Divorce Information

Divorce Health Article

Divorce

The legal termination of a marriage.

The unprecedented rise in the U.S. divorce rate over the past 30 years has had significant consequences for the nation's children, over a million of whom are affected by divorce every year. The U.S. Bureau of the Census has predicted that 40% of children growing up in America in the 1990s will experience the breakup of parental marriages.

Common childhood and adolescent reactions to parental divorce include a continuing desire for the parents to reunite; fears of desertion; feelings of guilt over having been responsible for the divorce; developmental regression; sleep disorders; and physical complaints. While researchers have found that some children recover from the trauma of divorce within one to three years, recent longterm studies have documented persistent negative effects that can follow a child into adolescence and beyond, especially with regard to the formation of intimate relationships later in life. The effects of parental divorce have been linked to phenomena as diverse as emotional and behavioral problems, school dropout rates, crime rates, physical and sexual abuse, and physical health and wellbeing. However, mental health professionals continue to debate whether divorce is more damaging for children than the continuation of a troubled marriage.

Infancy and toddlerhood

During these stages, children's reactions to divorce stem from interference with the satisfaction of their basic needs. The removal of the noncustodial parent or increased work hours for the custodial parent can cause separation anxiety, while the parents' emotional distress tends to be transmitted to children at these ages, upsetting their own emotional equilibrium. The inability of infants and toddlers to understand the concept of divorce on an intellectual level makes the changes in their situation seem frighteningly unpredictable and confusing. The child may revert to an earlier development stage in such areas as eating, sleeping, toilet training, motor activity, language, and emotional independence. Other signs of distress include anger, fearfulness, and withdrawal.

Divorce Health Article

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Divorce

Infancy and toddlerhood

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