When Parents Divorce
The Effects on Children

June 10, 2013
PSYCH 210

ABSTRACT

When a couple makes the difficult decision to file for divorce, it not only impacts them, but it impacts their children. A child’s world is their family. In a child’s eye their mother and father together is a huge part of that. Today, 6.8 out of 1,000 marriages end in divorce (CDC, 2013). Some children deal with behavioral and emotional disorders from divorce. It is always in the interest of the children, for the parents to do absolutely everything they can to get along and stay together. The toll that a divorce can take on a child can be devastating. If the parents cannot be amicable and get along even after they are apart, the child may be put in the middle of the arguments. They feel unwanted, unloved, ignored and may even feel like a pawn in a chess game. The image of a failed marriage may give the child the false impression that marriage cannot last forever.

When Parents Divorce When a couple decides to end their marriage with children involved, what impact does this have on their children? It is often thought of that children are resilient and will get past it, but it seems that may not be as true as everyone thinks. A child feels safe, secure and loved when their parents are together. Changing that family dynamic can affect the child’s feelings of safety, security, and the feeling of being loved. Some factors are more obvious than others. The affects can be different from between children due to their age, gender and emotional needs. Resilience may also play a big part in how they react. The children may also be affected by the economic changes that may occur during and after divorce.
Parental divorce was associated with lower levels in academic achievement, conduct, psychological adjustment, self-concept, social adjustment, mother-child relations, and