Divorce has many negative effects on the couple's children, including a weaker relationship with their parents, a negative view on future relationships, worse mental health, and increased chance of substance abuse. Both the mother–child and father–child relationships are negatively affected and the children tend to have trust issues later in life, leading to a negative view of marriage. Also, children of divorced parents tend to have significantly worse mental health and are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.
It is very traumatic for a child when their parents get a divorce. There has been a lot of research showing that watching one's parents get divorced is less than ideal and can negatively affect a child's well-being (Moses, 2013). According to Amato and Keith, "When it comes to a divorce, children in single parent families are worse off due to reduced parental attention, lack of paternal role models, and reduced family income" (Vanassche et al., 2013). Also, "children not living with both biological parents are more likely to experience psychological struggles" (Moses, 2013). They are also more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. Divorce has many negative effects on the couple's children.
A parental divorce can threaten the parent–child relationship. According to Fabricius, "parental absence after divorce may lead to loss of security in parental relationships and to maladjustment in later life" (Vanassche, Sodermans, Matthijs, & Swicegood, 2013). According to one study, there is clear evidence that a child has a much stronger relationship with the parent that they primarily live with after a divorce (Vanassche et al., 2013). According to Booth and Amato, "Both the mother–child and father–child relationships are negatively affected by a parental divorce; however, the mother–child bond is more resilient, whereas the father–child bond is more vulnerable.