Psychological Effects Of Divorce On Children

When a couple ties the knot, they vow to love each other until death tears them apart, but in America, “researchers estimate that up to 50% of all first marriages end in divorce or permanent separation” (Hawkins and Fackrell 41). Divorce was once considered taboo and not many people got divorced because of the stigma attached to it, but today it has become more common. In many marriages, divorce may seem like the best solution for the parents, but as for the children, that is certainly not the case. Mehmet Murat ildan, a Turkish playwright and novelist, once said, “Divorce is a fire exit. When a house is burning, it doesn’t matter who set the fire. If there is no fire exit, everyone in the house will be burned” (Seltzer). However, if a burning …show more content…
Divorce has short-term emotional and psychological effects on children and adolescents. Children of divorce experience an increase in emotional insecurity, and consequently, they begin to exhibit unpleasant behavior such as anger, aggression, disobedience, substance abuse, and thoughts of suicide and violence (Hawkins and Fackrell 80). Children of divorce also perform worse in school, especially in the first few years after the divorce, as a result of more financial strain, more stress, and less parental supervision (“How Might Divorce Affect My Children?”). They experience loneliness after the divorce resulting from loss of contact or less contact with a parent, extended family, or friends. They are more likely to struggle socially, have poorer relationships with peers, and have fewer close friends, which contribute to their feeling of loneliness (Hawkins and Fackrell 81). In addition to these short-term effects, divorce has a negative impact on a child’s …show more content…
Children who live with married parents with a high-conflict marriage “experience lower emotional well-being and may experience as many problems as children of divorce” (Parke 7). In this situation, divorce may be one of the smarter choices the parents can take to decrease the risk of their children facing a variety of emotional and behavioral problems. Experiencing constant hostility between married parents is stressful for children, and a divorce will undoubtedly have a positive impact on their emotional health. Children from low-conflict families normally have a more difficult time coping with their parents’ divorce, and they will struggle to understand the reasons behind the break up because they were unaware of their parents’ unhappiness (Hawkins and Fackrell 77). On the other hand, in high-conflict families, children expect, and may even hope, that their parents will decide to divorce since they were most likely aware of their parents’ problems and generally understand that divorce is necessary (Hawkins and Fackrell