Divorce is a word that everyone knows very well, no matter what the age. These days, everyone knows at least one person that has either been in a divorce or whose parents are divorced. Today, about 50% of all marriages end in divorce('No-Fault' Divorce, 2004). Between the time that half of those couples get married and divorced, many of them had children. By 2004, "one in four children lived in single-parent homes"('No-Fault' Divorce, 2004). After the divorce, not only are the adults hurting, but the children are also. Throughout the divorce, the parents are caught up in each other, money, possessions, and their own pain that without even realizing it, their children are hurting too. Adults are becoming more careless and think less about how compatible they are to their partners. Some couples have children shortly after the wedding before they adjust to each other. After their children are born, the real problems start to become more relevant. With new problems surfacing and raising children at the same time, it becomes very difficult and divorce sounds like an answer to the problems.
With the current "no-fault" divorce laws in most states, the couples can obtain a divorce without a reason. No fault divorce allows an adult to apply for a divorce without proving that one of the adults has done wrong, like adultery, desertion, drugs, or abuse. No-fault divorce also allows an adult to divorce him/her without his/her consent. No-fault divorce is allowing the divorce rate to rise, therefore there is a need for a different law. The solution to the increasing rate is covenant marriage. Covenant marriage requires couples to take counseling before the divorce and there has to be a fault in order to divorce. Even though divorce is a very...
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...est with covenant marriage.
Works Cited
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Fackrell, T. A., & Hawkins, A. J. Should I keep trying to work it out?. Retrieved from http://www.divorce.usu.edu/files/uploads/ShouldIKeepTryingtoWorkItOut.pdf Gately, D., & Schwebel, A. I. (1992). Favorable Outcomes in Children After Parental Divorce. In Taking Sides (Childhood and Society ed., pp. 163-174). Guilford, CT: Dushkin.
Jacoby, A. L. (2013, December 17). Survey Personal Divorce Experience Study.
Irvin, M. (2012, October 30). 32 shocking divorce statistics. Retrieved from http://www.mckinleyirvin.com/blog/divorce/32-shocking-divorce-statistics/ 'No-Fault' Divorce. (2004, Apr. 30). Issues & Controversies On File. Retrieved Jan. 3, 2014, form Issues & Controversies database.
Currently in the United States, divorce has always been present in society but more significantly after the Civil War. Today, it is estimated that 40%-50% of married couples divorce and subsequent marriages is even higher (“Marriage and Divorce”). When couples seek divorce, it is merely a formal dissolution of a marriage. Every divorce case is different and must find an agreement on issues they once shared. The couples may need to divide there assets, debt, and child custody. Just because the divorce is over, the partners will continue to have some type of relationship in order to meet with court’s final agreements. The divorce rates started to increase when Ronald Reagan signed the nations’ first no-fault divorce bill in 1969 (Wilcox, 2009). A “no-fault” divorce simply means that neither partner in the relationship does not have to have a valid reason or prove that the other partner did something wrong. Many have used the term “irreconcilable differences” where the couple do not see eye to eye anymore. Shortly after the divorce reform, almost every state had some form of “no-fault” divorce law.
Strohschein, L. (2005). Parental divorce and child mental health trajectories. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 1286-1300. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00217.x
Hetherington, E. Mavis, and Margaret Stanley-Hagan. "The Adjustment of Children with Divorced Parents: A Risk and Resiliency Perspective." Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry & Allied Disciplines 40, no. 1 (January 1999): 129. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 8, 2011).
In Micah God plainly says, “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Micah 2:16, New American Standard Bible). Even in the new testament we see that divorce is taken very seriously, “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery” (Luke 16:18). There are so many verses that echo this feeling of disapproval towards divorce, but there are exceptions set in place where a divorce may be permissible. David Instone-Brewer talks about three areas where he feels scripture allows a divorce to take place in his article, What God Has Joined, these three areas are; adultery, emotional and physical neglect, and abandonment or abuse. (Instone-Brewer 2007, pg.29) In Matthew we see Jesus speak on adultery as the ground of divorce, “ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:9) In 1 Corinthians we read, “ The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:3). Brewer uses this to point to marriage being taking care of our spouses the way we were intended toIf a husband and wife or not fulling these duties the way that God instructs us this could be
Kelly, J. B., & Emery, R. E. (2003). Children's adjustment following divorce: Risk and resilience perspectives. Family Relations, 52(4), 352-362.
Divorce should be harder to obtain due to the effect that it has on children the main effect it has on the children is depression. “ In the short term divorce is always troublesome for children Mavis Hetherington videotaped and scrutinized the workings of 1400 divorced families since the early 1970’s. Hetherington pinpoints a crisis period of about two years in the immediate aftermath of separation when the adults, preoccupied with their own lives, typically takes their eye off parenting just when their children are reeling from loss and feeling bewildered” (Hethrington 2). This article states that the short term effect of divorce affects the kid deep because they feel that they lost one forever and in those 1400 many of the kids felt the effect of the divorce. “Wallerstein has told us that divorce abruptly ends kids’ childhood, filling it with loneliness and worry about their parents, and hurting them prematurely and recklessly into adolescence. (Wallerstein 2).” This later affects the kids life because they try to think of happy memories they had but really all they can think about is the parent that they loss due to the divorce. “Contrary to the popular perceptions, the alternative to most divorces is not life in a war zone. Though more than 50 percent of all marriages currently end in divorce, experts tell us that only about 15 percent of all unions involve high levels of conflict. In the vast number of divorces, then, there is no gross strife or violence that could warp a youngster’s childhood. The majority of marital break-ups are driven by a quest for greener grass—and in these cases the children will almost always be worse off. (Zinsmeister 2)” this proves to me that when people get a divorce they most of the time don’t ...
Divorce is a process that many people in America go through. The divorce rate continues to escalate over the years. Divorce is a serious problem, it is a gradual process that ultimately results in families breaking up. There are various factors in which a marriage can fail and end up in divorce. Some skip the step of trying to reconcile things and make it work. In some cases it is easy for a divorce to take place. For instance, in cases where both parties are in agreement and have no children it is easier to handle a divorce. But in the cases where children are present, what happens to the kids? Both parents are at each others throats or one is devastated from the rejection, what role does the child play? It is a hard thing to cope with as an adult imagine as a little one or even a teenager, it affects them in more ways than anyone can imagine. It can affect them both physically and emotionally. The effects of divorce are immense, it permanently weakens the bond or relationship between a child and his parents. Can lead to them reaching out or looking to others for attention, causing poor attitudes, low self esteem, dropping grades, loss of virginity, use of drugs and or weapons, or in some cases mutilation of the body. There are various effects that children have to deal with that maybe extremely hard to cope with. One parent may say one thing yet the other disagrees and makes it impossible for the child to have a stable relationship with both of them. Children need both biological parents at their side to be guardians and counselors in their lives, to be examples of what they need to do to become outstanding citizens in our community.
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 (Benjamin, 2000). Children from divorce or separation often exhibit behavioral and long-term adjustment problems (Kelly, 2000). Throughout this paper I will discuss divorces effects on children at different age levels, how they react, and what can be done to help them.
It is unfortunate that marriages sometimes end and there are children caught in the middle of the marriage but it may be worst for the parents to stay together simply for the children’s sake. However when parents do divorce the children are the most effected by the divorce. Often enough the divorce causes children to feel displaced and also to have feelings that their world is coming to an end. These children tend to grow into adults with either extreme emotional detachment and self-esteem issues or they will have strong family values and try to prevent the cycle from repeating itself but the majority of these children grow up suffering from the divorce.
Years ago people got married to start a family and to raise kids, That was just what you did. In today's world people think more about themselves, and live with a much more individualistic mindset. Nowadays people get married for love. They get married to their parent because they want their partner to make them happy. Well as we have found out marriages can be tough at times and they are not always easy. Couples usually get divorced because they are no longer happy. They are thinking about their own happiness and once that person doesn’t bring them any happiness most couples are done with the relationship. This is a way of thinking in society that has changed the divorce
(2009). The effects of divorce on children (Order No. 1470847). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text. (304998358). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304998358?accountid=458
Myers-Walls, J., & Karuppaswamy, N. (2013). The effect of divorce on children: What makes a difference. Retrieved from https://www.extension.purdue.edu/providerparent/family-child relationships/effectdivorce.htm
In the world we live in today, divorce has unfortunately become a normal thing in our lives. Many married couples are getting divorced for many reasons; problems in the marriage, either a spouse having an affair, a loss of feelings, and many other types of complications. Many divorces involve children who are young and due to their age do not understand what is really going on. We all know someone who has dealt with divorce. Children are the ones who are typically affected the most by the divorce and they will have to learn to cope with their parent’s divorce at such a young age, affecting them in positive or negative ways.
American Journalist, Helen Rowland said, “ When two people decide to get a divorce, it isn’t a sign that they don’t understand each other, but a sign that they have, at last, begun to” (1). Divorce means the ending of a marriage by legal separation, thus, a couple that were once bonded together have now separated for opposing reasons. Divorce has hurt and destroyed many families across the world and can cause a lot of negativity. Teens often do not know how to deal with the fact that their family is no longer whole and they will transition into a depression. Teens may experience emotional damage by seeing the two most important people in their lives fight constantly. There is a good side and a bad side to seeing parents go through a divorce as a teen. Quite often teens tend to see that, since they are so unhappy, that it is better for them to separate because they do not want to see their parents get hurt. Even when separated, they learn to communicate and bond between one another. The negative side of divorce is that families sometimes stay torn apart, therefore: There is a lot of anger, rage that happens because going through a situation like this is not something that is easy, and many emotions become involved. Dealing with their parents can be difficult for some teens, but for many others, they feel as if a divorce will make their family happier without seeing all of the fighting.
Divorce is the failure of a couple's commitment to their marital and family roles. Parents may think about their children's well being in deciding whether or not to split, but it's very rare that parents will ask their children about it prior to making a decision. During and following a divorce, there a number of issues parents will usually face. Parents can't just avoid divorce because they will cause children to have emotional pain. When parents make a decision to divorce, children are expected to cope with the decision...