Divorce

Divorce:   The Effect on the Children

Divorce, once unusual in our society, is now becoming more common and disrupting the family’s state of well-being.   Divorce rates in the United States have increased dramatically in the last 25 years. During 1974, a new record was reached when more marriages ended up by divorce than by death (Strong, 2008).   This indicates over 50 percent of the marriages among young Americans will end up in divorce.   According to the worldwide divorce rates statistics, the United States is leading the divorce rates in a second place; the highest rate is in Sweden.   In today’s rapid changing society, getting divorce is one of the toughest challenges many parents and children have to face with.  
The process of a divorce can be very stressful.   For parents, it is common for the divorced partner to experience hurt, resentment, and anger because divorce often signifies failure in, perhaps, an extremely important relationship in our society.   Lower self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness are also common in both children and parents.   Nonetheless, when children are involved, the stress can be even bigger.   One may say the biggest question during the process of divorce is how children are affected.   Since divorce is almost always stressful to children, many of them respond with anger and fear.   For some children, they tend to feel guilty or in some way responsible for the divorce which can lead to social withdrawal and emotional depression.
A divorce in the family creates a serious life change for most children.   It is unfortunate that when marriage couples are going through a divorce, it is the children that are often the ones most affected, and are often the ones that are given the least amount of attention.   Due to these factors, some children of divorced families may experience long-term mental problems such as depression, low self-esteem, poor academic performance and difficulties having intimate relationships.   Sometimes, it is very... [continues]

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