A multi-level study conducted on 38 developed countries by Amato (2010) on the effects of divorce across societies established that divorcees have low quality life index in comparison to their married colleagues, though country specific differences were observed even after adjustments using compositional factors. This is just a tip of an iceberg because studies continue to show diverse effects of divorce on couples, family, children, and the society. According to the American Psychological Association (2016), 40-50% of married couples in the US divorce, and subsequent marriages have higher rates. The high prevalence of divorce incidences implies multiplied impacts, with most of them devastating because they shake-up the core fabric that the family and society thrives on. While discussion of impacts and implications plays a crucial role in creating awareness, comprehensive intervention measures are needed to minimize negative impacts of divorce.
Consequences of Divorce on Couples, Family, Children, and Society
Divorce disrupts the binuclear family because it is a parental subsystem with long term implications, leading to deterioration in the quality of relationships, and subsequently that of all stakeholders in the marriage institution (Ahrons, 2007). Divorce leads to remarriages, which can be more stressful to children than the divorce itself. However, Ahrons (2007) posited that stress was less evident in cases where both parents were cooperative as it enhanced the relationship of the children with their stepsiblings, stepparents, and grandparents.
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While effects on couples and family range from legal battles to financial challenges, children suffer psychologically, especially in the early developmental years, leading to estranged behavior that affects their life later on and contributions to the society.
Impacts of Changes in Family Structure
As posited in Ahrons (2007), remarriages or cohabitations are some of the outcomes of divorce, and these influence children perceptions of the family. Empirical evidence shows that some children find it more distressful if the father remarried, which led to deterioration of the relationships with the father, and negative, distant, and nonexistent relationships with stepfamily members.
Single parenting has also been shown to be distressful to children, with those from such families reported to have high case of school dropouts, juvenile delinquencies, or teenage pregnancies among others. One can argue that the concept of divorce and its implications receives extensive emphasis if there are children involved because they are the most affected by changes in the family structures.
The Product of Divorce and Its Impacts
Divorce affects couples emotionally, and can lead to never ending court battles in relation to custody of the children or financial settlements. These aspects of divorce drain individual emotionally, physically, and materially making them unable to be productive members of the society. They can even lead to hate and potential revenge by the party that feels most aggrieved.
Stevenson and Wolfers (2006) argued the case for the benefits of divorce, but insist that such outcomes can only be realized if a unilateral approach is adopted. Unilateral divorce can end violent domestic relationships by transfer of power to the abused, thus stopping the abuse because the relationship is extant. According to Stevenson and Wolfers (2006), the approach potentially reduces cases of suicide and spousal homicide. Therefore, unilateral divorce can have positive impacts for children, couples, and family in cases where physical violence is a prominent factor in marriage.
Theories in Marriage that Explain Divorce
According to Stevenson and Wolfers (2007), the last 150 years saw a significant rise in divorce incidences, but the trend declined in the last quarter-century owing to the falling marriage rates as perspective of marriage continue to change. Some of the driving forces in marriage that lead to divorce include: use of birth control methods that allow women to control their own fertility; a shift in wager structure that has led to rise in inequality and narrowing of the gender wage gap; intensive changes in home production techniques; the influence of technology and the internet. These factors give people the autonomy to decide how they want to live their lives, and the independence is a major contributor to divorce.
References
Amato, P. R. (2010). Research on divorce: Continuing trends and new developments. Journal of Marriage and Family , 72 (3), 650-666.
American Psychological Association. (2016). Marriage & divorce. Retrieved 5 November from: http://www.apa.org/topics/divorce/.
Ahrons, C. R. (2007). Family ties after divorce: Long‐term implications for children. Family Process , 46 (1), 53-65.
Berlin, G. (2004). The effects of marriage and divorce on families and children . MDRC. Retrieved 5 November from: http://www.mdrc.org/publication/effects-marriage-and-divorce-families-and-children.
Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2006). Bargaining in the shadow of the law: Divorce laws and family distress. The Quarterly Journal of Economics , 267-288.
Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2007). Marriage and divorce: Changes and their driving forces. The Journal of Economic Perspectives , 21 (2), 27-52.
