Effects of Divorce on Child Development Essay Example

Divorce has many effects on childhood development. Most of these effects negatively affect the child. This paper will use two articles to discuss the impact of divorce on childhood development and their effects on adulthood life. One article will be from marriage magazine while the other article will be a scientific article published in a peer-reviewed journal. Marriage magazine is an online magazine that publishes articles on marriage institution covering various subjects. The article from the magazine is titled "Challenges that children of divorce face in their adulthood" was published on 25th January 2015 to highlight various effects faced by children of divorced parents and the effects realized in their later lives. The consequences might be realized when the children want to settle down and start their own families. The affected individuals show social problems such as trust issues and resentment. More importantly is the fact that these factors have a major effect on marital commitment and confidence as well as on the overall success of the marriage.

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The magazine article starts by discussing three children who were aged 3, 5 and 7 years when their parents divorced. The children were left in the custody of the father leaving the mother dissatisfied. For the next ten years, the parents were involved in fierce court battles with each fighting for the custody of the children. As a result, the children found themselves moving from one parent's residence to the other. They were also referred to several counselors who tried to help them until they were adult. Despite the assistance, the children grew under emotional pressure. The case was finally settled to relieve of the family as they moved on with their lives; however, the effects of this process came back to haunt the children in their adult life, and they sought help from several counselors (Marriage, 2017).

According to the article, the painful experience in childhood created continuous anguish that came to affect the children in their adulthood. The author states that although the effects of divorce may vary among distinct individuals, children of the divorce shows common features, challenges, as well as aspects of personality that directs their life towards common experiences. The first problem observed is that the children have trust issues in their adulthood as a result of exposure to unpalatable experiences. They have difficulties trusting other adults due to fear of being hurt an aspect associated with difficulties in establishing relationships. They lack confidence in their partners leading to marriage difficulties. The affected individuals may also get into an addition that subsequently affects their social lives. In order to overcome the negative emotional effects of their experiences, some people get into excessive drinking or drug abuse. Such people are likely to experience problems with their work as well as in their marriage relationships. The affected persons are also likely to develop resentment towards their parents. They may blame their parents for the loss of good life of stable families they ought to have experienced in their lives as children. If left unchecked, the resentment can lead to lifetime unhealthy relationship with their parents.

The author's assumption is correct based on scientific evidence from a study conducted on the lives of children of divorced parents. The main objective of the article from the magazine was to enlighten the readers on the possibility of the effects experienced immediately after divorce and their likelihood to be carried to adulthood lives of the affected individuals. The author used examples of trust issues, alcohol and substance addiction, resentment and co-dependency as some of the aspects developed in childhood but have the potential of affecting lives in adulthood. These effects are major determinates on the success of the marriage of the adults who are victims of divorce in their childhood. A longitudinal study done by Whitton, Rhoades, Stanley & Markman (2008) used an example of trust issues developed after divorce to show that such aspects can have a long-term effect on the lives of the affected individuals. The study confirmed the assumption of the magazine article.

The study by Whitton et al (2008) showed that children of divorced parents experience trust issues in their later lives. The study sampled 265 engaged couples who were asked about their views on the marriage institution just before they get into the marriage. Individuals who missed data of their parent's divorce were excluded from the study. The assessment was based on what the children experienced in their lives such as yelling and arguing among other variables. The subjects were compared with a control group of individuals who were never exposed to divorce in their childhood life. The results showed that women had low commitment and confidence in their marriage as compared to men. Nevertheless, men from divorced parents indicated that conflicts in the marriage of their parents had significant effects on the commitment and confidence in their marriage. The affected individuals expressed uncertainty on the future of their marriage because they did not know whether their partners may change any time in the future.

The views of the two articles are supported by other scientific studies that have shown that divorce has effects on children and these impacts are carried to adulthood. Thompson, Alonzo & Hasin (2013) showed that alcohol dependency could be developed in children after divorce and the impacts can be observed more than two decades years later. The effects include altered social life in areas such as works and marriages. Ahrons (2006) showed that resentment after divorce goes to adulthood and affects children-parent relationship later in life.

Conclusion

Divorce affects children development in various ways. The impact is sometimes carried to adulthood leading to effects on the social lives of affected people. Children of divorced parents have trust issues with their partners. The problems are a major determinant of confidence and commitment of individuals in their marriage leading to the effects on the success of marriages. Other aspects such as alcohol and substance dependency as well as resentment can be carried from childhood experiences after divorce to adulthood lives.

References

Ahrons, C.R. (2006). Family Ties After Divorce: Long-Term Implications for Children. Family Process, 46(1), 53-65. Doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2006.00191.x.

Marriage. (2018). Challenges that Children of Divorce Face in their Adulthood. Retrieved from https://www.marriage.com/advice/divorce/challenges-that-children-of-divorce-face-in-their-adulthood/

Thompson, R. G., Alonzo, D., & Hasin, D. S. (2013). Parental Divorce, Maternal-Paternal Alcohol Problems, and Adult Offspring Lifetime Alcohol Dependence. Journal of social work practice in the addictions, 13(3), 295-308. Doi: 10.1080/1533256X.2013.812909.

Whitton, S. W., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2008). Effects of parental divorce on marital commitment and confidence. Journal of family psychology: JFP: journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 22(5), 789-793. Doi: 10.1037/a0012800.