Divorced Parents

In a journal discussing the behavior risks of children during a divorce, Gustavsen, Nayga Jr., and Wu state that “Divorce can also cause disruptions and emotional stress for children through parental separation, hostility, and residential/school dislocation” (474). Yes the loud arguing and vulgar words used between the parents while in the process of a divorce can be very emotional and hard for the child to hear, but so can the physical separation of the family in general. When a family is separated through divorce, the children can be bounced around from parent to parent depending on the legal situation or parenting schedule. The children may not gain a close relationship with one of the parents through this setup. A problem that may arise out of the setup is the hatred of the other parent being presented to the children. The children may form a bias of one of the parents based on the parents expressed views of one another. In a journal discussing the long-term effects of a divorce, it says that “Initially, Hetherington (1972) found that compared to other girls, daughters of divorced parents sought more attention from men” (Johnsson, Njardvik, Olafsdottir, and Gretarsson 101). Many children may not have had a strong connection or personal relationship with their father or mother because of the legal parenting schedule

Divorce is one of the most common happenings in the world experienced by children. Most children go through different adjustments to become comfortable with the fact that their parents are not together anymore. Children of divorced parents are prone to lifelong effects. Seventy-five to eighty percent of children have divorced parents and twenty-five percent of those children have serious social, emotional, or psychological problems for the rest of their life. Most adults think that it is best for parents to stay together for the sake of their child because having two parents in different households can become difficult for the child socially and academically.

As we stated earlier, age is not a safeguard to the effects of divorce (Oppawsky 2). While adults may be more able to understand their feelings and seek the support they need, they are still subjected to the emotional and mental consequences of their parents’ divorce. In Wallerstein and Lewis’ study on the “Legacy of Divorce” many of the adult children recalled their own feelings of shock and unhappiness at the time of the separation and it’s aftermath. Almost all remembered feelings of loneliness, bewilderment, and anger at their parents. Many cried as they recounted their history and their childhood fears that would be forgotten by their preoccupied parents. Some even claimed that their childhood ended when their parents separated. When these children reached young adulthood and when love, sexual intimacy, commitment, and marriage took center stage, many of them were haunted by the ghosts of their parents’ divorce and were frightened that the same fate awaited them. They feared their own commitment (Wallerstein and Lewis 359-360). In fact, children of divorced homes are more likely to experience marital instability and a slight elevation in their own divorce rates. Many of the parental divorced children also found that their parent’s actions were actually causing problems amongst their own children. They often felt lost

The statistics for divorce in the 1990's suggest that nearly sixty percent of marriages end in divorce. Given this startling figure, the assumption can be made that many children will experience some effects caused by the life-changing event called divorce. What is it exactly about divorce that causes negative consequences for these children? In what ways will these children be effected? Will these effects show outwardly? I will attempt to uncover some of the complexities surrounding these psychological questions in the following text. The unsettling fact is: young children of divorced parents face great psychological challenges due to the environmental conditions and changes associated with divorce (Wolchik and Karoly 45).

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

This paper discusses the correlation of children with divorced parents and their ability or inability to have intimate relationships in their futures. In most cases, it depends on the age of the child at the time of the divorce. Studies showed that marital problems, including but not limited to divorce, was associated with negative social, emotional, and physical affects in the children’s lives. Most articles included have different types of specific details, but all generally have the same outcome, being that children with divorced parents love differently than those that have parents happily married. Similar studies surveyed college students and discovered that children with fathers, who divorced and remarried, did not have a close relationship, which made these children more likely to avoid relationships. This literature review discusses the impact that divorce has on children who have or do not have relationships because of what happened to their parents’ relationships.

I remember when I was younger and my parents got divorced, it was hard for me and my younger brothers. We were forced to grow up and accept the fact that a big change was coming. My maturity level skyrocketed, at least compared to other kids my age, because I understood what it was like to go through something life altering and they didn’t. I no longer was stuck in fairytale land. I had to wake up and move on along with the rest of reality.

Divorce causes many problems for children and has many implications. Psychological implications include mental health problems and behavioral problems. Social roles are turned inside out and upside down. Children are often pulled in many directions. In the United States divorce is very common and often leaves children confused and without options. Many turn toward violence, crime, drugs, and isolation. Studies show how adults can reduce the tension for these children. Other

     Divorce is a family crisis, which could require a long period for recovery. Along with the turmoil associated with the adolescent stage of life, divorce adds other

About a year ago, I was faced with a problem that almost every kid whose parents are divorced will go through, which parent to live with. When I was 6 it was a decision that was made for me and when I was 8 it was a decision that the state made for me. When I was 13, it was a decision I had to make for myself, and I thought it would be an easy one, yet a year later, I’m still not sure about the decision I made.

I personally think this program were more suitable to the fathers in “doing the best I can” compared to divorced fathers. Divorced fathers own more advantages than single fathers, since they had the experience of living with their children, so they might be more skillful than fathers from the book. Moreover, divorced fathers spent more time with children than other fathers. In contrary, fathers in the book were not going to marry with the mothers, they had to get mothers’ permission when visiting the children, and they were not able to spend a lot time with their children. As a consequence, they may not be as skillful as divorced fathers when getting along with children. The program could associate fathers to build their abilities on interacting

1. The children of divorced parents might develop a negative view of relationships. The children will imitate their parents for relationships. Also they will not doing serious relationships because they learn that how to do from their parents.

According to Carl Pickhardt Ph.D in Surviving Your Child’s Adolescence “divorce tends to intensify a child’s dependence and accelerates their phases of development, from been preschool children to adolescents.” As mentioned above, it is important to remember that children need their parent’s support during their lives for them to be able to surpass every trial that it encounters difficulty. In agreement with Focus On The Family, children of all ages are affected when divorce splits a family, but different age groups can react in different ways. So much is different and unknown that their lives become filled with scary questions such as “What is going to happen next?” “Who will take care of me”. With one parent moving out, I can lose the

Compared to children of divorced families, children of non-divorced families are not exposed to custody battles, divorce settlements, etc. Children of intact families are less likely to be exposed to traumatic experiences at a young age, thus keeping their lives stable and secure, while children of divorce are more likely to have an unstable life moving forward. Because of this, children of divorce are more likely to latch onto abusive behaviors throughout adolescent years, such as drug abuse.

One of the biggest effects of divorce is the effect it has on our children. Most couples get married and have children shortly after, and all decision made by the couples directly affect their children. Studies show that divorce has one of the most negative effects on children. Children living in single parent homes are more likely to be pregnant as teenagers, drop out of high school, abuse drugs and have behavioral issues. Furthermore due to the high dropout rates of single parent children they often have hard times finding jobs due to their lack of education. Often times we will see that children from broken homes will also have issues maintaining long term relationships as well. Studies show that children who parents are divorced or separated marriages will end in divorce as well. One last scary effect of divorce is that 92 percent of inmates in California State correctional facilities are products of single parent homes; in other words at some point when they were children their parents either divorced or became separated.