Divorce does not only have an adverse effect on husband and wife partners, but also children. Separation of the two parents is considered to have negative consequences for the mental and physical health of the child. To find out more about the consequences of divorce on children, here is an explanation that you can follow.
1. The risk of mental problems
Regardless of age and gender, children who are victims of parental divorce have a high risk of experiencing mental problems. Some children of divorce victims are indeed able to make adjustments and can recover a few months later. However, not a few also face mental pressure and anxiety problems.
2. Externalization attitude
The consequences of divorce on children can lead to an attitude of externalization. Compared to children with intact families, children who are victims of divorce are very vulnerable to externalizing attitudes or attitude problems that are intended for external areas.
Some examples of externalizing attitudes are:
- Conduct disorder, is an attitude disorder characterized by deviation from social norms and deprivation of other people’s rights
- Delinquency, is delinquency that is attempted by young people under the age
- Impulsive attitude, is doing something without thinking.
- Consequences of divorce for naughty children
- Children are vulnerable to being stubborn because their parents are divorced
- Not only that, parental divorce places children at risk of conflict with other children of their age.
3. Risky attitude
Not only are they prone to bad behavior towards their external areas, children who are victims of divorce are also at risk for risky actions that threaten their health. Some of these risky attitudes may be:
- Execute drug abuse
- Having sex at an early age
- Smoke
- Consuming alcohol prematurely.
For experts, a child whose mother and father decide to separate when he is 5 years old or less, is at risk of becoming sexually active before reaching the age of 16. Not only that, children who are separated from their fathers also have the potential to have multiple sex partners throughout their youth.
4. Depreciation of achievement at school
Depreciation of achievement at school is thought to be due to divorce for children. For experts, children who experience divorce from their mothers and fathers, which are reported immediately, have problems with academic achievement at school.
If the child predicts that his mother and father will separate, maybe the result may not be as bad as the initial problem. The impact of divorce on children’s learning definitely needs to be looked at in order to protect their academic grades at school.
5. Feeling guilty
The result of divorce on the next child is a feeling of guilt. The feelings of a child whose mother and father are separated can indeed falter. Quoted from Family Means, children can feel guilty when their mothers and fathers are separated.
Because, children can think that they are the culprits behind the divorce of their mothers and fathers. The pressure of this feeling of guilt can invite mental stress, stress, and other health problems.
6. Health problems
It is not only the mental health of children that is affected by divorce, but also their physical health. Children of divorce victims are thought to be more at risk of suffering from illness due to several factors, one of which is difficulty sleeping at night. Lack of sleep can invite a number of health problems, ranging from excess body weight gain to a weakened immune system.
7. Feeling insecure stuck in the middle
When parents fight, children can experience cognitive dissonance and conflicting loyalties. This makes them feel stuck in the middle and don’t know whether to side with you or a partner. Children may display discomfort by having stomachaches or headaches more frequently. This situation can also affect its development. Loyalty conflicts become more prominent with age. In conclusion, this could lead to a complete severing of ties with either parent.
8. Withdrawing from social areas
Children can withdraw from the social area due to parental divorce. Your little one may no longer be excited to meet friends or attend school activities. The effects of divorce on children are intertwined because there are many feelings that they feel within themselves, causing fear and embarrassment to socialize.
9. At risk of facing divorce in the future
According to various studies reviewed in the daily Population and Development Review, the consequences of separating parents for children are thought to make them face the same problem in the future.
The reason is that the separation of the two mothers and fathers can change the child’s behavior towards bonding. They may become less interested in having a committed long-term relationship as they get older.
10. Uncontrolled anger
There are several psychological consequences of divorce for children, one of which can make children easily angry. In some cases, the child’s emotions spiral out of control when the mother and father separate. This has the potential to make anger inside the child burn.
This anger can be expressed at both mothers and fathers, themselves, friends, or other people. Not only that, the consequences of divorce for children are also considered to be able to make the little one cheap easily.
11. Hard to adapt
As a result of separating parents for children can also make children difficult to adjust. When both parents separate, maybe the child can be faced with a new atmosphere, family, area or parents. This situation can require children to adapt quickly.
Not to mention if the child has to move to a new school because he comes with his stepparents. This situation can require children to adjust to new friends and places that are still unfamiliar to them.