Divorce has been found to have tremendous effects on children’s socioemotional development, academic performance, and intimate relationships as adults, by research. The effects are much more severe if the divorce occurs while children are at a younger age. Children generally learn from the people and everything else in their surroundings. They form understandings and opinions on issues based on how the older people around them treat those issues. In a stable traditional kind of marriage, for instance, children get to understand the quality and importance of marriage. They also tend to have proper socioemotional development and are better placed to perform well academically. Divorce changes the understanding of children and deprives them of one thing that matters the most in the lives, ‘a family ( Eriksen et al., 2017) . While they will still have a family, it definitely will never be the same as the family they have known since birth. As a result, the socioemotional development is affected as well as their academic performance and future intimate relationships as adults.
Children of divorced parents tend to have higher risks of mental health problems. These children are more likely to develop mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety disorders. Also, they tend to be more emotionally sensitive and often need someone to listen to them ( Guerrero, 2017) . On academic performance, at the time of divorce, children’s grades or test scores often go down significantly. Also, children of divorced parents often show lowered aspirations in their studies ( Escapa, 2017) . However, other factors that come in after a divorce, such as instability and financial problems have also been found to affect their academic performances ( Brand et al., 2019) . Divorce also changes children’s sexual behaviors, affects their attitudes towards marriage, and may render them unable to commit in relationships when they become adults ( Braithwaite et al., 2016) . The paper aims to investigate the effects of divorce on children’s socio-emotional development, academic performance, and intimate relationships as adults, through a though analysis of scholarly-reviewed resources.
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Importance of Topic
The unique effects of divorce on the behavior, attitude, and development of children are often ignored and never explored. Currently, many people are getting divorced in their middle ages, forcing children to adapt to complex parental and family arrangements. Personally, I have witnessed the change in personality, behavior, performance, and attitudes of individuals whose parents divorced. Most of those who come from families where parents are divorced tend to be more emotionally sensitive and vulnerable to various mental health problems such as depression and anxiety disorders ( Guerrero, 2017) . Also, most people whose parents divorced, have negative attitudes towards marriage and often have problems committing in relationships. This topic is, therefore, of much importance to me as I seek to understand the influence of divorce on the various aspects of children as they grow up. Ultimately, this topic is also significant to the human services profession as it explores some of the unique social issues that humanity is facing in the modern age.
Literature Review
Guerrero (2017) conducted a study to investigate the impact of family disruption, such as the occurrence of a divorce, on the emotional status of children. According to this research, children thrive best in the traditional family structure consisting of a birth mother and father. It is considered the healthiest environment for children’s growth. The study used the data presented by a country (Chile) on its family structure and factors to analyze the cognitive and socioemotional effects that family disruptions such as the occurrence of divorce impose on children’s development. Tests were also conducted on children to assess the impact on cognitive abilities and developments. The study concluded that family disruptions, including divorce, have detrimental effects on the cognitive and emotional functioning of children. This source is highly relevant to the topic as it deals with the impact of divorce on children’s socio-emotional development as well as their academic performance or cognitive abilities.
Brand et al. (2019) set out to investigate how parental divorce lowers children’s educational attainment. Using the U.S. panel data, the researchers assessed the limiting effects of divorce on children’s education. Through the analysis of data, some key findings were obtained. One, the study found white children’s educational attainment to be significantly affected by divorce, while it had negligible effects on non-white children. Secondly, factors that arise due to divorce, such as declines in family income, family instability, and psychosocial skills, presented as the negative effects of divorce on children. This study dives deeper and aims to identify the roots of the effects of divorce on children’s educational attainment.
Braithwaite et al. (2016)believe that parental divorce and parental conflict affect multiple aspects of children’s lives and development, including increasing the risk of divorce in their future marriages. In their study, Braithwaite et al. (2016) analyzed the individual effects of conflict and divorce on children’s future intimate relationships and marriage by using a sample of over three hundred emerging adults. The study found that divorce, indeed, had unique effects on the attitude on children and elevated the risk of divorce in their own marriages. Divorce was perceived as a solution to marital problems between couples, according to many of the subjects. Parental divorce was associated with less relationship satisfaction and less commitment in the intimate relationships of emerging adult children. The source is relevant, given that it provides information on the effects of divorce on children’s intimate relationships as adults.
References
Braithwaite, S. R., Doxey, R. A., Dowdle, K. K., & Fincham, F. D. (2016). The unique influences of parental divorce and parental conflict on emerging adults in romantic relationships. Journal of Adult Development , 23 (4), 214-225.
Brand, J. E., Moore, R., Song, X., & Xie, Y. (2019). Why does parental divorce lower children's educational attainment? A causal mediation analysis. Sociological Science , 6 , 264-292.
Eriksen, H. L. F., Hvidtfeldt, C., & Lilleør, H. B. (2017). Family disruption and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning in middle childhood. Journal of child and family studies , 26 (4), 1077-1089.
Escapa, S. (2017). Effects of Post-Divorce Parental Conflict on Children's Educational Achievement. Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas (REIS) , 158 (158), 41-56.
Guerrero, A. (2017). Cognitive and socio-emotional effects of family disruption during early childhood: a longitudinal study using Chilean data.
This source analyzes the effect of family disruption, such as the occurrence of divorce on children’s socioemotional and behavioral functioning and development. This makes the material relevant to the topic, given that it tackles at least one part of the topic.
This source asks a more in-depth question by attempting to find out how divorce lowers children’s academic performance or educational attainment.
This source further describes the effects of divorce on children’s educational achievement through the results of a well-conducted research.
This source provides information on the effects of divorce, as a form of family disruption, on the cognitive and socioemotional functioning and development of children, specifically during early childhood.
This source sheds light on the impact of divorce on children’s intimate relationships as adults and presents some unique changes that such children may develop in their future romantic relationships.
