Dr. Godwin
Sociological Perspectives
31 October, 2016
Effects of divorce on children
Each year, approximately one million American children experience their parents getting divorced. Statistically, 50% of marriages will inevitably end in divorce (Cherlin). That means that every other child living in America comes from a household with a single parent (Booth). Studies have shown that Americans are marrying earlier and only for personal gratification and benefits rather than long term commitment. Therefore, divorce has become a way to rectify a poor decision. This is a big problem amongst society since divorce can create a plethora of sociological issues not only at the time of divorce, but also later …show more content…
This decline in education can be seen psychologically and sociologically. Sociologists discuss that children of all ages can have their educational ambitions affected by parental, social, and socioeconomic environments. Therefore, divorce can affect a child’s sociological perspective. Parents provide support with academic success/involvement, sports, hobbies, and other extra-curriculars that are constructive for children during their development. Therefore, if the parent is going through a divorce, the children may lose important resources that are critical for their success. “Thus, adolescents of divorced parents may have lower educational ambitions than their peers from intact two-parent families,” (Henok). This however doesn’t apply if the bond between children and their parents aren’t weakened. The child’s lowered socioeconomic status also affects their educational ambition by potentially being around people with lower educational standards and underfunded schools. Differences in children’s educational ambition can all depend on their age, gender, and even personality after a divorce. Males tend to develop more conduct problems, increase in substance use, and dropout of school. Females suffer more from mental behavior problems such as an “overcontrolled” behavior, leaving them more likely to be introverted and suffer from depression. This greatly affects their ability to have an …show more content…
Since the 1960s, divorce has nearly tripled with 50% of marriages ending in divorce, 60% of those marriages have children. Majority of these divorces, roughly 95% result with children living with their mother. Why?, “A presumption of distrust of the father, along with a presumption of trust in the mother,” (Shevchenko). Based off social structure, men are typically working while women are typically taking care of the children, therefore; women are represented to be more as the caregiver. This is typically what provides leverage to allow custody to women. The problem is that most divorces are proposed from wives in relationships which also controls the existence of a father in the child’s life. This happens all the time and it typically leads to the disbanding of a father and his child because the father’s relationship with the mother is extremely poor. They do not talk except to argue unless they can get along for the sake of their children. This results in less confrontation with a child and either parent because of the poor relationship between both parents. Thus, you have a child left with a divorced mother. If you think about it, a divorced mother has to start supporting herself and how ever many children in the family, the father is usually the support for money. Therefore, children grow up seeing their mother with a “blue collar” job and want