Negative Consequences of Divorce on Children.
I have very rarely talked to a peer and heard them say that they wanted their parents to get a divorce. According to University of Michigan child psychologist Nick Kalter, "For kids, the misery in an unhappy marriage is less significant than the changes of divorce. They"d rather their parents keep fighting and not get divorced," (Zinsmeister, 1997) . Despite this many of my friend's parents have gotten a divorce. My parents are happily married but when I saw my friend's parents getting divorces, I always feared that mine might end up the same way. I want to explore what emotions a child feels when they learn their parents are getting a divorce, and what can be done to make this a less damaging experience. I would also like to find out what can be done to lower the divorce rate in the United States.
My friends never liked to talk much about their parents getting divorced but I always wondered what they were going through and how I could help. Fagan and Rector state that, "Divorce wreaks havoc with children's psychological stability. When their families break up, they experience reactions ranging from anger, fear, and sadness to yearning, worry, rejection, conflicting loyalties, lowered self-confidence, heightened anxiety and loneliness, depression, suicidal thoughts, and even suicide attempts." (Fagan and Rector, 2000). When I asked some of my friends who have been involved in a divorce, most reported that they had experienced some of these emotions. My friends told me that they experience some of these emotions to varying degrees. One of my friends told me that his parents got a divorce because his dad cheated on his mom. He said that he felt very confused about the situation. He felt anger against his dad for cheating, but he still loved him. He said he always worried about his mom because he saw the pain she was going through.
