by Cathleene Filmore

Created on: November 15, 2008   Last Updated: December 29, 2008

The Statistics of Divorce and Ways to Minimize the Statistics

According to statistics gathered by Dr. Robert Hughes, while at an all time high in the United States divorce is slowly declining. During the 1950's, when divorce was at the lowest in American history, five in every 1000 women obtained a divorce. In 1978, when divorce reached a peak, 23 in every 1000 women obtained a divorce. Today for every 1000 women 20 will obtain a divorce.

We could further minimize divorce in the United States by requiring counseling before a divorce petition is granted. We do have a Covenant Marriage available in Arizona but it is not required. A Covenant Marriage is more binding than a normal Marriage in that it requires premarital counseling, a waiting period before the wedding and an agreement to attend counsel before divorce. No matter what the statistics and solutions the fact remains that when there is a divorce the children are the casualty.

How Divorce Effects Children

According to Dr. Hughes, children who sustain a divorce are likely to have academic problems in school and are more aggressive. These children may have low self-esteem, depression, and have trouble making friends. Some research suggests that boys have a more difficult time than girls. According to the researchers at Perdue, every child becomes angry at some point during the turmoil of a divorce.

Dr. Hughes broke the problems down by age groups. Hughes suggested that children age 3-5 years old are likely to react to the divorce with fear and immature behavior. These children may regress in behaviors such as potty training and sleeping with security blankets. Children who are pre-school age will have more anxiety, depression, anger and apathy. These children may prefer to play alone and seek out more adult attention. Children 6-8 years old try to understand the situation. These children grieve the divorce and feel torn between the two parents. Like the 6-8 year olds, children 9-12 years old try to understand the situation and also try to control their feelings. This age group feels the most intense anger. Finally, Adolescent children feel resentment, as the divorce seems to make them feel rushed into adulthood.

Dealing and Coping with Divorce

According to researchers at Perdue University in Indiana, divorce does not always have to be traumatic and painful for children. These researchers have identified seven areas that determine how a child will deal with a divorce. They are level of conflict between parents,

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