The Effects Of Divorce On A Child Relationship Essay

In a journal discussing the behavior risks of children during a divorce, Gustavsen, Nayga Jr., and Wu state that “Divorce can also cause disruptions and emotional stress for children through parental separation, hostility, and residential/school dislocation” (474). Yes the loud arguing and vulgar words used between the parents while in the process of a divorce can be very emotional and hard for the child to hear, but so can the physical separation of the family in general. When a family is separated through divorce, the children can be bounced around from parent to parent depending on the legal situation or parenting schedule. The children may not gain a close relationship with one of the parents through this setup. A problem that may arise out of the setup is the hatred of the other parent being presented to the children. The children may form a bias of one of the parents based on the parents expressed views of one another. In a journal discussing the long-term effects of a divorce, it says that “Initially, Hetherington (1972) found that compared to other girls, daughters of divorced parents sought more attention from men” (Johnsson, Njardvik, Olafsdottir, and Gretarsson 101). Many children may not have had a strong connection or personal relationship with their father or mother because of the legal parenting schedule

However, even the parents themselves do not seems to take into consideration the devastation that can impact their children. Some researchers argue that people do not terminate their marriages for reasons of escaping a disruptive relationship or abuse but only for a quest for personal growth, (Amato, Sep. 2001), then the issue should be the concern for the well being of the child and what that separation and subsequent divorce would affect the children. That same research also included a longitudinal study and incorporated evidence that indicated that a majority of recent divorces were not preceded by an extended period of

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.

     In years past, the American Dream for most young girls’ is to grow up and be married to Prince Charming and to “Live Happily Ever After!” Although this may be expected - it is rarely fulfilled. Marriage is the legal and binding union between a man and woman. Yet when couples marry, they vow to stay by their partner’s side ‘till death do us part.’ Currently that vow seems to have little or no value in today’s society. The current statistics for survival of marriage are quite grim. The divorce rate in the United States is somewhere between 50 percent and a startling 67 percent. (KSL News) One contributing factor the growing epidemic of divorce is the parting of different family

According to Virginia Rutter, there has been an ongoing argument of whether or not divorce is a good thing (Rutter 159). An argument is made that the decline of the impact of divorce on children is due to the number of children involved, decreasing from 1.34 children to less than one child (Rutter 159). However, the statement of the impact of divorce being lessened due to less children being caught in the middle appears to be intellectually disingenuous. Regardless of their being less children, the children that are involved from the divorce will still be impacted greatly. Nevertheless, Rutter is correct in saying that there are some sets of circumstances where divorce is the better option. When my father divorced my mother, they decided that

Divorce is a very common word in today's society. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage or a complete or radical severance of closely connected things"(Pickett, 2000). This dissolution of marriage has increased very rapidly in the past fifty years. In 1950 the ratio of divorce to marriage was one in every four; in 1977 that statistic became one in two. Currently one in every two first marriages results in divorce. In second marriages that figure is considerably higher, with a 67% average (National Vital Statistics Report, 2001). One critical aspect of divorce is often not taken into consideration: How it affects children. Every year 1.1 million children are affected by divorce

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.

According to Marquart (2006), “after a divorce the job of making sense of the two worlds and the conflicts that arise between them doesn’t go away—it gets handed from the adults to the children(p. 215). When living with one parent a child may develop a sense of confusion when it comes to the family hierarchy because of the loss of one or more of the leader figures in the household (Kumar, 2011). Loss of one of the family incomes and

Divorce is becoming all too popular in our society today. When a couple experience tough times or have one too many arguments, they automatically think divorce. Despite its prevalence couples are not prepared for it’s long, drawn out, hurtful process. Divorce does not only hurt the individuals involved, it also affects the children tremendously. While many people don’t think divorce is a bad thing. Hollywood makes divorce look cool and uneventful. When in all reality, it is disruptive. Some people would say that divorce is a lazy way out of a marriage; the cowardly thing to do when a situation presents itself. Divorce is not the only answer to marital problems, in most cases.

Divorce or the parent separation is a major life change for the children and can

Although people feel that a divorce lies between the parents children are affected and hurt the most.

as different. Being raised by only one parent seems impossible to many yet over the decades it has become more prevalent. In today’s society many children have grown up to become emotionally stable and successful whether they had one or two parents to show them the rocky path that life bestows upon all human beings. The problem lies in the difference of children raised by single parents versus children raised by both a mother and a father. Does a child need both parents? Does a young boy need a father figure around? Does the government provide help for single parents? What role do step-parents and step-siblings play? With much speculation, this topic has become a very intriguing argument. What people must understand is that properly raising a child does not rely on the structure of a family but should be more focused on the process or values that are taught to these children as they learn to mature. Children of single parents can be just as progressive with emotional, social and behavioral skills as those with two parents.

Parents need to maintain the daily schedule. This is most difficult for the parent who does not have primary custody of the child. The non custodial parent must try to accomplish a schedule of their own that must include the needs and wants of the child. Depending on the work situation of this parent, it can be a quite difficult task. “The finding that decreased income was associated with higher divorce adjustment for men but not for women was inconsistent with findings that divorced women suffer financially to a greater extent than divorced men” (527 Plummer). With this fact, it is known that single-parenting affects a woman more heavily that it would a man. If the custodial parent is constantly trying to keep up with the demands of their job, this will affect how much time the parent and child will spend together. The attachment many children develop with their father by the preschool years makes them sensitive to changes in the amount of time they spend with him and interact with him. A younger child cannot always understand who their father really is. This leaves fathers feeling desperate for time with their child. When the father spends time with his children, he is liable to stretch the time they have together by taking the children home later, which causes stress for the mother because she has such negative feelings toward the father. This becomes “fuel” for confrontations with the father.

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,

In sole custody, a single parent provides shelter and makes all important decisions for the child. In joint legal custody, the child lives with a single parent but decisions are agreed upon by both. Finally, in joint physical custody the child lives with each parent for equal periods of time and important decisions may be made by either one, or both parents (Furstenberg 32).