Divorce

The number one person that gets hurt in the process of divorce is the child/children. The parents will be relived because they separate from each other, but do they think what it may do to the child? I mean I understand how the fighting and hitting and such that may happen during being together may affect the child as well, but studies have shown that it is usually the child that feels at fault for the divorce.

The affect of divorce on a child is really dependent on the parents as well, “ children's psychological reactions to their parents' divorce vary in degree dependent on three factors: (1) the quality of their relationship with each of their parents before the separation, (2) the intensity and duration of the parental conflict, and (3) the parents' ability to focus on the needs of children in their divorce.” (http://www.mediate.com/articles/psych.cfm#effects). So the extreme cases you hear about a child from a divorced family falling into drug usage, alcoholism, and depression are usually cases in which the above factors were disrupted in some way. Aside from factors over relationships, boys and girls both take the effects of divorce differently as well. Boys tend to act out their frustration and anger, so cause trouble in school and so forth. Girls on the other hand tend to internalize their feelings, so may become depressed change their sleeping/eating habits and so forth.

Not only bad comes out of a divorce, some good can come out of it too. Usually a single parent can/will focus more on their children and so will be closer to their kids. If the parents remarry it would give the child just more adult support. Although, all of this really depends at the age group the child is in. In certain stages/periods of a Childs life it may be harder to accept another person as a mother/father and to adjust to the changes. In the end though a divorce just helps the child more than harm, “when parents can control their conflict, the children can experience freedom from daily household tension between parents.”