FAMILY

Research Question: What effects do divorce have on the emotional status

of a child

Issue: Divorce

Candidate Name: Oluseni Ibukun Falope

Center Name: Springhall British Secondary School

Word Count: 222 (Always Changing)

Introduction:

As we all know, there are several things that affect the quality of a relationship
with children involved. Communication, Irresponsibility, Companionship,
Spirituality. (Walcott, Natalia 2023) These are some of many factors that
destabilize marriages, eventually leading to the infamous outcome of divorce. As
much as adults try to avoid this grim aftermath, sometimes there is simply
nothing that can be done to avert it. While the parents in the situation do face
levels of emotional distress and exhaustion, the anguish and sorrow felt by a
child during a divorce is simply incomparable. (Mendes, Eva, Sagari Gongala,
2023) This report will be written to investigate and dive deeper into the complex
consequences marital separation has, and will have, on the children who are
unfortunate enough to experience such a despairing thing. Research has shown
the divorce rate for the month of May in the year 2022, was a whopping 4.08 per
1000 married persons. To put into perspective, this is 0.4% of the total global
population (roughly 32.46 million people). (Bui, John, 2022) Therefore, I believe
this topic is detrimental, and should be widely discussed to prevent societal
catastrophes and consequences I will discuss later in the report. Information for
this report will be gathered from secondary and tertiary resources, such as the
internet, and textbooks, to source for causes, consequences, and the overall
impact Divorce has on the children of our miscellaneous society.

Causes of Divorce-
There are many more significant causes of divorce other than infidelity, such as
lack of communication, lack of love, and the irreversible curse that is infertility.
These factors contribute significantly to divorce in several ways. With
communication being the foundation for every relationship, it is clear that a
severe lack of this will eventually lead to a build up of tension, leading to dire
consequences. Lack of love and infidelity on the other hand, can be seen as
more personal reasons to consider a divorce. (NCBI, 2023)

Lack of love often results in one of the individuals involved in the marriage
engaging in unfaithful activity, as they believe it will fill the void their partner is
failing to fill. According to an article in The Signal, both physical and emotional
cheating, or infidelity, are often at the root of divorce cases. The American
Psychological Association (APA) reports that anywhere from 20% to 40% of
divorces are linked to infidelity, and men tend to cheat more often than women
do. (Micheal A. Robbins, 2021)

Consequences of Divorce-

While divorce is really the worst case scenario for any marriage, in most cases it
doesn't happen without reason. Infidelity for example. Unfaithfulness is by far one
of the worst things you could do while in a relationship with children, as it
terminates the trust and spiritual bond you and your partner may have had prior
to the alleged affair, causing a domino effect consisting of depression,
arguments, domestic violence, and can even go as far as destroying the
marriage completely. (Karin Gepp et,al, 2021)

Along with the catastrophes among the parents in the divorce, the children
involved in the situation undoubtedly go through the most. Studies have shown
that it could take 1-2 years for a child to mentally get over their parents divorce,
and problems they could experience in that time range from anxiety, disillusion,
poor academic performance, constant stress, and self blame. (Amy Morin,
2022)

These issues stated could immensely affect the mental health and wellbeing of a
child, if not taken seriously enough. A recent study published by the American
Psychological Association reveals adult children of divorce are 14 percent more
likely to attempt suicide than those who grew up in intact homes. (Larry
Upshaw, 2022)
Another study states that children who have experienced parental divorce are at
greater risk to drop out of high school.This is because of the fact that sometimes,
because of a divorce, the said teenager feels there isn’t enough money being
generated in the family, and will thus drop out to acquire a job to help out his/her
parents. (Daniel Pearce, 2017)

Global Perspective-
Divorce has numerous potential aftermaths in a household, one of these being
cohabitation. In recent decades cohabitation has become increasingly common
around the world. In the US, for example, the US Census Bureau estimates that
the share of young adults between the age of 18 and 24 living with an unmarried
partner went up from 0.1% to 9.4% over the period 1968-2018, and according to
a recent survey from Pew Research, today most Americans favor allowing
unmarried couples to have the same legal rights as married couples. (Esteban
et,al)

While the parents in question might be ok with this rather drastic change in
dynamic, the children involved will most certainly not be, as there is the
possibility that they could be exposed to domestic violence, neglect, and
insecurity on the parent’s side.

In Spain, a descriptive study was carried out in 1,025 children aged between 8
and 12 years old, recruited from seven randomly-selected schools in the province
of Alicante. Of the total number of children, 861 had married parents and 164 had
divorced parents. Overall the study showed that quality of life was higher in
children with married parents than those with divorced parents. Children who
reported conflict between their parents after the divorce had worse quality of life.
The results from the experiment carried out shows the significant differences in
quality of life between kids with divorced parents, and kids with married parents.
(Pubmed.ncbi n.d)

National Perspective-

Personal Perspective:
Due to having personal experience in the form of a relative, and close relatives
dealing with their parents’ divorce’, I believe I am knowledgeable enough to have
a verdict on the issue. Divorce has a terrible impact on children, as I remember
countless nights having to reassure my friend about the future and whether or not
everything will be fine, as well as constantly advising them not to do numerous
horrible things as a result of their grief, that would not only affect them, but the
people around them. I believe it is a serious issue and should be frowned upon
and discouraged worldwide, as I don’t wish on anyone what my friend and
relatives have gone through. It’s a repulsive and abhorred thing to put your
children through.

For and Against-

Course of Action:
Solutions to this problem are more theoretical than guaranteed, as there are
always going to be reasons for parents to get divorced that have nothing to do
with any controllable factor. However, to reduce the impact it has on the children,
or maybe even completely overturn the decisions taken, counseling could prove
to be very effective, for both the children and the adults involved in the matter, as
it could give everyone involved a chance to talk things through as a family, and
pave way for the children to open up about how they feel about the situation,
possible as i stated, leading to a probably change in decision. (Fifth Street
Counseling Center, 2020)
Programs for children such as the Children of Divorce Intervention Program
(CODIP) provide group support and attributes that help children by reducing their
sense of isolation, clarifying misconceptions, and teaching them how to advance
their communication skills with their parents, problem solve and develop other
important life skills that are particularly important in times of uncertainty and
change. (Encyclopedia on early childhood development, 2020)

Bibliography:
1. https://www.ourrelationship.com/twelves-characteristics-of-successful-
marriage/
2. https://www.momjunction.com/articles/side-effects-divorced-parents-
children_0022338/
3. https://jbsolicitors.com.au/divorce-rates-around-the-world/
4.