McKinney 1

Riley McKinney

English Composition II

Dr.C

10/24/21

How might divorce affect children?

The topic I will be focusing on is divorce. How might divorce affect children? Looking

into this question focusing on mental health, and behavior. As well as the future of these children

and how divorce may affect their adulthood. Can divorce cause kids to fear certain things? Can it

make children not believe in marriage? Can it cause anxiety or depression? So much can play

into this question and what’s the real answer of how divorce can affect a child.

In the 1960s divorce was not as common it began to rise in the 1980s and stayed pretty

consent until 2010 and then it began to lower again and now the rate is 14 out of 9 marriages will

last. Even though the pandemic was something no one would ever want it did make 58% of

marriages closer making it so divorce is not as much as it use to be. (Wang, 2020)

Common things said in these articles are how children are most affected when a divorce

takes place. (Oren and Hadomi, 2020) A child can be very confused and begin to blame

themselves for what has happened and cause them to question, ¨what they did?¨ and ¨how can

they fix it?¨ (Morin, 2021)

Divorce can affect children based on age. So for instants divorce may not affect a 3-year-

old but may affect more like a 7 to 10-year-old. Each stage from a young child to a teen is

different. Which can play a big role in how divorce may affect a child mentally. A grade-school

kid is more likely to blame themselves whereas a teen may blame a parent and get angry. (Morin,

2021)
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A documentary goes into a child’s perspective by talking to children of all ages about

how divorce affected them. This also goes into play with almost all the sources and states how

divorce affects kids. Some big things are arguing/ yelling and being put in the middle. And these

things can lead to anxiety or depression or make children think love is not real. (Real Families,

2021)

Data plays a big role too. Looking into marriage and how kids make act depending on the

situation. Not every website goes into this so I felt it is important to add within the sources I have

found. ( Marija, 2021)

Not all of the sources go into blended families but that’s another important role on why

kids make act up. For instance, if the stepmom begins to act like their actual mom the kid may

become confused and angry. ( Good Therapy, 2020)

Most of the sources state how parents can control the outcome of how their children see

divorce but most of the time it ends in a negative. Parents may try to get along still and that’s

best for the kids but not if you will continue yelling over the phone and scaring your kids. But in

the end, looking at what is best for everyone and just finding ways to make positives out of the

situation can help. ( Kemp, Smith, and Segal, 2020)

Misconceptions can be there is a way to find happiness in divorce and that just staying

with one parent can bring that happiness but at the end that could really hurt the child even more.

Or continuing to stay married for the child which in the end may not be best for them and they

would have been a lot better off with their parents separated.

The best answer here may be, many things affect children within divorce but the way you

handle it will determine the outcome of your child’s future. I think I could look more into how

many kids when they become adults get a divorce based on if their parents did. Or look more
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into certain ages and get more information based on what age the kids are when their parent’s

divorce. Each source gave good points on ages, how it may affect kids’ mental health, what can

cause a kid’s mental health to deteriorate, and what parents can do to help kids not be as affected.

Work Cited

GoodTherapy. ¨Blended Family Issues¨ 8 April 2020,

https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/blended-family-issues

Kemp, Gina, Segal, Jeanne, and Smith, Melinda. ¨Children and Divorce, For children,

separation and divorce can be an especially sad, stressful, and confusing time. But there

are ways to help your kids cope with the upheaval of a breakup.¨ November 2020.

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/parenting-family/children-and-divorce.htm#.

Lazic, Marija. ¨13 Saddening Children of Divorce Statistics for 2021.¨ 4 January 2021,

https://legaljobs.io/blog/children-of-divorce-statistics/.

Morin, Amy. ¨The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children, Take steps to help kids

bounce back.faster¨ 21, February 2021. https://www.verywellfamily.com/psychological-

effects-of-divorce-on-kids-4140170#:~:text=Children%20from%20divorced%20families

%20may,with%20peers%20after%20a%20divore.

Oren, D., and E. Hadomi. “Let’s Talk Divorce - An Innovative Way of Dealing with the

Long-Term Effects of Divorce through Parent-Child Relationships.” Journal of Divorce

& Remarriage, vol. 61, no. 2, Feb. 2020, pp. 148–167. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/10502556.2019.1679593.

Real Families, ¨How Do Children Cope With Divorce? |A Journey Through The Kid's

Eyes |.¨ YouTube, 3 November 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=CvHML5NmloM. Accessed on, October 17, 2021.

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Wang, Wendy. ¨ The U.S. Divorce Rate has Hit a 50-Year Low.¨ 10 November 2020,
https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-us-divorce-rate-has-hit-a-50-year-low