Divorce and it's Effects on Children

Kylie Hess

Professor Maltman

English Composition 1101-09

6 November 2011

The Effects of Divorce on Children

Divorce.  Everyone in the United States is connected somehow to a family that has been through this devastating action.  Studies show that half of American children will not only suffer through one parental divorce in their lifetime, but two.  Divorce has long-term effects on the children produced in the marriage.  The main focus will be on the social, academic and psychological effects it has on these children.

In an article from the National Review, author Maggie Gallagher states, “Adults choose to divorce… not mostly to escape from violent hellholes, but because they are lonely, bored, depressed, dissatisfied.”   She goes on to point out that 40 percent of those divorcees remarry and suffer from the same problems as the last marriage, and 30 percent thought their lives,  “empty, pointless”, “clinically depressed”, “joyless” and “embittered”.  Why then, would they choose to do something so rash when there are so many other options to help marriages out there?  Many parents feel that it is the best for their children, but studies have shown that this is a major misconception. 

Children with divorced parents often have to endure custody battles, new partners, moving and overall instability.  What the parents think is working for them is actually causing the children involved more harm than they think.  In a commentary written by Joseph Adelson, he found that children of divorced parents are more likely to acquire social and behavioral problems, such as ADHD and aggression.  Many have higher dependency needs, and low self control.  He also found that there is a lack of good physical health.  Many children refused to take care of themselves, as they should, causing frequent illness and a poor overall wellbeing.   This should be cause for alarm to everyone, because no child should have to endure such issues when they have little or nothing to do with the problem in the first place. 

At school, many children show a decrease in interest and grades.  They are frequently associated with disruptive behavior, sometimes leading to suspension.  Because of these social and psychological problems, many lack the skills to achieve in school.  Studies show that children of divorced parents are behind in reading, spelling and mathematics.  The afore mentioned commentary also notes that they are twice as likely to drop out of high school.

Emotionally, children of divorce can suffer from many different problems, such as anxiety and depression, starting at an early age and continuing far into adulthood.  Judith Wallerstein conducted a study that concluded that years after children of divorce have grown problems persist.  Women and men alike have love and attachment issues, and girls especially become more sexually active, leading to childbirth out of wedlock and a continuation of the separation or divorcing cycle.  Adelson quotes, “They suffer much higher rates of both physical and sexual abuse, in the latter case most often carried out by the mother’s boyfriend.  Single mothers report being more violent toward their children than do mothers in intact families.”  Statistics have shown children of divorce often suffer more severe mental illnesses, including sociopathy.  Lack of education frequently leads to a life of crime, based on a study conveyed by Popenoe, “60 percent of rapists, 72 percent of adolescent murderers, and 70 percent of long-term inmates come from fatherless homes.”  These percentages are disturbing, considering that in most situations, unless the mother is proven unable to support her children, she is given the majority if not all custody.  

Bibliography

Adelson, Joseph. "Splitting up." Commentary 102.3 (1996): 63+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.

"Divorce Harms Children" by Maggie Gallagher. The Family. Auriana Ojeda, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 2003. Maggie Gallagher, "Third Thoughts on Divorce," National Review, Vol. 54, March 25, 2002, p. 50. Copyright © 2002 by National Review.

Popenoe, David, Arlene Skolnick, and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead. "Family trouble."The American Prospect 34 (1997): 16+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 3 Nov. 2011