Fifty percent of marriages in the Unites States end in divorce. Researchers continue to study how it negatively effects the children involved. Some assume that children do not endure symptoms, or will not as long as the parents split early enough in their lives. However, many consequences may occur, ranging with age, and parental dissolution can elicit long-lasting ramifications to a child’s well-being. Even children under a year old show symptoms in response to parental divorce. The most common symptoms discovered by medical professionals include irritability, increase in crying and need for physical contact, as well as acute separation anxiety. However, the effects of parental divorce do not isolate to only children under one year of age. Not only do effects escalate in number as ages increase, but they also escalate in severity. Children ages one to three years of age at the time of their parents’ divorce may search for or call the missing parent, two prime examples of clinging behaviors.
…show more content…
These children also show separation anxiety, with an increased need for proximity to the custodial parent. ¬According to Jolene Oppawsky, writer of The Nurse Sees It First: The Effects of Parental Divorce on Children and Adolescents, children of one to three years of age may also endure “psychosomatic reactions,” such as night terrors or tics. More disturbing, children experiencing a parental divorce between the ages of three to six years may imitate behaviors performed by their parents, such as yelling and fighting. They may also implement “themes of sadness, aggression, [and] death in their play” (Oppawsky). As the maturity level of the child effected by divorce progresses, so does their response. Children ranging from six to twelve years of age at the time of their parents’ separation or divorce become likely to show lack of concentration in school, as well as nervousness in school. In many cases, their grades lower significantly, and they exhibit “feelings of hopeless, helplessness, sadness, and depression” (Oppawsky). More commonly noticed in the younger years within this age range, declines in toilet training and enuresis - often referred to as bed wetting - can also occur as stress responses. These same responses even reach in the upper age range, from ten to twelve years. Children in this range may also express anger and hatred toward their parents. Enuresis, as well as bad dreams, carries over into the twelve to eighteen years of age range. Interestingly, twelve to eighteen year old adolescents experiencing the tension of a parental divorce share a psychosomatic symptom with the one to three year olds - tics. However, acting out sexually presents a more potent reaction to this type of stressful situation. “Adolescents ages 12-18 are in puberty, their self-image is under …show more content…
In 2006, the European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience published Long–Term Psychosocial Effects Of Parental Divorce, a study organized by Taina Huurre, Hanna Junkkari, and Hillevi Aro. Participants exhibited lower rates of higher education, as well as higher rates of unemployment. Additionally, a statistically higher rate of stress and distress appeared often within products on divorce, as well as a higher likelihood of first-hand experience with divorce, and a lower rate of current marriage. These adults displayed a higher risk of suffering from low self-esteem, as well as a psychiatric disorder. Most unfortunately, however, adults whose parents divorced during their childhood encountered a much higher risk of suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt (Huurre, Junkkari,
These children also show separation anxiety, with an increased need for proximity to the custodial parent. ¬According to Jolene Oppawsky, writer of The Nurse Sees It First: The Effects of Parental Divorce on Children and Adolescents, children of one to three years of age may also endure “psychosomatic reactions,” such as night terrors or tics. More disturbing, children experiencing a parental divorce between the ages of three to six years may imitate behaviors performed by their parents, such as yelling and fighting. They may also implement “themes of sadness, aggression, [and] death in their play” (Oppawsky). As the maturity level of the child effected by divorce progresses, so does their response. Children ranging from six to twelve years of age at the time of their parents’ separation or divorce become likely to show lack of concentration in school, as well as nervousness in school. In many cases, their grades lower significantly, and they exhibit “feelings of hopeless, helplessness, sadness, and depression” (Oppawsky). More commonly noticed in the younger years within this age range, declines in toilet training and enuresis - often referred to as bed wetting - can also occur as stress responses. These same responses even reach in the upper age range, from ten to twelve years. Children in this range may also express anger and hatred toward their parents. Enuresis, as well as bad dreams, carries over into the twelve to eighteen years of age range. Interestingly, twelve to eighteen year old adolescents experiencing the tension of a parental divorce share a psychosomatic symptom with the one to three year olds - tics. However, acting out sexually presents a more potent reaction to this type of stressful situation. “Adolescents ages 12-18 are in puberty, their self-image is under …show more content…
In 2006, the European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience published Long–Term Psychosocial Effects Of Parental Divorce, a study organized by Taina Huurre, Hanna Junkkari, and Hillevi Aro. Participants exhibited lower rates of higher education, as well as higher rates of unemployment. Additionally, a statistically higher rate of stress and distress appeared often within products on divorce, as well as a higher likelihood of first-hand experience with divorce, and a lower rate of current marriage. These adults displayed a higher risk of suffering from low self-esteem, as well as a psychiatric disorder. Most unfortunately, however, adults whose parents divorced during their childhood encountered a much higher risk of suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt (Huurre, Junkkari,