THE EFFECTS OF DIVORCE ON FAMILIES

Both in history and in the current generation, families are the basic units that provide security, warmth, and a sense of belonging to every individual. However, in our epoch, divorces have been on the rise and have even been made easier with time unlike traditionally where it was a big deal in the social realm. It is because of the perceptions held by some individuals that a divorce offers a solution to a broken or strained relationship. There are parents and individuals assume that if parents are unhappy in a marriage, then the children are unhappy as well and hence if they find happiness in a divorce then the children will find the happiness in it as well. It is a simple assumption since the majority of the children expect that their parents work their way out of any conflicts and remain together. Moreover, the divorce process may lead to adverse effects on the parents as well and leaves wounds scars the social relationships of such divorced individuals. Every individual involved in a divorce suffers more than they achieve because the majority of the divorces are characterized by confrontations, humiliations, misunderstandings and even scandals. However, some divorces may lead to some positive effects where there is relief from issues such as violence and emotional abuse and is, therefore, the better option, but such cases are rare. Therefore, the effects of divorce on the family are more likely to be negative and destructive than they are positive.

Children are the deep-seated victims of the effects that come with a divorce. In some instances, the children are both the causes and the victims of a divorce within the family. They may cause a divorce when parents do not agree with the way to parent children, or they do not agree with the choices made by such children. Homosexuality is a major issue of contention in the contemporary society. Some parents do not agree with their parents when they find out theta they are Gay or Lesbian, and this may cause conflicts between the parent that supports the child and the one that does not and wants to change them.  Whether the children have contributed to a divorce or not, may have a sense of guilt and blame themselves. Such guilt is manifested through deviant behaviors such as drug abuse and even suicide attempts in some cases to draw the attention of the parents. Such children may also have difficulty forming relationships and may be violent in later life especially of the divorce was characterized by violence.

The spouses in a family set up are the second group adversely affected by both the causes and the effects of the divorce. A divorce is usually caused by tension, emotional violence, and distancing, at times physical abuse and animosity against one another. It is such behaviors that lead to a divorce and the same behaviors, or characteristics are mostly present even during the divorce period. Such actions result in emotional, physical, and social problems to the individual, which may lead to deviant behaviors to cope such as alcoholism and drug abuse and other lifestyle behaviors that are not appellate. The divorce period is characterized by panic, depression, insomnia, anger, and fears among the spouses that may lead to other social effects that may affect their performance at work and lead to strained social relationships.

Divorce also leads to social-economic consequences to the family. The divorce process is expensive and tiring with some individuals in society perceiving those that divorce as having failed in the social institution. Divorced families may no longer fit in the social groups that they formerly did, and such parents and children may find it hard to relate to their peers as before. Moreover, the spouses left with the children to take care of them are now single parents and, therefore, may be economically difficult for them as it was the case when they remained together as a family. Moreover, some divorces lead to the court allocating a high sum of money for child support on one spouse leading to economic constraints on such an individual.

A divorce leads to social, economic, emotional and psychological adverse effects on all members f the family. It leads to more detriments on both the parents and the children before, during, and after its conclusion. It is because, a family is an institution that provides social, economic, emotional, and physical security if it remains together but the instability brought about by a divorce leads to serious adverse effects.