The Impact of Divorce on Children

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“Studies show 35% of people who marry get a divorce, and 18% of those divorced are divorced multiple times” Clinton, Hart, & Ohlschlager, (2005). The rate of divorce of United States families continues to increase and is one of the most perplexing experiences for children. There are many reasons couples decide to end their ties to each other. Whatever the reasons, ending a relationship means that all individual that has ties to each other must adjust to a new way of living. The married couple may experience the stages of loss, such as, the experience of grief. Additionally, their young children will undergo these feelings too! It is vital that couples with children seek guidance and understanding on how to help the entire family deal and cope with the emotional process and stages of grief of their divorce. Research indicates that one-parent families report for about 25 percent of the families in the United States with children under the age of 18. As indicated by researchers “A study of nearly 6,000 children found that youth from single-parent homes have more physical and mental health problems than children living with married parent, and another study confirms single-parent children are 2-3 times as likely to develop emotional and behavioral problems” Clinton, Hart, & Ohlschlager, (2005). The impact of divorce has a high diverse impact on the entire family and continues to create an impact on how children are able to deal and cope with the negative implications of an unhappy couple. A broken family’s children can often feel as though they are causing the problem and seek to either become complaisant to the problem or as they get older seek other forms of feeling loved and happy, which may lead to teenage pregnancy or s... ... middle of paper ... ...The developing person through the lifespan (8th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Berlin, G. (2004, May 4). Before the Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation United States Senate, [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/testimony_6.pdf Clinton, Hart, & Ohlschlager (2005). Caring for people god’s way. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc. Foulkes-Jamison, Lesley Matthews, D. Wayne, (1998). Long-term effects of divorce on children. [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/fcs/pdfs/fcs482.pdf Pickhardt, Ph.D., C. (2011, December 11). Surviving (your child's) adolescence [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/201112/the-impact-divorce-young-children-and-adolescents.

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