Effects of Divorce

Whenever two people interact, conflicts may arise and one person or both may want to end the relationship. This is true not only of marriage but other relationships as well. However, unlike most relationships, marriage involves civil, legal, and/or religious ties that specify if and how the relationship ends. Termination of the relationship in accord with these specifications is termed divorce and, according to Clarke-Stewart, Friedman and Koch (1990), there are well over one million divorces in America every year. Further, over 70 percent of these divorcing families have children.

Divorce is accompanied by a variety of psychoemotional and social effects on all family members. This paper examines a sampling of the current literature on the effects of divorce.

Furstenberg (1990) has compiled a comprehensive review of the existing literature on divorce in America. According to the author, this literature supports the notion that the disbanding of the family opens deep emotional wounds for the marital couple, the most major of which are: (1) feelings of emotional distress and isolation; (2) difficulties sleeping and/or eating; (3) altering of perceptions of self and role identity; and (4) financial difficulties and uncertainties.

In terms of the specific effects of divorce on children, Furstenberg (1990) reports that these can vary depending upon the ages of the child. For example, preschoolers may begin wetting the bed or stutteri

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child support were major sources of conflict. The major psychological and emotional factors contributing to the marital break-up were psychological abuse by the ex-husband, and another relationship. Chemical abuse was also an issue. Primary sources of psychological and emotional support were friends and children. The relationship of the children to their father was found to have deteriorated since the divorce in quantity and quality of time and financial support. Major psychological and emotional issues at the time of the divorce were loss of family and traditions, sense of failure, fear, anger, and depression. However, as the length of time since the divorce increased, women reported feeling finished with the divorce, pleased with their new sense of self and freedom, but fearful about their economic future. A study which specifically focused on the relationship of behavioral problems such as substance abuse to adolescent children of divorce was conducted by Doherty and Needle (1991). Specifically, the authors administered self-report measures of psychological adjustment and substance use to 320 female and 306 male adolescents (aged 1117 years) over a five year period. Of the adolescents, 48 had experienced the dis

Category: Psychology - E