Impact of Divorce on Children

Impact Of Divorce On Children

Impact Of Divorce On Children

By: Ray Turner

PSYC 201

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Abstract

Millions of families across America and all around the world are effected by divorce. In 1994 the United States had "26% of all children under 18 years of age are living with a divorced, separated, or a step-parent" (Behram & Quinn, 1994) and since then this statistic has been on a constant rise. With such an alarming statistic the concern of this paper is to focus on the effects that divorce has on children under 18 years old. The exploration of the emotional, physical, economical and spiritual effects that the child goes through with the divorce will be the central theme. Touching on ways that parents can help their children cope with the transition of divorce will also be taken into consideration.

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Divorce is an epidemic that is effecting many families across the United States and around the world. With the the rate of divorce on a constant incline, "40% of children will experience a parental divorce prior to the age of 16" (Amato, 1994, p. 143) . The greatest impact that divorce has on children usually takes place in the following weeks, months and years that come. There are certain emotional, legal, and economic phases that haunt every divorcing couple. It is important for the divorcing couple

to keep in mind that while the couple is going through the adjustment period that their children are as well.

Researchers study children and divorce with two different research designs, cross-sectional and longitudinal. In the cross-sectional type of study "researchers compare children from divorced and continuously intact two-parent families at a single point in time" (Amato, 1994, p. 144). As opposed to the longitudinal study that "follows children over an extended period of time following the marital dissolution" (Amto, 1994, p. 144). There are other factors that researchers take into consideration when studying a child from a divorced home. These factors include the child's socioeconomic status, the degree to which the child was drawn into marital conflict, the relationship with each parent before the divorce, the parents' inability to separate the role of parent and spouse, continual and open conflict between spouses and the perceived loss of the non-custodial parent. Once the researcher has gathered all of their data they then "select outcome measures that reflect children's and adult's well-being " (Amato, 1994, p. 145). The overall impact that a divorce will have on a child will be broken down into the short-term and long-term effects. However, "efforts to educate parents, attorneys, and judges about the impact of divorce and conflict on children should be the priority" (Behrman& Quinn, 1994, p. 6).

The short-term effects of a divorce on a child are typically seen rather quickly. These short-term effects can at times lead to negativity due the greater amount of responsibilities that children gain. Another contributing factor that leads to the negativity is that often times the non-custodial parent

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begins to become disengaging with the child both geographically and emotionally. While the father typically plays the role of non-custodial parent, the supporting father-child relationship is crucial for

the child's long-term development. As a general rule of thumb the greater the conflict there is between a divorcing couple, the greater number of short-term effects it will have. Some specific short-term effects include anger, sadness, depression, aggression, interpersonal conflict, and an increase in stress. A decreased amount of parental supervision and consistent discipline are contributing factors that lead to some of the short-term effects previously mentioned. It is important to note that many short-term effects can adversely affect long-term development if they continue to build up over time without being handled in a proper manner. The quicker a divorcing couple can resolve conflict, resume parental roles, help the child develop coping skills, and get support systems in place for the child a more positive post-divorce adjustment period they family will have.

As previously mentioned if the short-term effects are not handled in a proper manner then the child's long-term development can be adversely impacted. Also, what parents need to be aware of, if the conflicts of the divorce is not handled properly children can experience what is called a "sleeper effect". This takes place when the child recovers from the divorce rather quickly, while denying their true feelings causing delayed reactions that only surface later on in life. According to one study "the view that children adapt readily to divorce and show no lingering negative consequences is clearly inconsistent with cumulative research" (Amato, 1994, p. 145). However according to Dr. Hartnup he suggests that children begin to feel the impact of the divorce long before the couple divorce's. He says "children have often spent years in homes where they felt unsupported by parents and subject to parental conflict". (Hartnup, 1996, p. 2). In one case study psychologists examined children of divorce five years after the divorce took place and found that some children still harbored feelings of hostility towards the initiating parent. They also found that children still had feelings of longing for the absent parent, along