1. Effects of Divorce on Children Differentiating effects on
different age groups
By Belen Acosta

2. Divorce Effects Behavioral problems Emotional stability Health
Academic struggles

3. Early years after parents’ divorce
Fear of abandonment
Grief over loss
Anxiety
Sadness and anger
Worried about parents
Irrational hope of reconciliation
Uncertainty about romantic relationships

5. MOST INTENSE REACTION TO PARENTS’ SEPARATION
Infants and Preschool (0-5)
How can an infant be affected from a divorce?
ENVIRONMENT
Infants are helpless, they thrive off their environment
They grow strong reactions off the emotions around them
Ex; infants’ behavior may be inconsistent, less affectionate and less positive
Preschool years
Confusion
Do not understand what divorce or separation mean
Fear
Frightened when parent leaves
Afraid of being left alone and abandoned
Feelings of loss and rejection
MOST INTENSE REACTION TO PARENTS’ SEPARATION

6. Example
If their father has left, who is to say their mother won’t stop loving them and leave them too?
They are afraid of who they will be with if both parents leave them.

7. School Age (6-11) Ages 6-8 More anxious and depressed Grieving openly
Anger and sadness
Blame on parent for divorce and other for lashing out
School Age (6-11)
Anxiety
Often feel very anxious
Powerless
Having no control over the situation you want to fix
Upset
Although this age group understands, they can be just as shocked and frightened

8. Child’s Perspective

9. Young Adults
Fears:
Worried about parents being together for graduations or weddings
Question whether they are truly loved
Believe they may repeat their parents’ problems.

10. Adolescence (12-18) Ages 12-14 Overreact with anguish and and anxiety
Ashamed, embarrassed, and more self-conscious
Ages 15-18
More mature and may not see separation to be as devastating
Trouble
Get lower grades, give up academically
Drug and alcohol use may increase
Adolescence (12-18)
Greater awareness and understanding of parents’ problems
Still experience same sadness, fear, and sorrow
Less likely to blame themselves for the separation

11. Example
“Children from divorced families were at least twice as likely as those from intact families to have academic difficulties; they got more D’s and F’s, and had trouble keeping up with their classes…” (Clarke- Stewart)

12. How large are divorce effects?
Nearly half the children born in the U.S. experience their parents divorcing before they reach 18.
Partly due to stress and disruption, studies find children from a divorced home experience more mental and physical problems.
Adult children of divorce are twice as likely to experience relationship dissolution and divorce. (Emery, Robert)

13. Work Cited
Clarke-Stewart, Alison and Cornelia Brentano. Divorce : Causes and Consequences. Yale
University Press, Current Perspectives in Psychology. EBSCOhost, chaffey.idm.oclc.org/login?url=
Masci, David. "Children and Divorce." CQ Researcher 19 Jan. 2001:
Monica Epperson. “Dear Mom & Dad”. The Child of Divorce, Inc. 20 April
Amato, Paul R., and Christopher J. Anthony. "Estimating the effects of parental divorce and death with fixed effects models." Journal of
Marriage and Family 76.2 (2014):
Emery, Robert E. Cultural Sociology of Divorce : An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications, Inc, EBSCOhost,
chaffey.idm.oclc.org/login?url=

14. Slide 2
Slide 11
Slide 4