Children Essay: The Effects Of Divorce On Children

The Effect of Divorce on Children Divorce is a common transition in many families and has begun to become a natural standard of living in marriages (The Effects of Divorce on Children). Couples seek divorce for a variety of different reasons, the main goal being to find happiness that they are not finding in their current marriages. When a couple is going through divorce, sometimes they don’t notice the impact their separation has on their children. Children may feel very alone and turn to other things to help get them through this rough time in their life. While a few turn to something positive, many turn to negative activities. These negative activities and the divorce itself has both long-term and short-term effects on the children (Rappaport).

This makes the children care less about their educational and children begin to lower their educational goals in life. This can also lead them to drop out of school. Children of divorce are two to three times more likely to. This carelessness leads them to less education in the long run and lower occupational status in life (Portnoy). Divorce has emotional and behavioral problems on children. “Children of divorce display higher levels of depression and anxiety, lower self-esteem, and more frequent use of psychological services (Portnoy).” This causes stress on children in the short-term; however, it has been proven that only 25% of children have long-terms problems due to divorce. Some even compare the side effects of divorce on a child to the same as a child losing a parent. This causes many feelings including sadness, longing, worry, and regret on the children (Rappaport). Continuing into adulthood, higher levels of depression have been found in both women and men

“It is also estimated that between 40 percent and 50 percent of children born in the 1980s will experience the divorce of their parents before reaching age 18 (The influence of divorce on children).” These children of divorce have to go through the financial struggles of living pay check to pay check and live through this stress. All this stress leads to less focus on school and they begin to see lower academic achievement. This transition also effects them emotional and can even stick with them the rest of their life, ultimately impacting their own marriage in the future. With little attention left for them they turn to other activities for attention, including drugs and alcohol. Although some children come out of divorce a stronger individual, some go down the wrong path and see the negative side effects of