Children and Divorce Facts

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Divorce is considered as a highly complicated and stressful process for a married couple. It is to be noted that the painful consequences of a divorce not only affect the divorcing spouses, rather various related people are also affected from such a turmoil. The condition of marriage dissolution greatly put its impact on other family members as well. The most critical situation are generally faced by the children who get involved by default along with their divorcing parents. Seeing parents going through this process that result into permanent separation of their parents is itself a shocking and really tough condition for children. The sever consequences can be seen among the children in terms of changed behavior, poor performance in academics, having low self esteem and likewise. Therefore, here we are basically providing detailed information regarding divorce facts, especially its impact on children and their behavior. At the same time, we are also providing some statistical data regarding children and divorce facts.

Brief Statistics regarding Children and Divorce Facts

• In 1970, the percentage of children residing with only 1 parent was 12. In 1996, this percentage rose to 28
• Every year, if only new divorces are considered, more than 1 million children fall prey to broken homes.
• If the communication between parent and children is studied, then the following results are obtained
  • 5% children stated that they were completely informed of the divorce and were encouraged to ask any questions or queries.
  • 45% children said that they were given an abrupt 1 or 2 line explanation.
  • 23% children revealed that none of the parent talked with them regarding the divorce.
• It has been observed that children who had been through their parent's divorce display the following:
  • Difficulty in getting along with peers
  • Low self esteem condition
  • Behavior problems
• After a survey conducted in 1993, the following results were reached:
  • In intact families, 90% adolescents were normal and 10 percent had great problems.
  • In divorced families, 74% males and 66% females were normal. Whereas 26% males and 34% females were facing behavioral problems.
• If the children from intact families are compared with the children from divorced families, then the latter are:
  • 1.25 to 1.5 times more likely to get divorced themselves
  • 2 times more likely to drop out of high school after graduation
  • 1.25 to 1.5 times more likely to develop problems of depression
  • 2 times more likely to have problems regarding managing their demeanor
  • 2 times more likely to visit a mental health professional

• The age of the children when the divorce took place
• The smartness of the children
• Whether the children are emotionally mature
• The relation of the children with both the parents
• How good or bad the divorce was
• How did the people (spouses) associated with the children react to the divorce
• Did the children have any problems prior to the divorce
• Are there any people outside the family who are ready to help the children

• Sometimes a child does not display any reactions or feelings regarding the divorce. Someone should help this child to express whatever is going inside his / her mind. If such an expression does not take place, it is likely that this child might suffer from depression at a latter stage.

• A pre-school child might become worried, irritable or confused. Moreover, some regressive demeanor might be exhibited by this child. As an illustration, the child might begin wetting self again.

• Children aged between 6 to 9 cannot digest the concept of divorce. However, they feel that something unpleasant is taking place. During this phase they are dependent on the parents and find it very tough to talk regarding their emotions. Usually, they exhibit anger and start experiencing learning difficulties during their studies. As a result, they hardly are able to concentrate on educational topics, which ultimately leads to a condition where the child fails to progress in the school and severe deterioration can be observed in their overall personality.

• Children belonging to the age group 9 to 13 may develop depression, grief and anger. They begin to have vital relations with people other than their parents. They talk with these people about their feelings and problems.

• In most of the cases, children start considering themselves as one of the major causes behind their parent's divorce. As a result, they start blaming themselves and start bottling up their frustration and stress into the mind. Such situation may result into severe burst out of stored anger and frustration one day. This particular behavior is usually shown by teenagers.

All issues related to children during any divorce process are considered to be highly critical. Therefore, it is highly important to be guarded with all possible outcomes or general reactions shown by the children especially at the time when their parents are getting divorced in front of their eyes.

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