Running head: DIVORCE IN AMERICA 1

Divorce in America

Jestin Garcia (300230)

Research Techniques

Ottawa University
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Abstract

Divorce has been around since the beginning of marriage. This paper will examine the causes of

families destroying topic of divorce. The purpose is to put in prospective the devastation divorce

can have not only on a family, but also on the kids themselves. Analyzing if it is mentally,

emotionally, and physically easier on the children when parents divorce in earlier development

of the childs life or in later years when the child is in their teens or young adulthood.

Comparison if it is beneficial for parents to raise the children together in the same household and

divorce when the child is of older age, or for the parents to divorce when child is young. In the

conclusion after all the explanation and analyzation of the research, a conclusion will be

concluded and explained.

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Divorce in America

Divorce is the legal separation of any married couple by the court or other competent

body (Dictionary, 2017). Divorce does not only happen in the United States but all across the

world. What causes divorce and how can it effect a family? What happens to the kids? Who

determines where the kid will be placed? Who has a household that the kid is better off living in?

These are some questions that can cause serious issues between families and destroy

relationships. Not only between both parents, but also with children/teens and between parents.

How will these questions effect a child between the ages of three and eight or to a teen between

the ages of thirteen and eighteen, compared to a young adult between the ages of nineteen and

the early twenties? This is what will be better explained through this research paper. Is it better

for parents to divorce while the child is still young, or should the parent wait until the child has

grown up with both parents?

Divorce Rates

When getting married you, make a commitment to your significant to other to stand by

them through thick and thin, not matter the obstacles you face in life. It is not a temporary

arrangement that expires in a few years, so why are divorce rates so high? Sources say that

ninety percent of people in the United States marry before fifty years of age, yet forty to fifty

percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce, and if it is a subsequent marriage, the

divorce rates are even higher (Marriage and Divorce, 2017). What is causing so many couples

to get a divorce? Some of the causes of divorce are, race the general lifetime risk of divorce is

1.5 percent higher for African American couples than for Whites (Stanton, 2015). Marital

History also effects marriages; being previously divorced markedly elevates ones risk of

divorce. Income probably one of the biggest reasons why families will divorce. Families that do
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not have a collective annual household income of at least $50,000 is associated with a 30 percent

higher divorce risk (Stanton, 2015). Having a first child before marriage increases divorce risk

somewhere between 24 and 66 percent. A desire for child meaning a marriage in which the wife

desires children but the husband does not want a child will have a 50 percent greater risk of

divorce (Stanton, 2015).

Effect on Children 3-8

For a child between the ages of three and eight it is very crucial for them to see how parents act

towards each other. When you are a child between three and five that is naturally your window of

absorption, meaning that it is easier for you to soak in information that you have been taught.

Therefore, if a child is seeing his or her parents constantly fighting with one another that is what

he or she is going to notice and apply to his or her life when it is their turn to be a husband/wife.

Children of divorce can live with both parents through alternation periods, but twenty five

percent of children live with only one parent leaving them susceptible to any number of

damaging scenarios (Bernet, 2015). Single parent custody could reduce parenting time for one or

even both parents, cause financial instability, which could cause parents to go into even more

custody battels. This continuous conflict between the parents can cause extreme mental barriers

such as excessive worrying, sadness, anger, oppositional behavior, impaired social relationships,

and compromised school performance (Bernet, 2015). Not only will divorce effect a child

mentally but emotionally as well. Children will come across loyalty conflict, this occurs when a

child tries to maintain a positive relationship with both parents, even if the parents are battling

with each other. This means the greater the degree of parental conflict, the greater the loyalty

conflict between the child and parent. Then if the loyalty conflict gets out of hand, the child
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could begin to experience parental alienation. A serious mental condition in which a child is

close in relation to parent A and refuses to have a relationship with parent B without a good

reason (Barnet, 2015).Usually the preferred parent has brainwashed the child to fear or dislike

the rejected parent, forcing kids to criticize, insult, and denigrate the alienated parent. In fact,

courts found that ninety eight percent of respondents to a questionnaire endorsed the question,

Do you think that some children are manipulated by one parent to irrationally and unjustifiably

reject the other parent? (Barnet, 2017). It is not all bad though it is 2017 we see more and more

stories about growing up in a low-income family with problems like living with a single parent.

Top celebrities such as, Kevin Hart, Kevin Durant, Hope Solo, Ray Lewis, even one of the

greatest basketball players of all time LaBron James grew up in single parent households.

Effect on Teens 13-18.

Sadness, anger, oppositional behavior, impaired social relationships, and compromised

school performance are effects on teens as well as children, but at this age, they have learned to

act on emotion more than thinking it through before action. Teenagers begin to engage in

frightening activities after their family experiences divorce. After divorce, teens have an

increased twelve percent risk of using alcohol, and marijuana (Arkes, 2013, p. 290). When in a

rough spot in life teens automatically think it is the end of the world and they do not know how

to properly handle divorce because of the immaturity. This could be why in the 2010 National

Survey on Drug Use and Health indicated that past-year use among 18- to 20-year olds is 41.7%

for cigarettes, 69.8% for alcohol, and 33.0% for marijuana, while corresponding numbers for 16-

17 year olds are 24.1%, 47.3%, and 25.8% (Arkes, 2013, p. 290). This is an increasingly large

amount of teens, who are already participating in illegal activities. Teens can also act through
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violence, possibly becoming a bully, or even dropping out of school. Some of the leading causes

of dropping out of school are, financial problems, lack of academic performance, and getting into

drugs, all of which increase when a teen has gone through a rough divorce. A bright side to being

a teen is that you do eventually mature.

Effect on Young Adults early 19-20s

Being twenty years old and having your parents get a divorce is every bit as painful as if

you would have gotten the new four or five years earlier. Michelle Andrews has a blog where she

talks about her personal experience of her parents divorcing. Andrews explains, I grew up

believing my family was perfect. Despite my school friends having more family problems than I

could comprehend, I breezed through my teenaged years and early adulthood without family

drama We ate together at the dinner table every single night We were the Andrews family,

and our friends often referred to us as perfect After leaving high school, not once did I

imagine that my parents would split. I just did not (Andrews, 2015). Parents

divorcing only happens when you are still in school right? Well, no. Because that so called

perfection all ended a few weeks after my 21st birthday, when dad sat the family down and

announced he was leaving (Andrews, 2015). Though divorce can and will hit you out of

nowhere, young adults can be driven just as fast as they can be thrown to the ground; the choice

of getting back on your feet is finally in your own control. At the end of the day, even if parents

get divorced while you are in your twenties, you still got to see both of them every day and got to

grow up with the company of both parents. At this age you are all adults and are able to handle it

with maturity
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Conclusion.

After all of the research and seeing the similarities and differences between a child a

teen and a young adult it was easy to come up with an answer. The thing that really set things

apart is the maturity aspect to handling a divorce, having a choice on what to do. Being able to

determine what is right and what is wrong is what really makes young adults so special when I

comes to handling emotional stressful problems like divorce. Growing up you learn to

understand and you gain the ability to see a certain prospective while as a kid you dont have that

ability to sit down and think about what is going on. For example, if someone were to pass away

a child would not show emotion or any kid of signs that he or she is sad, because they do not

understand what is happening, children will not which is why parents should wait to divorce

when the child has been raised by both parents.

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References

N, A. (2017). American Psychological Association. Marriage and Divorce. Retrieved from

http://www.apa.org/topics/divorce

Stanton, G. (2015). Public Discourse. What is the Actual US Divorce Rate and Risk? Retrieved at

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/12/15983/

Andrews, M. (2015). The 20s Diary. What its like when your parents divorce in your 20s.

Retrieved at https://the20sdiary.com/2015/10/29/what-its-like-when-your-parents-

divorce-in-your-20s/

Arkes, J. (2013). The Temporal Effects of Parental Divorce on Youth Substance Use. Substance
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Bernet, W. (2015). Children of High-Conflict Divorce Face Many Challenges. Psychiatric

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