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The Impact of Divorce on Children Essay

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In the United States today, we live in a society that has perhaps one of the highest rates of divorce amongst all other industrial nations at a rate averaging around 40 to 50 percent. Of that staggering rate of divorce, 60 percent of those involve children. Because of this, more than one million children go through their parents’ divorce each year. Now, during this time of divorce a great focus seems to be drawn between the adults, but at what point should we wonder about the children? What changes and potential consequences are thrust upon the child forced to go through what might be considered an extremely demanding ordeal such as his/her parents’ divorce. I will tackle this topic with the assistance of various resources that have …show more content…

The trauma and distress of children going through divorce is often produced from overwhelming senses of vulnerability as the family seemingly collapses, grief at the loss of what felt like an intact family as well as at the loss of the non-custodial parent, and even a strong sense of powerlessness to being unable to prevent the divorce from happening.
The simple act of divorce alone can be a very stressful event for any child. As such, the looming realization that things will be different, yet not knowing how, often plays to the fears of the child. Divorce for a child can often lead to reduced contact with the non-custodial parent (often the father), lower standards of living, moving from one home to another, changing schools, having more responsibility thrust upon them, or even the potential for the custodial parent to be less psychologically or physically available for the child when they need them. All of these are environmental forces that can lead to an overwhelming amount of stress for any child, leaving them in a negative position and making it harder for them to cope and adjust to the divorce. Often times children can’t mentally cope with the divorce, either. With children being as egocentric as they are, it is impossible for a child to look at the conflict between their parents indifferently. Many children are stuck with a sense that they are the reason for their

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