In

DesireMoorer
Wellnessfair
Ms.Bistritz

The Imediate and Latent Effects of Divorce on Teenangers

Haveyoueverheardthesaying,Don'tjudgeanyonebecauseyoudon'tknowwhatthat
personmaybegoingthroughathome?Duetodivorce,upto2025%ofthechildrentryto
commitsuicideand24%ofthechildrentakedrugsanddrinkalcohol.Oftenparentstendto
stressnotknowingthatthestressaffectstheirchild.Thechildthendevelopsdepression,which
causeshe/shetoloseinterestinschoolwhichwouldthenreflectnegativelyupontheirgrades.
Parentswhodivorcewhenachildisyoungarelesslikelytoinvesttimeintheirchild's
developmentleadingthechildatriskfordepression,struggleinschoolandthechild'soverall
mentalhealth.

Betweendivorceanddepression,reducededucationalattainment,earlyassumptionsof
highriskbehaviors/earlysexualactivity,nonmaritalchildbirth,earliermarriage,cohabitation,
andincreasedriskforsuicideattempts.AccordingtoVousoura,Thosewithatleastone
depressedparentweredefinedashighriskthosewithoutadepressedparentweredefinedas
lowrisk(Vousoura718725).Theauthorissayingthatinresultofthedivorceifeitherparentis
depressed,itmayhaveanimpactonthechildleadingthechildtoanearlysexlife,andachild

withoutbeingmarried.Psychopathologyinhighriskgrandchildrenwasnotbecauseofparental
divorcebutbecausetheirguardian(grandparentorparent)showedsignsofdepression.
(Vousoura718725).ChildrenwithdepressedGuardianshaveahighriskofdeveloping
psychopathologyinotherwordsdepressionnotduetothedivorcebuttotheimpactthatthe
divorcehadontheadult.Divorcehadasignificanteffectonchildoutcomesonlyamong
highriskgrandchildrenandwithhavingadepressedparentanxietyprogressedwithinthechild.
(Vousoura718725).Thedivorcehadasignificantimpactonthechild'soutcomeandnotonly
didtheresultofdepressionoccurasignificantamountofanxietyoccurredaswell.Studiesshow
thatintheoccurrenceofthedivorcethechildnotonlydevelopeddepressionbutdeveloped
levelsofanxietythatwouldoccurnotintheyearsofadolescencebutintheteenageyears.

Wallersteinandhercoworkers(1987)emphasizedtheimportanceofloverelationships,
workinglife,andyoungadultsownparenthoodisassessinglongtermadversereactions
associatedwiththetimingofparentaldivorce.AccordingtoUlla,Aro,Thestudypopulation
aboutoneparentexperiencedparentaldivorceeveryyear.Inthegroupwhoseparentshad
divorcedbeforeschoolage(female79,male55)themajority80%hadexperienceddivorceat
theage3or6.Inthelatencygroup(females74,males55)thefrequencydistributionwasmore
orlesseventhroughouttheperiod,andintheadolescentgroup(females39,males32)it
declinedwithage.Personsindifferenttimeofdivorcegroupdidnotdifferfromeachotherin
termsofsocioeconomicbackground.Childrenandadolescentsarelesslikelytodevelop
depression,becauseitwassolongagotorememberbutwhenthey'reofagetounderstand(15
years)theyhaveahardertimeandwillmostlikelydevelopdepression(Ulla,Aro681690).

Amongmalesattheageof22,depressionwassignificantlymoreprevalent(24%)amongthese
whohadexperiencedparentaldivorceinlatencyascomparedwiththosewhohadexperiencedit
beforeschoolageorinadolescence.Theprevalenceintwolatergroupswasveryclosetothat
ofmalesfromnondivorcedfamilies(7.8%).Developmentofdepressionwasshownmore
frequentlyby24%withinmale(latency)thatexperienceddivorceatalatertimeinlife,versus
thosethatexperienceditasachild(adolescent)(Ulla,Aro681690).Amongfemales,thetime
ofparentaldivorcewasnotassociatedwiththeprevalenceofdepressioninyoungadulthood.
Depressionwassignificantlymorecommoninallgroupsthanamongfemalesfromnondivorced
families(11.5%)further,heavydrinkingamongmeninthelatencygroupwasfoundtobe
significantlymorecommon(59%vs.49%)inthegroupunderschoolage,and31%inthe
adolescentgroup.Withfemalestheoccurrenceofdepressionwasnotduetothedivorcebut
becauseofotherfactorsintheirlifebutthatdepressionwasfoundtobemorecommoninthe
latencygroupofmenandthatitledtodrinking(Ulla,Aro681690).Depressioncanleadstoall
sortsofthingssuchasdrinkinganddrugs,butwhataffectcouldthecustodysituationhaveonthe
children?

Bergstromclaimsthatwithwhomthechildislivingwithandhowthechildgrowsup
affectstheirmentalhealth.AccordingtoBergstromChildreninjointphysicalcustodyspend
substantialperiodsoftimeineachparent'shomeafteraparentalseparation.Childrenwhose
parentsareseparatedtendtospendcertainamountsoftimewitheachparent(Bergstrom
433439).Inthemid1980sabout2%ofchildrenwithseperatedparentslivedinjointphysical

custodybutby2010thisfigurehadrisentobetween30and40%.Theaveragerateofchildren
livinginphysicaljointcustodyhadrisensincethe1980sbeing2%to3040%in2010
(Bergstrom433439).Studiesonchildren'swellbeingandmentalhealthinrelationtoliving
arrangementsneedtoconsidertheinfluenceofotherfamilycharacteristics.Factorssuchas
parentalconflictoraffluence,beforeandafterseparation,affectchildrenregardlessofliving
arrangements.Regardlessofthelivingarrangementthefamilymembersshouldconsider
everyone'sneedsmainlythechildren,tomakesuretheyarehappy,andthatthepersonthechild
islivingwithrelationshipisstrong(Bergstrom433439).Knowingthatyourchildishappy
shouldbeaparentsnumberonepriority.

Inconclusionchildrencanbecomedepressedfromtheirparentsstress.Childrenof
adolescentdonthaveahardtimedealingwithdivorcebecauseitwaspresentedatatimewhen
thechilddidn'tfullyunderstand.Withwhomthechildislivingwithandtherehappinesswithin
theirlivingenvironmentcouldcausedepressionifthechildandguardianaren'thappy.When
parentsdivorcetherechildislikelytodevelopdepressionduetotheirparentsmaritalstatus.

WORKSCITED

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Palosaari,Ulla,andHilleviAro."EffectOfTimingOfParentalDivorceOnTheVulnerabilityOf
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Vousoura,Eleni,etal."ParentalDivorce,FamilialRiskForDepression,AndPsychopathology
Offspring:AThreeGenerationStudy."
JournalOfChild&FamilyStudies
21.5(2012):
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