The Impact of Divorce on Children Research Paper - 2

The Impact of Divorce on Children - Research Paper Example Divorce is one of the events within the family that can affect the development of the children in multitude of ways. The paper is aimed to discuss and to present the impact of divorce on children. To achieve the said objective the background of divorce which includes the date in the past few years will be discussed. Then, the effects of divorce on children specifically the different aspects and facets of development and behavior will be presented. The data were based on gathered empirical studies and reference books related to the topic. Background Information on Divorce For the past decades, recorded data and observations confirmed the detrimental effects of divorce in the life and development of the children. Based on the standard family environment model that focuses on the optimum conditions for the proper development of children, marital conflict and divorce increase the risk of having problems in the behavior of children (Amato and Cheadle, 2008). In the United States, divorce affects approximately 50 percent of the families and one-half to two-thirds of the said percentage remarry. In addition, one in every six adults remarries two or more times which multiply the effects of divorce a few more times. ... Upon the achievement of a particular perspective about divorce, it is important to determine the specific effect of divorce and the aspects that are affected. Different Effects of Divorce on Children In general, children who had experienced divorce can be affected in any or all aspects of their life from the year of the event through adulthood. There are different aspects affected by divorce. The most significant aspect is behavior but aspects such as financial or economic facets of their life can also be affected (Forst and Blomquist, 1991). Behavioral Effects of Divorce Behavioral aspect of the effects of divorce on children is the most significant facet of the issue since it can result not only to short term but also to long term repercussions. Correcting the negative effects on a child to heal himself and lead a normal life can be considered as the main reason for finding solutions and giving attention to the said aspect. Children who had experienced divorce in the family are obs erved to have externalizing problems such as aggression and conduct disorder. Higher levels of antisocial behavior can also be observed in children from a family that encountered divorce as compared to children from an intact family. Internalizing problems such as depression, anxiety, and withdrawal are also included in the probable behavioral issues that can be experienced by children with divorced parents (Forst and Blomquist, 1991, p.61) The first two years of the divorce is considered to be the hardest period for the children due to adjustment issues which are based on the effects of separation to either or both of the parents. The effects of other factors after divorce such as single parenting, visitation, and economic difficulties are also classified