The Effects of Divorce on
Children and Their
Development
Robyn Ahrens
Educational Psychology
Ed Wenzel
Spring 2012
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Introduction:
It is no surprise that divorce happens fairly often these days. Nearly half of all
marriages end in divorce, but what does this mean for the children of these separating
couples? Does divorce in fact cause any real problems for children and/or their
development? Divorce is a serious topic, and it can cause troubling issues with children
and their development. It is important to know what these effects are, and how you could
deal with them in a classroom. This topic is particularly interesting to me because of how
high the rates of divorce are, and I am sure that it will come up sometime in my career as
a teacher, and I will have to know how to deal with it and help my students deal with it as
well. Also, I have had friends and classmates that have had to deal with the divorce of
their parents and I would like to know more about it, so I can maybe relate a little bit
more and try to understand a bit of what they were going through. I just feel as though
divorce is something I should know more about, to understand what people have gone
through, and for future reference with my students when I become a teacher.
Review of Literature:
Over one million children experience parental divorce every single year
(Peterson, 2003), and often the effects are long term (Johnston and Wallerstein, 1990). A
child must go from living in a world that feels safe and comfortable, to traveling back and
forth between two completely different worlds, when their parents go through a divorce
(Peterson, 2003).
The age that a child is when their parents get the divorce does make a difference.
Children may be affected differently based on their age at the time of their parents’
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divorce (Mann, 2011). Also, divorce affects children differently based on the coping
mechanisms that they have at the particular stage of development that they are in (Bryner,
2001).
Children who are at the preschool age lack the knowledge to understand what
divorce entails, so their reactions are typically just confused, but may lead to blaming
themselves, due to their egocentrism. However, children who go through parental divorce
this young tend to adjust better than children who were older during their parents’ divorce
(Amato, 1994).
Children at the primary school age can more easily grasp what divorce entails,
and understand more what is going on. Feelings of sadness and depression are more
common at this age, as well as anger towards one or both of their parents (Amato, 1994).
At the adolescent age, the child is less impacted directly by the divorce, but the
anger towards one or both parents is still apparent. Adolescents whose parents are going
through divorce tend to have concerns and question their own intimate relationships, as
well as their ability to maintain long-term relationships (Amato, 1994.)
Divorce can be seen as the “easy way out” sometimes. However, what parents
may see as a quick way out almost always results in emotional damage that their children
will carry for over thirty years (Desai, 2006-2007).
Adults who experience parental divorce as a child had lower psychological wellbeing, more behavioral problems, less education, lower job status, a lower
standard of living, lower marital satisfaction, a heightened risk of divorce, a
heightened risk of being a single parent, and poorer physical health. (Amato,
1994)
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There are many negative effects that divorce can have on a child, both short term
and long term. What a child see’s and experiences during the divorce become a part of
their view of themselves (Johnston and Wallerstein, 1990).
Children in divorced families, on average, experience more problems and have a
lower level of well-being than do children in continuously intact two-parent
families. These problems include lower academic achievement, more behavioral
problems, poorer psychological adjustment, more negative self-concepts, more
social difficulties, and more problematic relationships with both mothers and
fathers. (Amato, 1994)
One of the specific ways that divorce affects children is academically. Children
experience high levels of behavioral problems, which can lead to grades that suffer.
Children from divorced families are also less likely to graduate from high school (Desai,
2006-2007). Children of divorce also tend to fall behind specifically in math and social
skills, and may also not be able to catch up with their classmates (Mann 2011).
Aside from academic consequences of divorce, there are many others. Up to 25%
of children with parents of divorce have serious social, emotional, and psychological
problems that last long term (James, 2002). Children may also experience feelings of
anxiety, sadness, and low self-esteem (Mann, 2011).
One specific way that divorce can affect a child is economically. Studies show
that the outcomes of children whose families go through divorce are related to the income
of the family after the divorce (Amato, 1994). Having a decline in income increases the
risk of psychological and behavioral problems that children may face, and also could
affect their nutrition and health (Amato, 1994). The parent with whom the child lives
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with after the divorce, often has to live off of just their income, which is why children of
divorced families are more almost five times more likely to live in poverty than children
who have married parents (Desai, 2006-2007).
Another specific way that divorce affects children is in their social adjustment,
which includes popularity, loneliness, and cooperation. Studies show that boys tend to
have more problems with these adjustments than girls do. However, in academic
achievement, conduct and psychological adjustment, there is no difference noted between
boys and girls (Amato, 1994).
The effects of divorce on a child are countless. One major fact is that children
who have “lost” a parent to divorce, go through very serious problems similar to those
experienced by children who have lost a parent to death (Amato, 1994). The children of
divorced parents suffer more frequently from symptoms of psychological distress (Desai,
2006-2007). Also, children whose parents get divorced are much more likely to be put in
jail for committing a crime as an adolescent. Later in life as teens, they are much more
likely to engage in drug and alcohol use, and engage in sexual intercourse than teens from
families not of divorce (Desai, 2006-2007).
Other aspects that can come along with divorce also have impacts on children.
Divorce can lead to other events that are stressful for children like moving, changing
schools, and their parents remarrying. Divorces that are accompanied by large amounts of
other changes like these have an even worse impact on children in the families of divorce
(Amato, 1994.)
During the divorce, parents who have continuous conflicts make more damaging
effects for their children. They are even worse if the parents are hostile and refuse to
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cooperate with each other (Johnston and Wallerstein, 1990). Witnessing all of the conflict
is harmful for children as well, and is a direct stressor for them. However, having a close
relationship with both of the parents after the divorce can lead to positive adjustment for
the child (Amato, 1994).
Though most studies show that divorce does have bad connotations for children,
Jayson (2008) does say that divorce is not the reason for behavior problems in children.
She does also state though that children from two parent families are better off
emotionally, socially, and economically.
Summary:
Based on the literature, it is safe to say that divorce does have damaging and long
lasting effects on children, and teenagers. They are affected in many aspects of their lives
and affects go on to affect other things in their lives in the future. Divorce can change a
child, and be hard to deal with, with all of the consequences it has for children.
I think it would be helpful to know more about how children who have parents
going through divorce act when they are at school. It would be nice to know if they
become more reserved and quiet or if they act out more at school, or if that is just at
home. Another thing that would be interesting to know about is if there are differences if
the child actually wants the parents to be separated.
I had already assumed that divorce has effects on children, but this research has
showed me just how damaging they can be. As a future teacher, I am going to have to
know when something like this is going on with my students. I will also have to know
how to handle these sorts of things in my classroom and deal with each student with care
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and understanding. It is helpful to know what kinds of effects divorce has on children of
different age groups, so I will easier know how to handle it.
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Works Cited
Amato, Paul R. (1994). Why does divorce lower children’s well-being? Children
and Divorce, 4(1), (n.p.)
Bryner, C. L. Jr., (2001). Children of divorce. Journal of the American Board of
Family Medicine, 14(3), 201-210.
Desai, Amy. (2006-2007). How could divorce affect my kids? Focus on the
family, (n.p.)
James, Michael S., (2002). How much does divorce affect kids? Abc News, (n.p.)
Jayson, Sharon, (2008). Study: Divorce may not cause kids’ bad behavior. USA
Today, (n.p.)
Johnston, Janet R., Wallerstein, Judith S., (1990). Children of Divorce: Recent
findings regarding long-term effects and recent studies of joint and sole custody.
Pediatrics in Review, 11(7), 197-203.
Mann, Denise, (2011). Divorce affects kid’s academic, social skills. WebMD,
(n.p.)
Peterson, Karen S., (2003). Kids of divorced parents straddle a divided world.
USA Today, (n.p.)