The Effects of Divorce on Children
Regina L. Vogt
Indiana University Southeast

Abstract
Given the high divorce rate in America, nearly half of all marriages, many children are faced with the stress of their parents divorcing. One would think this would create both short and long term effects on the children involved. However, this may not be the case. To test the researcher, Gina’shypothesis, that there are no long term effects and that the short term effects are more prominent in those whose parents’ divorce once they are older, she created an online survey. This survey was completed by 18 respondents which dispelled her hypothesis that there are more short term effects and very few suffer any long term effects of divorce. Although few respondents answered yes to the short term problem of regression, many respondents answered yes to having suffered with the short term problems in their grades/attendance and long term problems in their relationships/marriage.

The Effects of Divorce on Children
These days marriages seem almost disposable. If one isn’t happy, divorce can be as easy as expending out a bit of cash, signing some papers andthe marriage is over! Divorce rates have been on the rise since the 1960s when 90% of American children lived with both their biological parents, now that percent has dropped to approximately 40% (Divorce, 2001). In fact, in 2011, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported a marriage rate of 6.8 per 1,000 total population and a divorce rate of just about half that at 3.6 per 1,000 total population (Marriage, 2013). When children are involved,the stakes become higher and ultimately they are the ones who suffer. The researcher questioned whether suffering effected children long term with relationships and/or short term with regression or grades and attendance. She also wanted to know if the age of the child at the time of the divorce made a difference on the outcome. Her hypothesis is that children do suffer, but adjust well in the long term, especially if they are very young at the time of the divorce.
Background
The object of inquiry, the movie Little Miss Sunshine, portrayed a teenager, Dwayne, who had witnessed his parents going through divorce, and was being raised by his mother and step-father. This topic sparked the researcher’s interest because shewas also child of divorce. To this day she remembersthe day her mom made her dad leave, she was only 5 years old and was totally devastated. Looking back now she doesn’t feel there were any long term negative effects because of their divorce. If anything, it made her realize that she never wanted her children to go through what she did as a child.

Research
Over the years extensive research has been conducted on the behavior of children whose parents divorced compared to those whose families were intact. The overall results shows that children from divorced families were on “average” somewhat worse off than children who had intact families (Hughes, 2005). Research also showed that children adjusted to the divorce according to their age at the time of the marital separation.
During infancy, children are learning to trust and form relationships with the people who take care of them. If divorce occurs during this stage of life an infant may become more irritable or fussy. Toddlers, who live in the present, may be also be fussy and have trouble sleeping and/or throw temper tantrums. Preschool and early elementary children may be sad and have nightmares, and often times blame themselves for the divorce (Children’s, 2013). Adolescents are now old enough to fully understand what is going on and are likely to swear they will never marry for fear of it failing, as their parents’ marriage did. Taking sides is common for this age group. They may perceive one parent as being the “good” parent, while the other as the “bad”. Adolescents may also try to fill the role of the missing parent (Borden, 2014).
Overall, the younger children seem to make the adjustment better and to not be burdened by the memories of conflict. Studies have shown that after 10 years, the younger children seem to have overcome their earlier difficulties. Older children tend to remain profoundly moved by the vivid memories of suffering (Blakeslee, 1984). This is not to say that divorce should be taken lightly for a child of any age. It is a trauma that the child goes through and parental support is greatly needed by both parents.

Methods
To test the researcher’s hypothesis, she conducted a confidential online survey where she questioned adults of various ages who had experienced their parents’ divorcing as a child. Using this type of survey allowed one to answer confidentially, in the privacy of their own home, without judgment. This survey was produced on esurveyspro.com, consisted of 7 questions, and was posted on two different websites. One was Facebook, where over 1,000 people had the opportunity to complete, and the other was Oncourse, where it was offered to approximately 10 students and 1 instructor. There were a total of 18 respondents whose age at the time of divorce ranged from 4 to 19 years of age, with the median age being 9 (Appendix).
Questions
She began by asking at what age they were when their parents divorced. Followed by questions pertaining to how they felt the divorce effected them both short term, with losing trust in their parents, regression, grades/attendance in school, and depression. And long term effects that may have influenced their relationships or marriage as adults.
Results
Although there was a wide range of results, for the most part, the results did not match the research that had previously been done or the researcher’s hypothesis. The results for the short term effects were mixed, depending on the type of effect in question. Regression proved to be a less reported effect opposed to grades/attendance where over half reported negative changes in this area. Whereas the topic of relationships/marriage, wasan issue where long term effects were reported in the majority of respondents.

Regression
When it came to regression, a short term effect, the majority of the respondents, 89%, stated they did not have any regression to an earlier stage of life once their parents divorced. Examples she used to describe the regression was bedwetting, thumb sucking, and needing a bottle again. Only 2 respondents answered yes, one leaving a comment that the regression was the need for a nightlight again.
Grades/Attendance
When it came to grades and/or attendance, the results were close. 59% reported that 2 of the respondents reported they were not in school at the time their parents divorced yet their ages were 11 and 8. It appeared that ages 8 and older seem to report more of an issue with the attendance, and in return their grades, than the younger students did. This confirms the research talked about earlier where the adolescents seem to be more negatively affected.
Relationships/Marriage
In response to the question asked whetherthe divorce caused any long term problems withtheir relationships or marriage, 78% reported that it did in fact cause problems. Comments made were that there were trust issues and feeling like there was no reason to get married when divorce was inevitable. When comparing the results to the ages at the time of divorce, the younger the child, the less effected they were long term. According to my survey, those age 6 and under at the time their parents divorced seemed to feel that the divorce did not affect them in a negative way. Two individuals even reported that the divorce effected them in a positive way.
Analysis
Regression, a short term effect, proved to rarely be an issue with children of divorce. Research has shown that some children do have some regression but according to the survey it is minimal. When it came to grades and attendance, the survey confirmed that this was an area of problems. More adults reported having had problems with their grades and/or attendance once their parents divorced that not. Another area with a high percent of reporting participants was with relationships/marriage. This was the one long term effect of parental divorce that respondents reported.
Discussion
The research she conducted proved my hypothesis to be incorrect. While she realized all children, no matter what their age is, suffered if their parents divorced, she didn’t realize how the age didn’t play as big of a role as she anticipated. For the most part, the majority of her respondents felt a long term negative effect from their parents divorcing. She had anticipated that over time, especially those under age 5 or 6, would not have any relationship/marriage issues simply because they were so young at the time the divorce took place.
Although this research was done to the best of my ability during a limited time frame, there could have been differing results had I had more respondents. She was disappointed with the low number of survey participants. She also feel that having a little more in-depth explanation to some of the simple yes/no answers would have given her a better background and understanding of each individual scenario.

References
Blakeslee, S. (1984, April 10). Major study assesses the children of divorce. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/10/science/major-study-assesses-the-children-of-divorce.
Borden, L. (2014). Adolescents and divorce. Retrieved from: http://divorceinfo.com/aboutdivorceinfo.htm.
Children’s reactions to divorce – ages and stages. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.extension.purdue.edu/providerparent.
Divorce and children. (2001, September). Retrieved from: http://www.aboutourkids.org/files/articles/Sept_Oct_1.pdf.
Hughes, R. (2005). Retrieved from: http://parenting247.org/article.cfm?ContentID=646.
Marriage and divorce. (2013, November 13). Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm.

Appendix eSurveysPro.com Survey 1. At what age were you when your parents divorced?
9, 13, 9, 19, 7, 11, 5, 6, 11, 4, 8, 12, 8, 4, 12, 6, 15, 10 2. Do you feel it effected the trust you had in your parents?
Yes 50%
No 50% 3. Did you regress to an earlier dependency time in your life? (ie. bedwetting, sucking thumb, bottle, etc.)
Yes 11%
No 89% 4. Were there any changes in your grades/attendance at school?
Yes 59%
No 40%
N/A 1% 5. Did you experience any type of depression?
Yes 61%
No 39% 6. Do you feel the divorce caused any long term problems with relationships you have/had or effected your outlook on marriage?
Yes 78%
No 22%
There were a total of 18 respondents who participated in the survey that was created.