Effect of Divorce on Children

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Effect of Divorce on Children Under the Age of 18 Sarah Jones (Lawrence) Liberty University Abstract Divorce has become a common occurrence in the lives of many families, including those families with children under the age of 18. Approximately 50% of all marriages end in divorce and half of those include children under the age of 18. The emotional impact of divorce on children can be broken down into four primary age groups: Infants, pre-school aged children, school-aged children, and adolescents. Each age group will exhibit negative emotional reactions to divorce however the reactions may vary based on age bracket. Regardless of age, the emotional impact of children will differ between boys and girls. The manner in which Boys act their emotional pain is visible through external actions while girls tend to internalize their emotional distress. In a study involving 60 families several common emotional issues that children encountered were identified: fear, confusion, sadness, worry, feeling rejected, loneliness, divided loyalties, anger, and acute depression. The Journal of Marriage and Family published an article in 2010 that analyzed the connection between divorce and the performance of children in school while taking the impact of psychosocial wellbeing into consideration. Based on the results of the study a direct correlation between children from divorced homes and lower test scores can be seen, when compared to families without divorce. Based on evidence through research the impact of divorce on children under the age of 18 is evident. The negative responses may vary based on age or sex but evidence supports the claim that divorce does cause a negative response in children and that response also leads to lower academic success. Divorce has become a common occurrence in the lives of many families, including many families with children under
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