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Effects of divorce on society
Negative effects of divorce
Negative effects of divorce
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Divorce is becoming increasingly common among couples in today’s time. It is sad to know that most cases of divorce involve children. Divorce affects the parents but it affects the children much more. Divorce impacts kids greatly, often causing depression, rebellion, or inspiration/motivation, to develop and potentially end up a permanent aspect in their lives. When two parents decide to divorce, their children acquire a really tough pill to swallow. The thought of one’s mom and dad not being together anymore and living with just one of them could potentially cause drastic changes in his or her person. The whole concept of divorce makes it tough on the parents as well. Because of the way in which children are affected, the parents face potential relationship struggles with their children. Research has been done and the effects of divorce differ depending on the current age and stage of life of the children. (Oesterreich) Regardless of the age, many children feels as if somehow the divorce was their fault. Also hoping to save the marriage, some kids strive to improve their behavior. Another commonality of children dealing with divorce is that of rebellion. One might lose respect for either one or both of their parents, acquire a hatred or disliking towards them or, act out to get attention, having not had any, due to the significance of the divorce. Everything that the child used to do, may come to a stop, and the opposite to a start. Not only do the parents face the rebellion of their children, often times friends, teachers, the law, or coaches end up included as well. Rebelling kids often get themselves into trouble. Drug habits become increasingly probable along with criminal behavior and sometimes sexual participation. “Teenag... ... middle of paper ... ...ts kids greatly with depression, rebellion, or inspiration/motivation subsequently occurring in their lives. No matter how much a child tries to act like he/she experiences no effects from the separation of mom and dad, divorce inevitably affects them. Every divorce differs from every other divorce and effects each child in its own unique was as well. Some are impacted in a positive way but most of the time it takes a negative toll on them. Regardless the affect, every kid needs someone who unconditionally stays by their side throughout the duration of their time in need. Because every divorce is as unique as a human fingerprint, no divorce ever comes with an instruction manual, explaining how to handle this, or how to avoid that, nor does it bring an easy way to handle its devastating blows that it presents children, especially if on takes it head on in solitude.
Divorce is something that has been discussed and studied many times, as it is becoming more common in the United States. The children are the main ones being effected by the split relationship, however the amount of impact of the effects are based on many variables. I became interested in this subject because my best friends parents recently filed for divorce and I wanted to understand in what ways was this going to affect him in his life now and in the future.
Divorce introduces a mass change in children’s life. As I told a story in the beginning of the essay, do you wonder what consequences she might be facing? Do you know how she might be feeling living a life without mom? Unfortunately, this may cause the custodial parent to be upset for not being able to meet the needs of the child. Divorce is hard for those kids who have to face these situations. Most of the studies showed that divorce makes a huge difference in children’s life. I have learned that, when parents get divorced, it breaks the foundation that the child was used to.
This developmental stage in one's life in conjunction with the effects of a divorce, make the changes much more difficult to overcome and accept. "How an adolescent copes with the problems of a divorce depends upon their emotional health and maturity level,"(Buchanan, p.71). Each individual may react in his or her own way. Some of these reactions can consist of hostility towards family, especially their parents, aggressiveness, and/or depression. They may make sudden choices that they might feel could be the answer to their problem. For instance, constant running away might occur which results in secluding oneself.
The breakdown of a family can have many repercussions on the individual members with the least involvement. The children involved in a divorce are often times the most impacted victims of a divorce. Children with divorced parents are often left feeling neglected by the parent that has chosen to move out, unloved, and often times burdened with feelings of guilt. The poverty rates of single parented households are alarmingly high, and are often the result of divorce. With all these factors added together, divorce is a dangerous and scarring event in a child’s psyche.
They have to get used to a further living area, feelings and circumstances. Their response to divorce can vary and depends on age, gender, and personal characteristics. This essay will show the effects of divorce on children under various aspects such as educational, psychological and social impact. In addition, it will contain data about the divorce rate in the US and present disparate reactions of children. It will also include adequate recommendations for parents as to how to act on children after divorce, in order to minimize the adverse effect on children.
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.
Children of divorce have a different experience during the holidays, birthdays, and other family events. The process of parental separation alone can pay a toll on a child’s psychological health. Family events may make things awkward around the parents, but that doesn’t even compare to the things children of divorce will have to deal with, even into their adult lives. Constance Matthienssen, author and mother of three, shares in her article “Harry Potter and Divorce Among the Muggles” how her divorce affected her children (“Harry Potter”). Many parents don’t think about a divorce will affect their young children as they grow older, but divorce affects children even into their adult lives. Children of divorce grow to develop negative relationships with their parents, they tend to have poor self-esteem, and they may even find themselves unable to maintain an intimate relationship in their adulthood. Divorce affects every child differently, but it can cause many social issues into their adult lives.
Most people, when thinking about divorce, worry about the impact that it has on the children that are involved. Even though children are most likely better off if totally incompatible parents separate instead of staying together, divorce is about loss and change, and it is still hard for children. Everyone knows that divorce has its effects on children. There are three different sources that try to explain these effects. Graham Blaine Jr. states that divorce is a threat to all children, whereas Rhona Mahony states that divorce is not always the cause of behavioral or academic problems in children coming from divorced families. Yvette Walczak and Sheila Burns state that the extent of the damage can be determined by the parents and their methods of explanation to the children.
Many couples face that difficult decision about whether divorce would be the answer to their problems. Divorce is at a very high rate today and many more people are using this method to walk away from a marriage. When divorce is the only option then its repercussion can have a devastating effect not only on the parents but on the children. It is the children that must suffer because of the parent’s mistakes. Divorce is a long arduous process that in time can tear apart a family. There are many factors of divorce that can affect the children. Because of the divorce on the parents it can change the whole family structure. There can be a loss of income, lack of educational needs, mental illness, poverty, homelessness, and depression. These can all effect the children by causing them to be very angry, lash out at others, academic and cognitive decline, criminal offenses, and engage in risky behavior. These are just a few of the topics that will be covered within this paper.
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.
Children today are busy with friends, sports, and other circular activities. There are countless opportunities and dreams which most children only imagine accomplishing. What if one day, that was all to change. Suddenly, their life is a complete mess. Children and teens are not mentally prepared to withstand a divorce between the two people they think can get through anything. It is not fair for someone so innocent to have their world completely flipped upside down and their life changed forever. Divorce can change not only the child’s life, but also the way they talk, think, and behave. Focus on the Family points to a decline and a regression in a child’s behavior which includes drug use, crime, and sexual behavior because of divorce. Grades tend to drop and the likeliness of graduation is diminished. “Negative attitudes become apart of their life and fantasies begin to play a role” (2006-2007). According to the author Desia, in her article about how children are affected by divorce, she
Divorce isn’t always as bad as people portray it. Commonly realized, divorce isn’t a great thing to happen to a family. But being in a bad relationship can have more negative effects on a child than divorce. In a study conducted of 98 couples, that later divorced, 80% of their children felt that their parents split was a good decision. Of the 20% that felt it wasn’t a good decision, most came from more abusive families. Being together in a bad relationship can actually cause more harm than good. Parents commonly think that by staying together for the kid’s sake will it eliminate negative effects and help their kids thrive. Nevertheless they see their parents unhappiness creating a more tense environment. Provided that the parents are abusive or are more vocal about their opinions then it can actually create a traumatic environment around the child, making them feel unsafe or timid constantly. What the minority of people know is that divorce can actually give kids positive vibes. Divorce can teach kids to focus on the positives and keep moving forward in life. In a Harper Collins book it says (We’re still family: What grown Children have to say about their parents divorce) that “ kids more commonly emerge wiser in spite of- or perhaps because of- their complex histories.” Multiple studies have proven, kids who have experienced divorce emerge mo...
Children react differently yet similarly in divorce. Every child caught up in the distress of divorce has a hard time coping with it and imagining their life without a parent. Their anxiety levels peak as they feel they are going to be abandoned. They experience feelings of loneliness due to the loss of the other parent. Different children go through these emotions at different levels and at different times depending on the child’s age. How bad or how well children handle the divorce depends on how the situation is handled. It can throw the child's entire life into a whirlwind.
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.
Divorce is a word that haunts many young children. Kids don't understand why it's happening; all they know us that they now have two homes, two families, two Christmases. The lives of every member of the family are forever changed. Everything they know and are familiar with will be different. This significant shift in lifestyle can cause many effects on various age groups of people. When a married couple is miserable and unhappy, considering divorce seems like the only answer. Some parents do not consider how much the divorce will affect their lives, along with the lives of their children. When a married couple gets divorced, children in the family have trust issues, teens become rebellious, and the couple themselves often go into severe depression or sadness.