected by this phenomenon.

Divorce is a heavy concept that has many implications for those involved. The situation becomes even more consequential when children are considered. As divorce has become more commonplace in society, millions of children are affected by the separation of the nuclear family. How far-reaching are these effects? And is there a time when divorce is beneficial to the lives of the children? This paper will examine some of the major research and several different perspectives regarding the outcomes of divorce for the children involved, and whether it can actually be in the best interest of the kids.

What happens to the children of the family with two parents get divorced? As a child of a divorced home, I had often wondered about the long-term effects that divorce has on the offspring. To analyze the impact of divorce, we must first define divorce itself as the “act of legally ending a marriage” and its prevalence in the modern world. (Sangster) According to Margaret Sangster, the United States has the leading rate of divorce in the world today. (Sangster) Statistics also show that, as of 2015, 6.083 million children live in a home with one of their divorced parents. (Gale)

After reading the reading the article on “Long-term effects of divorce on children, I believe community divorce is most difficult on both of marital partners. The divorcing individuals usually have friend that they made while they were together. After separation, it becomes difficult for them to still see their friends but separately. Even, for friends situation becomes awkward to be friends with both of divorcing individuals. In order for the divorcing individuals to move on with their life, they either have start over to make their own new individual friend circle or they have to pick and choose from their old friends.

Divorce is a very harsh and challenging thing, especially on children. In today’s society, it is very common. It takes hard work and determination to keep a marriage going strong. It is also something that both spouses have to work at every day. Children grow up seeing their mom and dad together, and they become immune to it. When suddenly one day their parents are no longer together, there can be long term and short term effects on the child. Effects of a divorce on children include depression and anxiety, separation from one or both parents, and lastly, stepfamilies.

50% of all the children born to married parents today, will experience the divorce of their parents’ before they are eighteen years old. Divorce in and of itself doesn’t necessarily harm a child, but the conflict between parents does. A child’s behavior correlates directly with the effects of their parents’ separation. Deep emotional wounds are created before, during, and after divorce and separation. It is rare that you find a child that actually wants their parents to separate, unless the marriage was full of intense conflict and anger. Parents going through a divorce don’t always think about how their child is going to be impacted by it. Children suffer when their parents go through a separation. Divorce increases the risk of psychological and behavioral problems, it makes way for difficulties in the classroom, and the emotional well-being of the child is in danger.

Divorce not only affects the parents, but it also affects the child/children. The child whom is now part of a divorced family has to face a change in their life. It can undermine their child’s sense of security and stability, because the two people whom the child was the most dependent on are now being split up and are no longer living with one another and thus leading to separation of time spent with the child from each parent, regardless of the custody settlement that is reached. The foundation of the child’s world is damaged and changed. The best thing for a child who has divorced parents would be for the parents to not be hostile with one another and for both parents to spend shared and equal amount of time with the child. Also that both parents stay active in the child’s day-to-day life and routine. This means that there has to be good communication amongst the parents. If the child is raised in these conditions, then a divorce will not have a heavy effect on them and it can increase the potential for the child to develop a strong relationship with both parents. However, these conditions are extremely hard to meet if one of the parents decides to relocate. Relocation can be seen as a distance between the noncustodial/nonresidential parent and the custodial parent and child. When a divorced parent relocates, it makes it a lot harder for the non-relocating parent to see the child, if the child moves with the relocating parent. Not only does moving effect the

Parents in separation and divorce are very concerned about the effects of divorce on children. They wonder whether their decision will affect the happiness and health of their child. Reliable information about the effects on children is still being gathered and analyzed by sociologists and psychologists.

The high number of divorced families over the past decade or so has increased concern

"’Divorce,’"psychiatrist McDermott, ‘is now the single largest cause of childhood depression.’ Marital disruption, quite clearly, can wound children for years” (Zinsmeister). Divorces in the past few decades have skyrocketed. This leaves many children stuck in the middle of an awkward situation with is prone to produce discomfort in all family members involved in this elaborate ordeal. Divorce has a detrimental impact on children which can be observed in how it affects their lives when dealing with legal issues, short term emotional effects, as well as the long term mental health concerns.

Divorce, once considered deviant has become the social norm of modern society. Also, secularization, the declining influence of religion on society has reinforced the acceptance of divorce (Cook, 2011). This contributes to the rise in the divorce rates. Forty to Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce (E. Kazdin Ph.D., 2000) and sixty percent of second marriages will end in divorce (Dr. William, 2013). Divorce is easier to get because of secularization has led to marriage becoming less important and sacred. (Cook, 2011) Changes of the laws allow anyone to file for divorce if they can afford the annulment process. Divorce is the resolution for failed marriages caused by different things such as lack of interest,

This paper is going to be about the various effects of divorce. I will look at three different ways that divorce effects the children. I will first look at the ways that divorce affects a students academic achievement. I will then look at the effects that divorce has on relationships with both parents and other people and lastly I will examine the emotional effects of divorce. The effects of divorce on children can change almost all aspects of a person's life including where they live, with whom they live with, their standard of living, their emotional happiness, their assets and liabilities, time spent with parent and other family, and so much more. A number of children have plenty of trouble in schools but it’s

Many studies have shown that the effects of divorce on children are hard to handle. In some cases, they are extreme and require counselling and therapy to help. In other cases, the child doesn’t even realize anything is wrong or is too young to understand it. Divorce causes many different types of issues in the parents; including depression. Which then in turn, affects the children. Divorce has many life changing effects on the whole entire family. Studies have proven that there are many negative effects on children as a result of divorce. With that being said, some of those effects range from short-term to long-term.

Divorce causes irreparable harm to all involved, but most especially to the children. Though it might be shown to benefit some individuals in some individual cases, over all it causes a temporary decrease in an individual’s quality of life and puts some “on a downward trajectory from which they might never fully recover.” Unlike the experience of divorced former spouses, a child’s suffering does not reach its peak at the divorce and then level off. Rather, the effect of the parents’ divorce can be played and replayed throughout the next three decades of a child’s life. For instance, an Australian parliamentary study tracked children whose parents divorced in 1946, and tested them two and three decades later. Even 30 years after the divorce, negative long-term repercussions still clearly affected the income, health, and behavior of many of the grown children. Though some adults and children adjust relatively quickly to divorce, others exhibit long-term deficits in functioning. Children’s well-being over the long term is determined by circumstances both prior to and after their parents’ divorce.

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.