According to a study conducted by Williams-Owens (2017), 40% of children in the U.S. experience divorce before they attain 18 years. Divorce is a significant life event that has far-reaching consequences for children. It affects their physical, psychological, and emotional health in numerous ways. Divorce can lead to changes in behavior, such as increased aggression, anxiety, and depression. As a result, it may lead to lower academic performance and poorer social skills and make it more difficult for children to form relationships with peers or adults outside the family system, among other severe effects. All these factors have an immense impact on the child’s growth and development throughout their lives.
The impact of divorce on children and their behavior is a topic that should be studied because it affects the lives of so many people. According to the United States Census Bureau, there were 2245404 marriages in 2019 and 827,261 divorces, translating to 37% of marriages that ended in divorce (Petrelli Previtera, LLC 2023). U.S. Census Bureau data shows the current divorce rate in the U.S. is 3.2 per 1000 population (Petrelli Previtera, LLC, 2023). This means that millions of children have been or will be affected by this life-changing event at some point during their lifetime. It is essential to understand the effects it can have on them and how best to support them through what can often be a traumatic experience for all involved. In light of this, the focus of this study is to explore the impacts of divorce on children and their behaviors.
The purpose of this study is to explore the impacts divorce has on children and their behaviors and some of the research questions and hypotheses for this study include;
Hypothesis
The experience of parental divorce has a significant impact on the development, behavior, and well-being of children
Research Questions
The debate about the effects of divorce on children has been a topic of intense discussion among various authors for many years. Some argue that divorce can hurt children’s emotional and psychological health, while others maintain that it does not necessarily damage them in the long run. In the following section, this study will examine how various authors have debated the effects of divorce on children.
According to Williams-Owens (2017), the effects of divorce on children is likely to have short-term effects and long-term effects. Some of the short-terms effects include high-level of regression, acute separation anxiety and abandonment issues. The impact of divorce on children and their behavior is a complex issue. According to Malone et al. (2004), this can be studied by looking at “latent change score models,” which measure the effects of life events, such as divorce, on child behavior problems over time. The study found an increase in child behavior problems after parents divorced compared to before the event occurred. This suggests that children are more likely to display behavioral issues following parental separation or divorce than before.
This finding has important implications on understanding the psychological effects of family dissolution on young people’s lives and development trajectories into adulthood. These findings suggest that adverse consequences may arise from experiencing a parental breakup. They also indicate potential areas where intervention strategies could be developed in order help support those affected by it cope better with its associated challenges (Malone et al. 2004). For example, providing counseling services for both parents and their children during times of transition could help mitigate any long-term stressors resulting from changes brought about by familial restructuring due to separation or divorce (Malone et al. 2004). According to Demo and Acock (1988), divorce directly impacts children’s behavior, academic performance, social relationships, mental health status, and future family formation. Jacobson (1978) also found that when parents separate or get divorced, it significantly increases the risk of psychological disturbances in their offspring. Children may struggle with feelings such as sadness due to losing contact with one parent or guilt because they feel responsible for their parent’s separation or divorce. They may also display behavioral problems such as aggression towards peers or adults, withdrawal from friends, difficulty sleeping, increased anxiety levels, depression sympto
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