Effects of parental divorce on children

Although the rate of divorce has stabilized in Britain, concern about effects of divorce on children remains high. Practical responses such as conciliation services are increasingly available. Beneficial influences on children's adjustment to divorce include maintenance of good relationships between children and both parents, and possibly joint custody arrangements. Breaks or continuing changes in relationships with parents are associated with low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, acting out, and poor peer relationships. If conflict between parents continues after divorce, children also do more poorly, probably because of effects on parent-child relationships. Reduced physical and psychological health in parents may also affect the children's adjustment. Households of divorced families with children frequently suffer very sharp fall-offs in income, and this has a very significant effect on children's development. Although remarriage tends to alleviate this problem, behavioral problems may develop. Larger studies have suggested that long-term negative effects on behavior, psychological well-being, and academic performance of children follow a divorce. These effects appear larger than demographic variables such as a mother's education but smaller than effects of gender on academic performance and other aspects. Children under five years of age are unable to fully understand divorce and may thus have a particularly difficult adjustment. Some children's problems previously attributed to divorce may have been present before separation, possibly due to marital conflict, effects of conflict on parent-child relationships, and a likelihood of higher divorce rates among adults with poor psychological health. Analyses of the outcome of children born during one week in 1946 suggest that divorce may influence children's adulthood, leading to less education, reduced earnings, and a higher incidence of earlier marriage and divorce. It is hoped that the disruption in children's lives caused by divorce may be diminished by services that increase parental settlement of conflict and reduce divorce-related poverty. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)