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English 1201

05-02-21

Sienna S Croft

Professor Freeland

Divorce and Its Side Effects On Children

Divorce has become a very common thing in our society as consequence or side effect to most

marriages. Which can cause many problems for anyone who is a part of the relationship that is being

changed. Not all divorces are simple clean-cut cases of “So it’s over.” “Yup.” “Alright then.”. It can be

much more complicated than that especially if children are involved. Divorce can take a different toll on

children than adults both mentally, psychically, and emotionally it varies with each child or situation. So,

the topic of this paper is. How does divorce affect children? Well, there is not exactly a simple way to

answer that question, “How does divorce affect children?” So, there are a few ways a divorce can affect

a child.

First one being psychologically, the most common one. Psychological issues are a major side effect in

many divorces to a point it is the reason most of the parent child relationships are ruined because of the

separating of the two parents and possible remarriages or re-dating. Psychological effects vary with each
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child of divorce. Some children might have anger issues and emotional issues while another child has

severe depression and intense separation anxiety because of the divorce their parents went through. A

lot of divorces effects on children are mental and psychological though some also behavioral and

psychically. However, the behavioral ones are a cause of the psychologically effects for example in Amy

Morrin’s article states. “Children from divorced families may experience more externalizing problems,

such as conduct disorders, delinquency, and impulsive behavior than kids from two-parent families. In

addition to increased behavior problems, children may also experience more conflict with peers after a

divorce.” Another example being Ashley Marcin’s article, she comprised a list of 10 major effects of

divorce on children such as. “1. They feel angry. 2. They may withdraw socially. 3. Their grades might

suffer. 4. They feel separation anxiety. 5. Little ones may regress. 6. Their eating and sleeping patterns

change. 7. They may pick sides. 8. They go through depression. 9. They engage in risky behaviors. 10.

They face their own relationship struggles.” These are the main points of the article, she further explains

them in the article but those are the major psychological, behavioral, and long-term effects.

Second of all, relationships between the two parents and the child or children. These are very important

to maintain these relationships while the divorce first happened. So as the years go on the relationships

can stay strong or get even stronger. However, because divorces can be a cause of many different things

the most important thing is to have a mutual parenting relationship with your former partner. So that

the child can have a healthy relationship with both parents and grow up in a somewhat normal house

environment. However not everyone is concerned about that. Some parents can be manipulative and

plan things in the background. For example, The Washington Post article on Izumi’s testament to her

divorce and how divorce is in Japan. “When Izumi finally tired of her husband's affairs, she decided it

was time to separate and made plans to take their three young children with her.
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But her husband was one step ahead. He prevented her from taking the children and soon denied her

the right to even see them after the divorce.

That was three years ago. Izumi, who asked that her family name be withheld to protect her children's

identities, hasn't met them since.

Within a month, Izumi said, her children had been taught to say: "I hate my mom."

But when she took her case to court, she received a reply that is all too familiar to thousands of

Japanese parents. The children were now settled with a former spouse, and visits would only disturb

them and their new household, a judge said before giving sole custody to the father. Izumi would have

to make do with being sent photographs once a month” Japan is different than America with the legal

system and how divorce is handled. “Tomoshi Sakka, a lawyer who has handled rights cases, said there is

growing public awareness that children have fundamental rights of their own to see both parents.

"The law tends to see the issues in terms of parents but not of children's fundamental rights," he said.

Sakka has filed three "intertwined" court cases, arguing that parents have a fundamental human right

under Japan's constitution to see their children, that the lack of a law preventing parents from leaving

with their children is an unconstitutional violation of children's rights, and that courts should enforce

parental visitation rights.

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All of the cases are at different stages, but a verdict in the first is expected in November.

Japanese courts operate on what's known as the "continuity principle," almost always granting sole

custody to whoever has physical control of the children when a case comes before them.

That reflects Japan's now-abolished family system that saw children as "possessions" of households and

the prevailing idea that courts shouldn't disturb those households. It is also an idea Japan's conservative

establishment clings to.

What that means in practice is that parents seeking custody of their children need only to abscond with

them to a new location and deny the other parent access. Courts almost always reward the "kidnapper"

by granting sole custody.

Courts in Japan lack the specific legal right to enforce visitation rights, meaning it is effectively up to the

custodial parent's discretion whether the other parent gets even occasional access or news.” As stated

the legal system in japan is very different on custody rights and visitation but this testament is a

demonstration of a controlling parent using the legal system to get what they want, while also

controlling the children just to be spiteful. These situations will cause the relationships between child

and parent to faulter. Divorces are hard enough already and to add the parents both fighting about the

children or about something else just gives anxiety to the child and stress. The parents should take into
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consideration on how any and all their actions will effect their child or children. So, any spite or issues

they should figure their own problems out instead of bringing the child or children into it that causes

stress on the child or children. “When interparental conflict is more frequent, intense, and longer-

lasting, however, studies show that children are at increased risk for emotional and behavioral

difficulties (Cummings and Davies 1994). In fact, interparental conflict is a better predictor of child

adjustment problems than divorce or global indices of marital functioning (such as satisfaction). The

extent to which marital conflict accounts for differences in psychological functioning in children has

been estimated at 4 percent to 20 percent (Cummings and Davies 1994). When the family environment

includes additional stressors such as poverty or violence, marital conflict can be expected to have even

more significant effects (Cummings, Davies, and Campbell 2000).” The writer also discuss why anger

would spark a bad reaction to it. “Witnessing anger or conflict can be aversive for children and it is often

associated with increased arousal, distress, and aggression as well as long-term adjustment difficulties

including behavioral, emotional, social, and academic problems. Children from homes characterized by

high conflict appear to be vulnerable to externalizing problems such as verbal and physical aggression,

noncompliance, and delinquency, as well as internalizing problems such as depression and anxiety

(Cummings and Davies 1994). Typically, however, stronger associations are found with externalizing

rather than internalizing problems. Living with marital conflict also increases the risk of children

displaying poor interpersonal skills and low levels of social competence (Cummings, Davies, and

Campbell 2000).” Another example from NewsRx article. “"Conflict is a salient stressor for kids, and the

link between exposure to interparental conflict and mental health problems in children is well

established across all family types - married, cohabitating, separated and divorced," said Karey O'Hara, a

research assistant professor of psychology at ASU and first author on the paper. "Conflict between

divorced or separated parents predicted children experiencing fear that they would be abandoned by

one or both parents. This feeling was associated with future mental health problems, especially for
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those who had strong relationships with their fathers." “ These two articles strongly imply two things.

The first article implies that parents should push their troubles aside and consider their child’s mental

health. The second article implies that both of the parents should build a strong relationship with their

child or children to avoid future mental health problems.

This graph from an Australian divorce data site, shows the divorce rate from 1966 to 2015. In the recent
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5 years, nearly 50% percent of divorces involve their underage child or children. Nearly 50,000 thousand

children were apart of those nearly 50% of the divorces that happened the past 5 years. This displays

that those nearly 50,000 thousand children could have bad behavioral issues, stress, and anxiety due to

their parents fighting and involving the child in the fight or being manipulated by one of the parents to

spite the other one. The situations always vary but there is also the possibility of physical abuse

happening in those children’s lives. There is also bullying while in school. Misdemeans in the workplace
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and so many other things. In consideration later in their lives they’ll have relationship issues, problems

with emotions and how to express them. They struggle with mental issues such as depression, anxiety,

stress, and several other mental problems. So many of them may suffer from PTSD if they had a bad

experience from the divorces like psychical, emotional, or psychological abuse. Anything with a large

and harmful impact. The mentality, behavioral actions, and even morality like mentioned above children

effected by divorce. The testament down below with answers by Danielle Roberts represents one of the

many few situations that can happen due to a divorce though she is an adult this affected her during her

some of her childhood. She was fortunate enough to still maintain somewhat healthy relationships with

her parents she was still effected.

In conclusion, divorce does effect children but in many different ways because there are many different

situations that happen with many different ways children would react to it.
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Cited Work:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-3eRa7sN8hBKgAordDwlmlVnYeox0YNsYGzwGnjgaYA/edit?

usp=sharing

https://aifs.gov.au/facts-and-figures/divorce-australia/divorce-australia-source-data Divorce in Australia

source data. Divorce in Australia source data

Divorces involving children under age 18 years, 1966-2013. Data shown in table below.

Data table - Divorces involving children under age 18 years, 1966-2012 (selected years)

Year Number of children under 18 years involved Proportion of divorces involving children under

18 years (%)

Sources: ABS (various years) Marriages and Divorces Australia (Catalogue No. 3310.0); ABS (various

years) Divorces Australia (Catalogue No. 3307.0, 3307.0.55.001).

"Conflict between divorced parents can lead to mental health problems in children." Mental Health

Weekly Digest, 25 Jan. 2021, p. 153. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A649456472/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=3d1a1259. Accessed 11 Apr.

2021.

https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/effects-of-divorce-on-children#anger written by Ashley

Marcin and medically reviewed Carissa Stephens on May 7, 2020.

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"In Japan, divorce can mean losing access to children. Many parents want that to change."

Washingtonpost.com, 18 Oct. 2020. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A638878140/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=bf82ae67. Accessed 11 Apr.

2021.

https://www.verywellfamily.com/psychological-effects-of-divorce-on-kids-4140170 written by Amy

Morrin and medically reviewed by Carly Synder on February 22, 2021.

Klein, David M., and DAVID M. KLEIN. "Family Theory." International Encyclopedia of Marriage and

Family, edited by James J. Ponzetti Jr., Gale, 2nd edition, 2003. Credo Reference,

http://sinclair.ohionet.org/login?

url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/galemarriage/family_theory/0?

institutionId=6043. Accessed 11 Apr. 2021.

Amato, Paul R., et al. "Parental divorce, marital conflict, and offspring well-being during early

adulthood." Social Forces, vol. 73, no. 3, 1995, p. 895+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A16955693/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=6c5d32a8. Accessed 11 Apr.

2021.