Divorce Argument Essay

Divorce has progressively become a common procedure worldwide, affecting not only parents and their offspring, but also the communities that surround the family unit, and consequently presenting a terrifying threat for the affected child. Nonetheless, regardless of the conventionality of divorce, it persists to affect various aspects of children's' daily lives and rituals. Children and adolescents are consequently deprived of a customary and stable family upbringing and thus suffer the disadvantages of a single-parent family structure. Divorce can be signified as a common legal procedure for the dissolution of a marriage, which ultimately results in the separation of two parents and inevitable division of property and final custodial guardianship of children. Psychologists have researched the effects of divorce upon children's' mental state, which can also deteriorate later in adulthood. It can therefore be thoroughly justified that divorce is harmful to children's' moral well-being and behavior. The injurious effects of divorce involve feelings of inadequacy, instability, deprivation and depression usually culminating in resentment, aggression and mood alterations. Studies have distinguished that children and adolescents raised in an intact family structure display evidence of disciplined behavior, as opposed to their counterparts that are often characterized by delinquency and regressive attitude. Children experience extensive loss and unexpected change after the divorce of their parents. The majority of the effects of divorce are unpleasant since children are deprived of a formerly familiar environment and status in the community. Children typically experience grief and melancholia as they undergo through various mood changes, involving overreaction, loss of personal identity and the inability to adjust to a differential setting. According to Nancy Dreger, "In children, divorce can generate personal fears unrelated to their parents or the security of the

Cited: Berlin, Gordon. "Impact of Marriage and Divorce on Kids." FDCH Congressional Testimony May 13, 2004 AUD Lib. 12 Nov. 2005 <http://www.lirn.net/auth>. Dreger, Nancy n3 p6(7). Opposing Viewpoints. LIRN Infotrac. AUD Lib. 12 Nov. 2005 <http://www.lirn.net/auth>. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Plenum, 2004. InfoTrac OneFile. LIRN Infotrac. AUD Lib. 12 Nov. 2005 <http://www.lirn.net/auth>.