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The Impact of Divorce on Children

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The Impact of Divorce on Children
The Impact of Divorce on Children

Effects of Divorce on Children
When parents have a decision to get divorced their children always have difficult time to cope with the stress associated with the new family system. Normally the child will exhibit certain actions that will have been resulted from the separation. The child will show signs of anxiety, fear, agitation, anger, sadness, social adjustment difficulty, depression, impulsivity and aggression. The child will also be affected by reduced social care as a result of reduced income which was initially contributed by the other parent.
Separation of their parents will therefore destroy the attachment formed before, this makes them feel insecure. Several factors will determine these effects such as the birth order of the children and the gender of the children; boys will react differently to the missing parent compared to the girls. On the contrary, a divorce could save the children from the consequences they would face by living with conflicting parents. Effects of Low Economic Status on a Child as a Result of Divorce
When parents decide to get a divorce it means that the family income reduces by the proportion of the income contribution from the missing parent. This means that the child will now start missing some of the things he or she would be provided when both the parents were together. The available income would not be enough to give some of the luxuries a child would really want to have. The kind of care provided to a growing child will proportionately affect her social and cognitive development. Wallenstein (1991) writes that children who are from an intact well off families and are provided with all their needs tend to perform well in class work and they have good social skills displayed by their fast ability to create and maintain friendships. This will imply that the



References: Wallenstein, J. (1991). The Long- Term effects of Divorce on Children: A review. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30 (3) 349- 360 Kim, H. (2011). Consequences of parental divorce for child development. American Sociological Review, 76(3). 487-511. Retrieved September 16, 2011. Deutsch, F. (1983). Classroom social participation of preschoolers in single-parent families. The Journal of Social Psychology, 119(1), 77-84. Retrieved September 16, 2011. Kail, R. V. (1998). Chapter 14.2 The Impact of Divorce on Children 4th ed. (pp. 496-498). Alexandria VA: Prentice Hall.

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