Psychological and behavioral effects of parental divorce on children

Divorce Outcomes on Children

Outcomes of Divorce in the Lives of Children

Before going any further, I believe that it is fitting to first introduce the concept of divorce. In the context of social sciences, divorce is known to be a "definite crisis period during which the nuclear family disintegrates. The dissolution and reorganizing process of divorce extends to children as well as to parents" (Despert in Henning & Oldham, 1977, p. 55). The effects of the dissolution of marital bonds clearly extend to children. It is in this light that this paper attempts to understand the implications of divorce especially focusing on children.

Psychological Effects on Children

The influence of divorce varies according to the developmental stage of the children. This was proven by the work of Henning & Oldham (1997, pp.55-56). Using a compilation of clinical experiences of divorced children in the pre-school, latency, and adolescent stage, they have found that children in their pre-school years resort to fantasy, i.e. thinking that they did something that caused the divorce since parents believe that explaining divorce to them would be futile. Children also resort to aggressive behavior, irritability, and depressive action. Children in the latency stage, on the other hand, tend to create a fantasized image of the absent parent. Finally, children in the adolescent state are more likely to display anger and depression. They also tend to be hostile to their parents in the hope that these actions would be manipulative enough to change marital decisions.

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 engage in deviant acts while the presence of an additional adult lessens the likelihood of committing deviant acts.

Positive Effects

Long have we known about the negative effects of divorce, I believe it is high time to look at the under-acknowledged domain of the divorce literature, i.e. The positive effects of divorce. According to Hetherington & Kelly in Lyons (2002, p.1), three-fourths of the children from divorced families have actually grown to be resilient and lead lives with healthy and satisfying relationships. Further extending this point, Demo & Acock (1988, p.626) maintain that children in divorced families frequently take on a number of domestic responsibilities to compensate for the absent parent. This, in effect, broadens their skills and competencies.