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Faith Martin

Prof. Slye

English 1201

18 March 2022

How does divorce psychologically effect children?

Psychological disruption is inevitable for children with divorced parents. Children have

been observed to suffer the most when it comes to divorce situations and can experience a wide

range of effects from short-term to lasting well into adulthood. Research on the effects of divorce

though out the years has drastically shifted from the initial question, “Does divorce have

psychological effects on children?” To “How does divorce psychologically effect children?”

In the academic journal "Adjustment to Divorce (Children)”, Jaclyn Tabor expresses how

divorce inherently causes many changes and transitions that can be stressful and disruptive to the

children involved. Divorce causes many negative effects on children and some research has even

challenged that all of these effects are negative, with little to no positive correlation. One

explanation as to how divorce lowers the well-being of children is research shows that the

absence of an estranged parent through divorce is equitable to that of losing a parent by death.

Another factor concerns the mental health and stability of the custodial parent. The deterioration

of the mental health of the custodial parent directly impacts the adjustment and well-being of the

children. Economic hardships like education, good nutrition, and safe living arrangements can all

contribute to the negative effects on the children as well. Further research on practical

intervention, insight, and social science will help children that have been affected through the

process of divorce.
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“The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children”, an article found in Attorney at Law

Magazine explains the divorce has the ability to leave deep emotional scars on children and the

first year after the divorce takes place is when they tend to struggle the most. Majority of

children will adapt to the changes that divorce presents, but some can struggle more and end up

carrying the emotional burden much longer or into adulthood. Sometimes, the separation isn’t

the hardest part of the divorce for the children. There are a lot of stressful situations that can arise

such as changing schools, moving, and lack of contact. These situations can make the children

feel unstable and stressed. Despite the new adjustments the children usually encounter within the

first year, there are always new changes and adjustments constantly being presented. Children

can carry the burdens from divorce into adulthood due to the emotional distress that is placed on

them. Adults who experienced divorce as a child have been observed to struggle maintaining and

developing healthy relationships in the future. Divorce is going to have psychological effects on

children no matter what and the best way to protect them is to keep the process civil and enforce

love whenever possible.

Kim Halford explores some of the specific triggers and effects that divorce can have on

children in the article “How Will Divorce Affect my Kids?” Conflict between the separated

parents accounts for many of the long-term issues that children face surrounding divorce, not the

separation itself. When parental conflict is severe and constantly around the children is when it is

the most damaging and can harbor long-term effects. Children are particularly affected when the

conflict is directly about them. This usually causes them to blame themselves for the divorce or

for them to believe that they are the problem in the situation. Around 40% of divorced parents

disagree on co-parenting arrangements and are unable to resolve a stable plan. “If parents

manage to be mutually respectful and keep their child's best interests as their shared focus, then
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the child is likely to do well.” Co-parenting agreements should be made with the children’s best

interest in mind to reduce stress and emotional instability moving forward.

Rachel Birnbaum displays how it’s becoming more common for children to be involved

in the decisions directly concerning them post-separation in the research study “Views of the

Child Reports: Hearing Directly from Children Involved in Post- Separation Disputes.” One of

the main points she emphasizes is, “Social science research demonstrates that children's

participation in decision-making can reduce the negative effects on them during family

breakdown.” The most common issue among the children interviewed through-out this study was

visitation arrangements. Many of the children felt that getting to speak with someone about their

views, made them feel heard and like they had a voice over the parts of the situation that directly

affected them. Being able to talk with a social worker allowed the children a voice and opinion in

a comfortable and safe space. Although not all children are willing to voice their opinion and

share their experience, this study showed that they do have the capacity and views to provide

valuable and reliable information on their preferences.

“Parental Divorce and Child Mental Health: Accounting for Predisruption Differences”

by Lisa Strohschein shows that the effects of divorce on children can be observed before the

actual event of divorce even takes place. This article observes and compares mental health

effects like depression, antisocial behavior, and hyperactivity between children of divorced

parents and children of married parents. “As demonstrated in this study, predivorce experiences

play an essential role in predicting divorce and in influencing child outcomes, and therefore are

as deserving of attention as divorce itself.” Many studies done on the effects of divorce begin

their research after the event has occurred, but there is a wide range of valuable information that

can be gathered before the initial transition of divorce takes place. Post-divorce stressors
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including higher parenting demands, relocation, and economic resources are more often

confronted than pre-divorce stressors like estrangement, dissatisfaction, manifestation of

feelings, and emotional detachment. Theses predisruption effects can have consequences for the

mental health and well-being of the children.

The majority of research surrounding the topic of divorce and children focuses on the

negative effects. This raises the misconception that there can be positive effects as well that just

haven’t yet been explored to the same extent. However, unless in an extreme circumstance where

the previous household was filled with tension, hostility, or danger, it is very rare for children to

feel relief after a divorce. There will always be stress and drastic transition that will harbor

negative psychological effects. The main effects most commonly seen in children of divorce is

higher risk of mental health issues, behavioral problems, hyperactivity, and antisocial disorder.

Further research into this topic would explore how these issues develop and would open up the

door as to how to resolve and prevent these issues from severely affecting children.
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Works Cited

Birnbaum, Rachel. "Views of the Child Reports: Hearing Directly from Children Involved in

Post- Separation Disputes." Social Inclusion, vol. 5, no. 3, July 2017, pp. 148+. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A554689218/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=92009640. Accessed 16 Mar. 2022.

Halford, Kim. "How will my divorce affect my kids?" Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online

Collection, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/XHVDAC180620826/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=d4bb4408. Accessed 17 Mar. 2022. 

Strohschein, Lisa. “Parental Divorce and Child Mental Health: Accounting for Predisruption

Differences.” Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, vol. 53, no. 6, Aug. 2012, pp. 489–

502. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2012.682903. Accessed 18 Mar.

2022.

Tabor, Jaclyn A. "Adjustment to Divorce (Children)." The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of

Family Studies,edited by Constance L. Shehan, Wiley, 1st edition, 2016. Credo

Reference, http://sinclair.ohionet.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/

content/entry/wil eyfamily/adjustment_to_divorce_children/0?institutionId=6043. Accessed

16 Mar. 2022.

“The Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children: Latest Articles.” Attorney at Law Magazine,

31 May 2021, https://attorneyatlawmagazine.com/psychological-effects-divorce-children.

Accessed 17 Mar. 2022.