Divorce is a traumatic experience for a child under any circumstances. They were certainly so in mine, in which several intervening factors complicated the ability to develop effective psychological coping mechanisms. I was nine years old when my parents got divorced. The divorce was not due to mutual consent or irreconcilable differences but the fact that my mother had an affair with my father's best friend, subsequently leaving the country.

In regard to how a child's sense of family is affected by the remarriage of either parent, Ahrons points out that binuclear families have proven to be rather undesirable. This is more so the case given the unusual combination of both blood and non-blood relationships which according to Ahrons could effectively defy clear definition of roles. Findings from this study as the author further points out clearly indicate that children

Anti-Social Behavior A good number of studies over the years have linked deviant behaviors such as juvenile delinquency and anti-social behavior to children living in broken homes (Bandura & Walters in Demo & Acock, 1988, p.636). Dornbusch et al.'s (in ibid.) nationwide study among 12-17 male and female children of divorced families found that adolescents living in household with only their mothers performing the sole parent role are more likely to

Moreover, a gradual increase of divorce rate has been found in this period as well. Lyons, Linda. "Gallup Tuesday Briefing." Kids and Divorce 1.1 (2002):1-3. Citing the study of Hetherington and Kelly, Lyons provided a more positive outlook on the effects of divorce as she states that the divorce experience can be a source of empowerment for the children. Lyons also looked at teen's perception and attitude towards marriage and divorce. Mack,

Divorce and Communication In the past few decades, divorces have become much more common than they traditionally were. Lack of communication has been identified by psychologists, marriage counselors, and clergy members as the main reason why families end in divorce. The last-reported U.S. divorce rate for a calendar year, available as of May, 2005, was .38% divorces per capita per year (National Center for Health Statistics, 2005). Since every divorce involves

Among the factors which this article elucidates are necessary to be considered, Hetherington et al. indicate that "the long-term effects are related more to the child's developmental status, sex, and temperament; the qualities of the home and parenting environments; and to the resources and support systems available to the parents and child than they are to divorce or remarriage per se." (Hetherington et al., 303) From a clinical treatment perspective,