Are Children Harmed by Divorce Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Are Children Harmed by Divorce - Research Paper Example Religious, moral, and legal concerns are only some issues highly linked to divorce. The divorce rate statistics in the United States have fallen in the recent years, but they are still considerably high, taking into consideration figures from other countries. In 2007, divorce rate was at 3.6 per 1,000 people, 3.5 in 2009, and 3.4 in 2009 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]). The drop in these rates is attributed to several factors, including the increasing incidences of cohabitation versus marriage. However, the emphasis of this paper dwells on the negative effects of parental divorce to children. Certainly, the causal relationship of parental divorce to harm on children is widely known, but some of these disadvantages are specified, as supported by previous researches. Reasons for divorce Couples do not just choose to divorce for one reason. Many factors are taken into consideration before the decision is finally made. As society has changed how it perceives marriage a nd the family, the purpose of staying together has also been modified, abolishing strict conformity to traditional roles and concepts. Common reasons for divorce are communication problems, financial difficulties, change in priorities, lack of commitment to the marriage, and infidelity. Such decision may also be influenced by physical, emotional, or sexual abuse by one partner to the other, failed expectations, inability to resolve conflicts together, child rearing issues, or addictions and substance abuse. Most of the time, reasons for divorce have intertwined or piled up causes where one or both partners eventually give up trying to fix their marriage and run to divorce as the â€Å"best† solution to their problems. Effects on children Divorce may offer advantages to adults, like pursuing a new career or a new partner, but children â€Å"see no benefit in divorce† (Clarke-Stewart and Brentano 106). Reactions of children towards their parents’ separation may va ry, but it could utterly affect them. Although more recent literatures contend that there are cases where children of divorce handle and survive this crisis after an ample amount of time, more often the negative effects occur rather than the positive reaction. Offsprings of divorce encounter more stresses that children in intact families do not have to experience. These stressors may affect children in various ways and in several aspects. According to age group Clarke-Stewart and Brentano (2006) present the effects of divorce to children according to age group. It does not necessarily mean, however, that these children are not able to function well in the presence of these emotions and experiences. It merely expresses that various ages react to the news of divorce differently. A. Infants and pre-schoolers Because infants are not yet fully emotionally attached to the parent they will be â€Å"losing† it is assumed that there will be no strong effects (109). The absence of the father will not create huge changes in the infant’s routine as long as the mother continues to nurture the baby well. However, in cases where the mother is stressed and tremendously affected with the crisis, the infant is vulnerable and prone to have insecure and disorganized maternal attachment if they have regular overnight visits from their fathers. Children of this age group who are victims of parental divorce are also seen to be less positive, affectionate, and engaged when playing with their mothers as compared to those who belong in married families, implying that divorce affects emotional relationship with the mother in infants and toddlers (109). Preschoolers tend to be more affected, confused of what is going on in the household and sometimes seeing themselves at fault for