Divorce is a difficult situation to be in.

Other people are only concerned about what is happening to the

parents, without knowing it has greater effects to the child, the child ends up with the greatest amount
of problems. These may not be obvious at first they might not show up right away. Divorce may bring a
lot of negative impacts to the life of the child. It may bring negative effects on the psychological, and
social aspects of child’s life (www.studymode.com).

The U.S Center for Marriage and family released a study in November, 2005 that shows broken
family structures consistently lead to education difficulties for children. “When it comes to educational
achievement, children living with their own married parents do significantly better than other children.”
The study shows that children from broken families have higher difficulties with all levels of education,
from kindergarten to college level. The study suggest that every year a child spend with a single parent
or stepparent will reduce the child’s overall educational attainment by approximately one-half year
(www.tldm.com).

The study, a review of the academic research on the relationship of family structure and children’s
academic performance, compared children from their own married parents to children in non-intact
family structures such as divorced, single, remarried or cohabiting parents. Family structures was always
found to be a factor that will affect the child’s behaviour and directly influence the academic
performance including emotional and psychological distress, attention disorders, social misbehaviour,
substance abuse, sexual activity and teen pregnancy. Those children from non-intact homes had higher
rates of stress, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, particularly as teenagers (www.tldm.com).

The study found that preschool children from broken homes were three times more likely to
suffer from attention deficit disorders than other children’s they also suffer health problems too. They
also have the difficulty in reading (www.tldm.com).

During the elementary year, children from broken homes have low reading comprehension and
math; they also have difficulty in maintaining their grade. Those children from a complete family have
less behavioural problems in classrooms than those from broken family. Teenagers from broken home
were 30% more likely to miss school, be late, or cut class than other students. Maybe the parents of
these children have difficulty in monitoring them; their parents might be busy in other things. These
children have higher risks for smoking, using drugs and consuming alcohol (www.tldm.com).

Teenagers from broken family were sexually active and had high rates of pregnancy. Those girls
from single-mother were at greater risk of teenage pregnancy. The study results shows that children
living with single-parent or step-parent, by the time they reach 14, they were more likely to be arrested.
Those children that never lived with their own father had the highest probability of being arrested. The
study reported that majority of children from U.S will spend significant part of childhood in a one parent
home by the time they reach 18. The rate of broken homes in U.S nearly doubled in 1969-2003
(www.tldm.com).

Most parents that are undergoing in divorce are concerned about their children’s reaction to the
divorce. They want to know if their children will grow up to be happy and healthy. Sociologist and
psychologist are beginning to provide information about the effects of divorce on children. The research
shows that the effects are depending on the gender and age of the child during divorce. It can also be
affected by the child’s personality, amount of conflict between parents and the support from friends and
family (http://extension.unh.edu).

The research find out that boys raised by father and girls by mothers may do better than children
raised by parent of opposite sex. Boys living with their father seem to be less aggressive. They have less
emotional problems than boys raised by mother. Girls raised by their mother tend to be more
responsible and mature than girls raised in opposite sex. However, the children’s adjustment following a
divorce has more to do with the quality of the parent-child relationship than with the gender and age of
child (http://extension.unh.edu).

Discussing a divorce to children may be painful but it will strengthen your relationship with them.
It will also maintain their trust on you. Sharing general information is appropriate. Adolescence will want
more details; you have to ensure them about the future. They might want to know what will be their
relationship to both parents. Limiting the conflict between parents is one of the factors that will
contribute to the well-being of the child. Both parents should agree on the discipline and child rearing as
well as love and approval from both parents, this will contribute to the child’s sense of well-being and
self-worth (http://extension.unh.edu).

Successful joint parenting requires communication and cooperation that is difficult between
parents who don’t get along. If there is a high between parents, joint living arrangement may not be the
best interest of the child. Parents should be involve day-to-day in their children’s lives and letting them
know that they are loved and valued. A parent living in different state can still keep in close touch with
children, they can use letters, emails, phone calls, tape recorder messages and sharing paperwork and
artwork done in school (http://extension.unh.edu).

A broken family can negatively affect all domains of your child’s development. The effects of a broken
family on a child’s development depend on numerous factors, including the age of the child at the time
of parents’ separation, and on the personality and family relationships. Although infants and young
children may experience few negative developmental effects, older children and teenagers may
experience some problems in their social, emotional and educational functioning.

Emotional

After a divorce, children from pre-school through late adolescence can experience deficits in emotional
development. Children of all ages may seem tearful or depressed, which is a state that can last for
several years after a child’s parents’ have separated, explains psychologist Lori Rappaport. Additionally,
some older children may show very little emotional reaction to their parents’ divorce. According to Lori
Rappaport, this may not be developmentally beneficial. Some children who show little emotional
response are actually bottling up their negative feelings. This emotional suppression makes it difficult for
parents, teachers and therapists to help the child process her feelings in developmentally appropriate
ways.

Educational
Slowed academic development is another common way that separation of the parents affects children.
The emotional stress of a divorce alone can be enough to stunt your child’s academic progress, but the
lifestyle changes and instability of a broken family can contribute to poor educational outcomes. This
poor academic progress can stem from a number of factors, including instability in the home
environment, inadequate financial resources and inconsistent routines.

Social

Divorce affects children’s social relationships in several ways. First, some children act out their distress
about their broken family by acting aggressive and by engaging in bullying behaviour, both of which can
negatively affect peer relationships. Other children may experience anxiety, which can make it difficult
for them to seek positive social interactions and engage in developmentally beneficial activities such as
teen sports. Teens from broken families might develop a cynical attitude toward relationships and
harbour feelings of mistrust, both toward their parents and potential romantic partners, explains
psychologist Carl Pickhardt in the article, ‘Parental Divorce and Adolescents’ published in Psychology
Today.

Family dynamics

By its very nature, divorce, changes not only the structure of the family but also its dynamics. Even if you
and your spouse have an amicable divorce, simply creating two new households permanently alters
family interactions and roles. Based on the new living arrangements, your children may need to perform
more chores and assume additional roles in the new household’s basic functioning. Additionally, in some
broken families, older children may take on a parental-type role when interacting with younger siblings
because of their parents’ work schedules or inability to be present in the way that the parents were
before the divorce.

Courtesy Anna Green, Demand Media

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com