They start to blame themselves for the divorce, feel that they are unlovable, or worry about who will take care of them. In many studies, including Cherlin and colleagues (1991), it has been found that behavior problems are more common from children who have divorced parents than children who do not have divorced parents. Substance abuse and psychological problems increase in adolescents after a divorce. Many studies have found that divorced custodial parents, compared to married parents, invest less time, are less supportive, have fewer rules, have harsher discipline, provide less supervision, and engage in more conflict with their children (Amato, 2000) leading to more behavior and psychological problems and less likely to achieve in school for young children. .
A couple of theories that can explain the effect of divorce on children are attachment theory, family systems theory. "Attachment theory is a concept in developmental psychology that concerns the importance of "attachment" in regards to personal development" (McLeod, 2009). It claims that the ability for an individual to form an emotional and physical "attachment" to another person gives a sense of stability and security necessary to take risks, branch out, and develop a personality. After a divorce a child loses a degree of contact with one of their few attachment figures. This leads to poor school performance, low self-esteem, behavior problems, and distress and adjustment difficulties.
Family systems theory views the family as a system of unified individuals, with changes in one or more members having large effects throughout the entire family (Fine, 2009, p.212). In relation to divorce the theory suggests that the family needs to be viewed as a whole because it may be misleading to focus on only certain individuals within the family. One cannot understand how children are affected by divorce without understanding how children are affected by their parents.