The Effects Of Divorce On Children

The majority of people today consider divorce just a separation, although the true meaning is much deeper then that. The actual dictionary definition of divorce is defined as, "the legal termination of marriage (Health of Children)." In today's society divorce is much more then what "the majority think" and a line of words in a dictionary. Over the past decade divorce is on an all-time high. Over fifty percent of marriages are being terminated, and this rate has risen substantially over the past thirty years. Yet many people just think of divorce as two people splitting up because they do not get along with each other. Well what about the other factors? Sixty-one percent of divorced couples have children that cope with divorce as well.
Many children possess their own qualities, but when being a victim of their parents' divorce many kids are impacted by having their emotional state spiral out of control and develop new destructive behavior.
First off, divorce puts an impact on both the suicide risk of children and psychological ills. Children have their ups and downs with divorce but some children take it to the next level by inflicting pain on themselves, to the point where suicide becomes a factor. It is specifically stated in an article by Maggie Gallagher, "Only divorce rates were consistently associated with suicide and homicide rates. Family instability or disruption is one of the leading causes of suicide (Children of Divorce)." Throughout many pieces of literature written about divorce, over and over again it is said that children always repeat in their mind, "what did I do, why did I make mom and dad spilt up?" This causes the self-inflicting pain to come into play, because children feel they are some how the cause to their parents divorce. It is also states in an article bye Hilda Rodriguez and Chandler Arnold that, "Children from disrupted families show an increased risk of accidents, injuries and poisoning, and elevated scores for health vulnerability in comparison to those living
Abusing drugs, alcohol, and starting sexual interaction all become involved in the child's new life style. First, in an article found, a researcher states 44% of children of divorce said, "I was alone a lot as a child ("Children of Divorce")." One senior at Parkland High School was interviewed and when asked what she felt when her parents did get a divorce, and how it affected her she replied saying this: "My parents got divorced when I was real little so it never had a real strong emotional impact on me, but it did leave open much room for freedom. My mom I think always felt bad that I didn't get to see my dad as much as a regular father and she always spoiled me with different things and never really questioned what I did and just let me do my own thing. It was much easier to get away with smoking and having the chance to get into trouble without getting caught (anonymous)." This here already shows a lapse in parental judgment. The parent feels they made a mistake and they need to make that up to the child, so if giving their child more freedom makes them happier, so be it. This gives the child more opportunities to start developing destructive behavior. Second, divorce also increases the rates of incarceration for juveniles. For example, Robert Sampson, professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, found the rate