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Influence of parental divorce on children
Influence of parental divorce on children
Divorce affects children physically, mentally, emotionally, cognitively and
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The idea of divorce is a gruesome experience, not only for the parents but more for the child. As marriages fall apart, children are deeply affected in traumatizing ways depending on how bad the relationship is, and how young the child is. Children who have experienced their parents getting a divorce often develop a low self-esteem, social difficulties, and resentment towards their parents as they grow older. When parents go through a divorce, the kids often feel like they are to blame, ultimately lowering their self-esteem. While this mostly occurs when they are young, it “can be long lasting…, if not addressed” (“Long Term Effects of Divorce on Children”). Therefore, their view on the world changes as they feel like they will never be able
to achieve anything without feeling a sense of doubt, from being traumatized during their time as adolescents. Consequently, these kids often feel isolated in the world and have a hard time interacting with others. Depending on how involved both parents are in the child's life, the child can struggle to make friends as they constantly are dealt with “feelings of loneliness and abandonment” (“Long Term Effects of Divorce on Children”). While this usually fizzles out as the grow older, there are cases where the isolation sticks with them throughout their life if the issues are not addressed when young. The feeling of isolation that the child faces also leads to resentment toward their parents when making life decisions. In most cases, the “resurgence of fear, anger, guilt,and anxiety” towards their parents doesn’t fully “kick in until well into adulthood” (“Long Term Effects of Divorce on Children”). It is usually not until adulthood when they realize all that has been taken away from them and that they never were able to have a “normal” childhood. While it is possible to prevent kids from the long lasting effects of divorce, most kids are susceptible to the perpetual denouements that comes with the split.
Divorce is becoming a worldwide phenomenon, significantly affecting children’s well-being. It radically changes their future causing detrimental effects. According to (Julio Cáceres-Delpiano and Eugenio Giolito, 2008) nearly 50% of marriages end with divorce. 90% of children who lived in the USA in the 1960s stayed with their own biological parents, whereas today it makes up only 40% (Hetherington, E. Mavis, and Margaret Stanley-Hagan, 1999). Such an unfavorable problem has been increasing, because in 1969, the legislation of California State changed the divorce laws, where spouses could leave without providing causes (Child Study Center, 2001). This resolution was accepted by the other states and later, the number of divorced people has been steadily growing. Such a typical situation is common for most countries in the world, which negatively affects children’s individuality. However, remarkably little amount of people can conceive the impact of marital separation caused to offspring. (? passive) Many children after separation of parents are exposed to a number of changes in the future. They have to be getting 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 act to 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.
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 ...
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.
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.
The divorce of their parents may not be the most damaging thing that can happen in a child’s life, but it will affect them for the rest of their life. The child will experience emotional shake ups, confusion of what is occurring, and hurt feelings that their parents decided not to remain married anymore. With help from their peers, the child can learn to cope and while it may not be easy, it is attainable to return the child’s life as close to normal as it can get. The negative effects of divorce will always outweigh the positive effects of their parents remaining in the struggling marriage.
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.
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.
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...
In this article, two psychology professors from Emory University and graduates of the University of Arizona, inform their findings on the short-term and long term effects of divorce on children in Is Divorce Bad for Children? From the tone of the article, it is clear to see that the professors regard divorce as a smaller factor in children’s behavior. From studying observations that ranged from children growing up with divorced parents, how they recovered, and even how long it took to recover from such negative experiences, they have made an adequate
Introduction of the Problem The Effects of Divorce on Children is significant and warrants further research because children are struggling with emotional issues, academic testing, social activities, and becoming a grounded adult. Children are not getting the proper support at home or even have an intact family can that positively support children’s healthy growth. Children are becoming more depress than in the years past. Solving the outcome for children from a divorce family is very important for the child’s well-being.
Over the years many psychologists have studied the effects divorce has on children and in these studies psychologist have draw different conclusions based off their findings. They’re many factors that can result to divorce; divorce has no single cause. Divorce can be the result from low marital commitment, infidelity, low level of socioeconomic status, getting married at a young age etc. Although a divorce can eventually prove to be a positive solution to a destructive family situation, for most family members the period following the separation is very stressful (Clarke-Stewart, 2014). Divorce can introduce a massive change into the lives of an entire family but particularly more into the life of a child’s.
First and foremost, it is important to remember that age is not a safeguard against the effects experienced by children. Nearly all children and adolescents, regardless of age, react to and are affected by parental divorce (Oppawsky 2). Although infants and toddlers may seem too young to understand what is happening during a divorce, they can still be affected by it. During their first three years of life, children grow quickly, become mobile, learn language, begin to understand how the world works and form social relationships (Hunter and Trussell 1). At these ages, parental divorce comes at a time where consistency is critical and a large amount of childhood development occurs, so it’s important for the divorcing parents to be conscientious
In a study of ninety-nine college students, seventy-three students said that they would be a different person if their parents had not divorced (Howell 22). Many children, even myself, think this way and it is because divorce has lasting effects on adolescents no matter what age. In Divorce and Children it says that the early years affect children by providing: confusion, fear of abandonment, anger and grief, self blame, and guilt. In adolescent years it affects teens by providing: aggression, conduct problems, early sexuality, drug and/or alcohol abuse, and anxiety with relationships. With adults it affects them by providing: divorce, job loss, and poor mental
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.