Divorce has a negative effect on children despite the parents’ best efforts of the parents to protect the emotional and social development of children during and after a divorce. The commonness of divorce in the society is a cause for concern in many educators and other members of the wider society. Children are often the ones who suffer most in divorces as they begin to feel as though their parents have forced them to make a choice that they should not have to make. The loss of the parent in the household can lead to educational challenges and social adjustment challenges as children must now attempt to adjust to the changes in their lives. The research paper will seek answers to the question on the long-term and short-term effects of divorce on children.
Divorce occurs when two parents decide that they can no longer live together under one roof. For the most part, the parents make their decisions after careful considerations for the welfare of the child. But, despite their best efforts Jeffery Cleghorn argues that divorce has become common place in the society as the statistics show that there is an estimated 1,250,000 cases of divorce annually in the United States (Cleghorn, 2016) The author further adds that the increase in the rates of divorce has led t an increase in the short-term effects of divorce on children who have become, depressed, angry, and sad (Cleghorn, 2016).
Similarly, Jann Gumbiner, suggests that the divorce will have negative impacts on the children and the long term effects will even affect grown children (Gumbiner, 2011). The author gives her personal views on the topic as she suggests that her parents’ early divorce impacted her life and her marriage as an adult. In essence, divorce teaches many children that the sanctity of the marriage vows have changed significantly as children of divorced parents enter marriages with the idea that they can leave the marriage whenever they want to. In fact, the author substantiates the argument based on the statistical studies that reveals that children of divorced parent will eventually become divorced adults (Gumbiner, 2011). In addition, the author points to one of the most important long-term effects of divorce on children as being that of the unavailability of parents in the lives of their children and grandchildren as their second family often takes precedence over the first family (Gumbiner, 2011). Clearly, divorce creates challenges that will affect the children in the future.
Additionally, Robert Hughes points to a recent study in Finland and published in the Journal of Family Psychology (2011) which reveals that “long-term studies are providing insights about effects on the formation of intimate relationships and marriages in adulthood” (Hughes, 2011). The author reiterates the findings of the study and points to the reality that divorce cause long term relationship challenges that impact the intimate relationships on children of divorced parents. Interestingly, the findings from the study reveal that more young women of who endure the effects of their parents’ divorce are more likely to remain single (Hughes, 2011). But, it was significant that the “parental divorce showed no predictive relationship with divorce for young men” (Hughes, 2011). In essence, the study revealed that women are more likely to have emotional and relational problems from their parents’ divorce as a child.
Similarly, Hetherington et al. suggest that boys react differently than girls in divorces (Hetherington et al., 1985). While the research article is dated, the findings are similar to that of the more recent study that Hughes presents. Hetherington looks at the longitudinal study on the effect of divorce on parents and children and find that the short term challenges for girls was greater when the parents remarried. In addition, the authors found that there was more stability in the long term adjustments for girls than boys as girls are more likely to internalize their emotions and this leads to negative changes in the lives of the children.
On the other hand, Kelsey Block and Sophie Spiegel present their arguments from a psychological perspective and show that divorce may have an effect on the self-esteem of young children. The authors also suggest that the short-term effects may follow the child throughout their years as college students demonstrate increased level of anxiety and a low self-esteem. The article is important to this research as the authors speak to a number of psychological reviews on the way in which the emerging adults’ self-esteem becomes damage because of their parent’s divorce. Most importantly, the authors address the economical challenges that children in divorced families face and the increased challenge for higher education.
In concluding, the selected reviews on the research question are important as they show the changes in the reactions of children over the years. The authors provide valuable information as they cite a number of reputable sources that speaks to studies that reveal the long-term and short-term effects of divorce on children. These articles are strong in their arguments as the authors have reviewed a number of other sources and theorists on the issue and have made effective assessments of the effect of divorce on children. In addition, the articles are important as they offer the personal revelations of adults who have studied behavioral patterns in children of divorced parents and can compare these findings with their personal experience as a child of divorced parents.
Works Cited
Block, K., & Spiegel, (2013) The Impact of Parental Divorce on Emerging Adults’ Self-Esteem,
Cleghorn, J., How Divorce Effects Children, Kitchens New Cleghorn, LLC, Retrieved from
https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=32796
Gumbiner, Jann, (2011) Divorce Hurts Children, Even Grown Ones, Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-mind/201110/divorce-hurts-children-even-grown-ones
Hetherington, M., Cox, M., & Cox. R., (1985) Long-Term Effects of Divorce and Remarriage on
the Adjustment of Children, Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24, 5:518–530
Hughes, R. (2011) The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Young Adult’s Intimate Relationships,
The Huffington Post, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-hughes/the-longterm-effects-of-d_b_1027162.html
