Children: The Effects Of Divorce On Children

In the United States, about half of all first marriages end in divorce and more than a million children experience their parents’ divorce each year. Of all children born to married parents this year, fifty percent will experience the divorce of their parents before they reach their 18th birthday. (Patrick F. Fagan and Robert Rector, "The Effects of Divorce on America," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, May 2000.) It is clear that divorce is common and many children have to experience the effects it can cause. Children from divorced families have more emotional and behavioral problems, negative feelings, and less psychological well-being.

Throughout the divorce process children will go through many changes in their daily life, such as changing schools, their home placement, their childcare, and many other changes. These changes can create a very stressful environment for children. Some of these changes can also lead to lost contact with one of the parents which can affect the child very negatively. Children may also experience self blame during a parental divorce. They often think that it is their fault that their parents are getting a divorce or that there must be something wrong with them. This guilt can cause a lot of psychological problems for the child.

In the early months after a divorce, children tend to be more dependent, demanding, unaffectionate and disobedient, and they carry these problems to schools. Studies have confirmed that children of divorced parents exhibit more behavioral problems than do children from intact families. Children divorce statistics indicate that children of divorced parents are four times more likely to report relational problems with peers and friends than children whose parents have kept their marriages intact. Behavioral issues in children of divorce can range from mild acting out to destructive