The Other Side Of Divorce

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

“Every 13 seconds, there is one divorce in America. That equates to 277 divorces per hour, 6,646 divorces per day, 46,523 divorces per week, and 2,419,196 divorces per year,” according to Wilkinson and Finkbeiner Family Law Attorneys (“Divorce Facts and Statistics: What Affects Divorce Rates?”). With that being said, 42-50% of marriages in the United States end in divorce, according to Professor Scott Stanley of Psychology Today (DePaulo). Divorce in today’s society is considered more common than not. These figures may seem alarming to most, however what is even more of the issue is the effect these rates have on children.

Divorce may affect young children somewhat differently than older children. According to Karen DeBord, a child development specialist, there are different stages in childhood, and at each of these stages children have a different understanding of divorce. At the infancy stage children are not capable of understanding the conflict, but may notice a difference in the parents' disposition (DeBord, 1997). Here she states that children may react with a loss of appetite, upset stomach, or anxiety. As a toddler they recognize the loss a parent but cannot reason

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.

On her part, Cheryl Wetzstein in her article “Lowering Divorce Rates Urged As National Goal” argues that legislation should be put in place to checkmate the rate of divorce in the United States especially for a family with children. According to Wetzstein, the problem of divorce and its effect on children is a national goal which demands critical evaluation on the part of the government. Wetzstein claims that the effect of divorce touches every aspect of life. According to a study shared by Wetzstein, children from separated homes exhibit emotional, physical and mental problems; are easily exposed to crime and drugs; perform poorly academically, and are likely to commit suicide. Wetzstein states that seeing the unfortunate impact divorce has on these children, the government, as a matter of urgency, should come up with laws that would reduce family separation; this would not only preserve the future of the children but also saves government lots of money (2000).

Divorce is comparable to an epidemic since it has been filtering through many societies at an increasingly alarming rate. According to the most current statistic, there are more than 2.1 million marriages in the United States (“Children of Divorced Parents”). Out of those, almost half end in divorce. Divorce nowadays is extremely common. In fact, in America there is one divorce every thirty-six seconds (National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends”). Each year over a million American children suffer from the divorce of their parents (Amato 24-26). Even though it might be shown to benefit some individuals in their own personal case, for the majority it causes a decrease in an individual’s life and puts many people “on a downward trajectory from which they might never fully recover” (Amato). Over long term, the United States divorce rate has been on a rise since 1980, which means more children being affected (Macionis). These children that are affected are faced by emotions of anger, confusion and even fear. These emotions affect their academic performance, social interactions, behavior, self-esteem and other negative effects. This literature review is important in calling attention on the current research studying impacts of divorce on children. The topic of divorce is a wide-ranging topic. However, this particular literature review focuses only on the effects that divorce has on children. The data presented in this paper is collected from

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.

The dissolution of a marriage not only leaves an impact on the adults in the courtroom but upon the children involved as well. With one in every two marriages ending in divorce, more and more children are left as byproducts of a broken home. The divorce process can be blamed for how children will handle issues both as they mature and after they enter the adult world. This paper will analyze statistics associated with children of divorce, detailing the short term and long term effects that divorce has on children and will discuss what can be done by parents to lessen the impact of divorce on a developing mind.

You can look at someone on the outside and think that everything is okay and they have their life together, but on the inside of that person they feel very different. Today divorce is more common and less stigmatized; it can cause short and long term effects on children, emotional and physical pain, which can also linger into their adulthood. There is a lot of variance in how children respond to divorce, but not only can divorce effect the children who go through it but also the parents of the divorce. Behavioral problems and even health problems can arise in the child due to divorce.

Children of divorce are far more likely to experience psychological difficulties, and these difficulties are likely to carry into adulthood. These children are faced with high rates of depression and anxiety, low self-esteem, and less satisfaction within their daily lives. In the novel “For Better Or for Worse”, expert of family dynamics Mavis Hetherington, reveals that “[t]wenty-five percent of youths from divorced families in comparison to 10 percent from non-divorced families did have serious social, emotional, or psychological problems.” They will also require more frequent use of mental health services than those with intact families. In the American Journal of Family Law, Doctor Sandford Portnoy investigates the psychological effects divorce has on offspring. “Girls from divorced families have, in some cases, been found to be significantly more depressed than girls from intact families, while boys are more hopeless and discouraged as the level of family distress increases.” These psychological difficulties will then accompany them into their adult relationships, where they will struggle with marital instability, satisfaction, conflict, and

In the Scientific American’s article “Is Divorce Bad for Children?” authors Hal Arkowitz and Scott Lilienfield discuss the short-term and long-term effects divorce has on a child’s well-being. The popular media article claims that children generally suffer negatively in the immediate aftermath of the separation but in the long run have few psychological differences from children of married parents as long as they continue to grow up in a stable environment. Short-term effects of divorce by examined by looking at the naturalistic observation of the University of Virginia. The study looks at children immediately post-divorce and see negative emotions like shock, anger, and confusion. However, the study also shows that these effects usually disappears

In the world today, divorce has become more and more relevant, as many people of all ages are more open to the idea of ending their marriages and starting over. In fact, according to the article “Children Divorce Statistics”, it quotes from Furstenberg and others that “50% of all North-American children will witness the divorce of their parents. Almost half of them will also see the breakup of a parent's second marriage” (Bloem 1). With the divorce rate going up, the effects of the separation must be acknowledged. The stress and change of a divorce of two parents on children, especially older, causes many development issues, such as depression, anger management problems and anti-social disorder, which may

Divorce is the act by which a valid marriage is dissolved, usually freeing the parties involved to remarry… (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013). A divorce generally has a negative association with children and brings about a massive change in the life of any child regardless of his or her age. The stress of commuting back and forth between households, the consistent absence of one parent while staying with the other and seeing the loss of love and commitment between them can be something quite devastating. Researchers have also shown that children of divorce have a disadvantage when it comes to many of life outcomes when compared to children with married biological parents (Kim, 2011).

Divorce brings a long lasting effect upon children for years in terms of mental and their mental stability. Families have broken down which has caused to divorce many times let alone once which causes children to go through the troublesome path of adjustment. “Many children of divorce have transitory symptoms, which may take the form of excessive worrying, sadness, anger, oppositional behavior, impaired social relationships, and compromised school performance”(Bernet, 2015). Throughout the transitory stage, children face many sociological and psychological such as

In order to better understand how divorce affects children researchers must first review the historical roots of divorce. The divorce rate first began to climb in the early eighteen hundreds (1800-1820). Then in 1860, divorce rates dropped to less than two per thousand marriages; however by 1920 it had risen to eight per thousand marriages. “The rate of divorce increased following World War I , only to fall in the 1920’s and early 1930’s, but subsequently rose to nineteen divorces for every thousand marriages” ( Strow & Strow, 2006). Divorce rate per thousand marriages of the population was at its height in 1979 and 1981 at just over five per thousand. “Since then, the divorce rate has