Negative Effects on Children of Divorced Parents Essay

Negative Effects on Children of Divorced Parents
Over time divorce has become more common in marriages, the percentages increase exponentially depending on the number of marriages a person has. What is the definition of divorce? Divorce is when a person legally dissolves one's marriage. Now in this there is a shocking percentage that presents itself when it comes to children being involved in these divorces, this can be as high as 20% of all divorces. Divorce has an overall negative effect on children including struggling with stability, social problems, and conflict with relationships.
For children of divorced parents, finding a source of stability is strenuous and sometimes unsuccessful. When children find the most functional source of coping this allows them to move on from the stressful situation of divorce. This is said in the excerpt, "Adapting to a new life takes time. It's not always easy to get used to the changes, especially if you're going through a dramatic one, such a move to a new town." (Cadier 49). Coping, in general, is a challenge, trying to change your mind little by little, to subsist. By many perspectives divorce is the wrong answer, but shown by many interviews of children, they preferred their parents being separated so there would be less verbal and sometimes physical conflict. Holidays are an ideal example of shown conflicts between the two households, "Coleman explains that there are many stressors for children of divorced parents who attempt to make Christmas the focus of all their holiday traditions. One major cause of holiday stress comes from the feeling that they can't really please anyone. Everyone wants them for the entire holiday and so children feel that no matter what they do they are disappointing the people who matter to them most." (Today 128).
Sometimes in the midsts of things, there can be different general types of issues with the divorce presented by the children. For instance, "This finding is especially true of boys, who engage in "blatant misbehavior," whereas girls are more prone to "elusive" expressions of "anxiety or depression." "In general," says Cherlin "kids are hurt by family conflict whether parents are married or not."" (Kleiner ). Generally, in any case, the boys and girls react in different ways.
In the process of coping and dealing with the frustrations that come hand in hand with divorce, children often have struggles with being social due to a inconsistant household and previous altercations through their parents. So the result can have various effects, which the following is mentioned "At a time when children's needs are increased, parents are at an emotional disadvantage and are often less able to address the needs of their children. Decreasing school performance, behavioral difficulties, social withdrawal, and somatic complaints are common reactions of children and accompaniments of divorce that require intervention. Profound sadness is typical, and depression is not uncommon." (Cohen 1) As it is said in this source, there are many internal and external conflicts that are developing through a child's psyche.