Summary: The Effects Of Divorce On America

Most people don’t ever think that they will get a divorce but the reality is that almost half of marriages will end in divorce. Divorce is not a decision that is made or taken lightly; its effects on families are damaging and not to mention long lasting. The Oxford Dictionary (2017), describes divorce as “a legal decree dissolving a marriage by a court or other competent body”. When a couple decides to separate numerous aspects of their lives are affected. Divorce affects family dynamics, physically and emotionally health, education, finances, job stability, income potential, drug use and crime. Divorce does not simply affect the lives of families; it affects America as a whole religiously, economically, and it immensely impacts the lives of the children involved.

Divorce, a very controversial issue in today’s society, has glaring effects on society as well as individuals. Approximately half of all marriages will end in divorce, resulting in close to one million children per year struggling to deal with the aftermath (Fischer 2007). Parental divorce has been proven to have long-term negative effects on adult mental health (Chase-Lansdale, Cherlin Kiernan 1995). Divorce was at its highest rate in the early 1980s. The first group of children to be affected by these very high divorce rates entered adulthood in the 1990s allowing sociological research to begin on the adverse affects associated with divorce over the span of different ages. Until this time, a lot of research focused on short-term effects surrounding

Divorce is one of many controversial subjects in family and human development research. What inspired me to critically analyze the article “Does Divorce Create Long-Term Negative Effects for Children?” is the challenge it would be for me to put my bias aside considering I am from a divorced home. After reading the article and analyzing it over and over, I can’t help but think that the writer answering “YES” to this controversial question overlooked many variables and over generalized his findings and research. With Zinsmeister overgeneralizing his research, not considering enough alternate explanations for long-term negative effects divorce, and his lack of relevant information needed to assess reliability and validity are why I find this article to be insightful but not accurate and hope to show why.

It is during this time a father needs to be present to father, shape and mold his children (Jones, Kramer, Kim A., Teresa L., Armitage, Tracey, Williams, Keith, as cited in Wallerstein, 1980, 1987). On their 10 year follow up, Wallerstein and Kelley found that regardless of the time spent with a father or not, the father continued to be a significant presence psychologically to adolescents, particularly to boys (Jones et al., as cited in Wallerstein, Kelley, 1974). On Kelley and Wallerstein’s 25 year follow up of their now adult participants in their longitudinal study, they have found that the effects of fatherlessness and divorce during their adolescents were long lasting. The participants in the study by Wallerstein et al. (2000) noted that “The impact of divorce hits them most cruelly as they go in search of love, sexual intimacy, and commitment” (p. 299). These same participants also stated in an interview that they had anxiety issues about relationships and intimacy problems into adulthood (Jones et al., as cited in Wallerstein et al., 2000). Wallerstein et al. (2000) participants of the research also stated that they had resentment towards their parents, particularly the fathers who were seen “selfish and faithless” (p. 300).

Amato, Paul R., and Bruce Keith. "Parental Divorce and the Well-Being of Children: A Meta-Analysis." Journal of Marriage and the Family 110.1 (1991): 26-46. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

"Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Parent–Child Relationships: Within-Family Comparisons of Fathers and Mothers." European sociological review (2013).

in divorce. There is a lot of stress on all the people involved. The man has

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

I agree and disagree with the statement that divorce rates in the United States are increasing to an extent that the stability of the family is being threatened. I believe that a lot of divorces can happen for a number of reason and that their are many factors to consider when we think of divorce rates. We have to factor in if it was a marriage of obligation or actual love. There are marriages that are contracted, by this I mean that they got married for a green card and after a few years of the agreed upon time they get divorced and go their separate ways. There are marriages that have been arranged, there are marriages that happened at a young age, and there are common law marriages. With different types of marriages there are different reasons

Marriage is a gourds approved mating arrangements, usually marked by some type of ritual. America tends to have a free spirit when it comes to marriages. People marry for love and occasionally money, but it is not an arranged or forced ritual. It is highly regarded and meant to be special. Anything as common as marriage though will have trends.

Amato, Paul R. "The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children." Journal of Marriage and the Family 62.4 (2000): 1269-87.

Studies comparing both children of divorced parents and children of married parent’s shows those of divorced parents had a greater risk percentile of suffering academically and experiencing emotional trauma. Research comparing children of divorced children to children with married parents show that children from divorced homes suffer academically, they usually experience high levels of behavioral problems, and they are less likely to graduate from high school.2 Other research has gone to show that children of divorced parents are more highly likely compared to children of married parents to be incarcerated for committing a crime as a juvenile and it has further shown that once they become teenagers they are more likely to engage in doing drugs and alcohol.4-5 A few more statistics to consider from this research is that children of divorced parents suffer from psychological distress and encounter emotional scars that last way into their adulthood.A research called the Wallerstein study was done by a psychologist named Judith Wallerstein who followed a group of children of divorce from the 1970s all the way to the 1990s.Judith began interviewing them 18 months after their parents’ divorce then 5,10,15,and 25 years after . She believed that after all that time the children now adults would most

Over the past decades, the patterns of family structure have changed dramatically in the United States. The typical nuclear family, two married parents with children living together in one household, is no longer the structure of the majority of the families today. The percentage of single-parent families, step-families and adopted families has increased significantly over the years. The nuclear family is a thing of the past. Family situations have tremendous influence upon a child’s academic achievement, behavior and social growth.

Divorce has been on a rise in America since the past thirty years. Almost every person might be having a divorced member in its family. Divorce has been reported to be the major cause of suicide as well. Many factors lead to divorce, some of which are online dating, financial problems and physical abuse.

Children in divorced families and stepfamilies, as compared to those in non-divorced families, are more likely to exhibit behavioral and emotional problems, lower social competence and self-esteem, less socially responsible behavior, and poor academic achievement. “Ann Brownson in his journal States that, approximately six to ten his parents ' divorce, illustrating what my experiences with each child.