Abstract

This bibliographic essay can be used to recognize and help understand the research
presented from the different sources that pertain to the different effects children have from their
parents divorcing. Divorce is something that is increasing daily all around the world today, it is
crucial that people are mindful of the variety of affects children may experience from divorce in
order to help them overcome it. More specifically, the public needs to be able to recognize the
short-term effects as well as the long-term effect that children will undergo when their parents
divorce occurs. This paper includes articles that do not only provide information regarding the
effects that children have, but it describes what divorce is, the process, different circumstances
that could happen in the house, the short term and long-term effects on the child, and ways to
help the child overcome the stressful circumstances. Throughout this essay the sources are cited
at the end to avoid plagiarism. The essay includes different sources such as academic journals,
eBooks, and periodicals. The sources are comprised of scholarly information that is clarified easy
enough for a general public audience to understand. These sources put emphasis on the shortterm and long-term affects divorce has on children as well as the process of divorce.
Introduction
In order to dive into divorce, it is important to understand what it means to first be a
family. The book, Exploring Marriages & Families (Seccombe 2015) states that a Family is a
relationship by blood, marriage, or affection, in which members may cooperate economically,
and may care for children. A common family consist of two parents and a child if not more. Once
the parents are no longer together (separated) the family is now seen as a broken family.
Divorce has been increasing over the years and has had an effect on the children or child in the
family tremendously. Because divorce has been dramatically increasing the question now asked

is what types of effects does it have on the children and how can the child receive help in dealing
with the divorce.

Divorce
Divorce is the legal termination of a marriage by a court or other competent body. What
this means is that the partners who were married are now legally not together and free to remarry if they wish. Couples can choose to divorce for many reasons such as falling out of love,
cheating, abusive actions, substance abuse, etc. If one chooses to get a divorce the legal process
is very time consuming and stressful. According to Obringers article on How Divorce Works,
the couple must first have been legal separated, meaning they had to of lived separate for a
certain amount of time before they can file for divorce. This helps the couple decided if a divorce
is truly what they want. Once the decision has been made the couple can file for divorce within
reason. The most common reason for divorcing is due to growing apart and not being able to
talk together (Seccombe 2015). Forms, paperwork, and fees will be required by court to be
filled out which can take a while because it has to get put into the system by the court. It is
required for the spouse to be notified of the actions taking place and has about 30 days to
respond to the request of accepting the divorce. If the spouse is not willing to cooperate then the
case can be taken to trial which can become a true battle.
Co-Parental Divorce
Co-parental divorce deals with parents who are seeking a divorce but have a child.
Agreeing on parenting strategies becomes a serious matter for the child. One of the main issues
with this is determining who has full custody over the child or children. Legal custody means
that one of the parents will have the legal authority to make important decisions concerning their

welfare. For example, figuring out where the child will go to school, the community they will
reside in, and who will be notified for emergency situations. Another thing to take into
consideration is child support, which can be very expensive. Child support is court-ordered
payments, typically made by a noncustodial divorced parent, to support ones minor child or
children. (Seccombe 2015).

Short-Term Effects on Children

One of the several short-term effects divorce has on children, has to do with inside the
home. The article, Childrens Living Arrangements Following Separation and Divorce (Kelly
2007) focuses on what is known about the living arrangement and how the child views these
arrangements. Kelly states in this article that divorce researches reported that mothers continued
to seek sole physical custody and were successful 80%-85% of the time (Kelly 2007). When
parents divorce the child often loses a relationship with one of the parents if not both. The main
reason for this is because the parent is going through their own emotional struggles they tend to
show lack of interest toward their child. This causes the child to isolate themselves and fall into
depression due to feeling uncared for. The child is also doomed to have emotional problems.
Many children react differently to their parents divorce, for example a research study in the
article, Measuring Childrens Reactions to Divorce (Berg and Kelly 1978) provided
information of results they did on childrens reactions to divorce. Children often dwell in the
feeling of self-blame or guilt. They feel like they are the ones responsible for the arguments that
have occurred between their parents and the separation. The thought of, If only they would have
behaved better than their parents would not want to get a divorce is a common reaction children
will have.

Long-Term Effect
Children do not only experience short-term effects from divorce, but long-term effects as
well. They often continue to feel the effects of their parents divorce for years after the actual
divorce. Children whose parents divorce are more likely to become pregnant, drop out of school,
use alcohol and drugs, and be unemployed. The book, Exploring Marriages & Families
(Seccombe 2015) provides research proving long-term effects divorce has on children. Research
showed that many years following a divorce, more than one-third of the (now adult) children
were still depressed and suffering from a number of behavioral problems related to the divorce
(Seccombe 2015). They also found that children who were in unstable living conditions
situations after the divorce seemed to fare worse than those children whose lives were more
stable after the divorce.

In the article, The Long-Term Effects of Parental Divorce in Childhood on Adult

Adjustment (Kulka & Weingarten 1979) did a study that focused on examining the influence of
childhood family disruption by divorce or separation. The results they came to find was young
adults (21-34) are less likely to report being very happy than those from intact homes (Kulka &
Weingarten 1979). This finding represents the indication that children who undergo divorce tend
to carry that over into their adulthood and eventually divorce themselves, meaning they tend to
have a pattern of separate themselves from responding, evaluating, and ordering adult life roles.

Conclusion
Overall, divorce is the legal separation of parents in which one parent will have complete
custody of the child or children. It is important to recognize that there are short-term and longterm effects on the children or child such as, emotional stress, depression, educational struggles,
as well as financial struggles that carry on. It is crucial to note that not every child will undergo
such struggles during the parents divorce but a significant amount of children do. Divorce has
never been an easy thing to deal with even for the parents and that can carry over onto the child.

References
Seccombee, Karen. Exploring Marriages & Families. Second Edition. Portland State University:
Pearson, 2015.

Shansky, J. (2002). Negative Effects Of Divorce On Child and Adolescent Psychosocial

Adjustment.
Journal of Pastoral Counseling, 73-87.

Kelly, J. (2007). Children's Living Arrangements Following Separation and Divorce: Insights
From Empirical and Clinical Research. Family Process, 46(1), 35-52. doi:10.1111/j.15455300.2006.00190

Kulka, R., & Weingarten, H. (1979). The Long-Term Effects of Parental Divorce in Childhood
on Adult Adjustment. Journal of Social Issues, 35(4), 50-78.

Amato, P., & Booth, A. (1991). The Consequences of Divorce for Attitudes Toward Divorce and
Gender Roles. Journal of Family Issues, 12(3), 306-322.