Amato (2000) has applied a divorce-stress adjustment perspective in his study to summarize empirical literature on the consequences of divorce for adults and children. According to the reviewed research, divorce has a potential to create considerable chaos in people’s lives. However, people have different reactions to marital dissolution whereby it greatly benefits some while it creates temporary decrements in the well-being of others and forces others to undergo a severe crisis from which they may be unable to recover from. There are number of factors which control the speed and extent of adjustment after divorce, and for adults they include education, employment or a new partner (Amato, 2000) . For children these protective factors include active coping skills, therapeutic interventions and support.
According to Cherlin (2009) high divorce rates in the U.S. can be attributed to the conflicted culture where marriage is idolized as well as personal freedom. Since marriage is the ideal, divorcing parents blame their former partners or choices for the divorce rather than the culture or institution. The main reason children are negatively affected by a divorce therefore is not due to the legal status of their parents but the instability of their residence. A divorced parent is either stricter or more lenient on their child hence may impose premature responsibility or unwarranted freedom respectively which is detrimental to the child.
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The difference between the wellbeing of children and parents after a divorce can be accredited to the fact some divorces lead to an increase in stressful life events such as inept parenting, health and psychological issues or even poverty. Divorce could also be associated with an escape from conflict and lead to a more healthy fulfilling relationship for the parents and especially the children and hence provide an opportunity for personal growth and individuation for both the child and the parent (Hetherington, 2006, p. 204) .
References
Amato, P. R. (2000). The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children. Journal of Marriage and the Family 62 , 1269-1287.
Cherlin, A. (2009). Marriage, divorce, remarriage. Havard University Press.
Hetherington, E. (2006). The Influence of Conflict, Marital Problem Solving and Parenting on Children's Adjustment in Nondivorced, Divorced and Remarried Families. psycnet.apa.org .
