We as a society and culture make a lot of noise about the effects divorce can have on kids. Whenever a couple with children divorces, the kids (often rightly so) become the focal point of the divorce. Who gets primary custody? How is visitation arranged? Who is the more deserving parent, who will do a better job as the primary caregiver? Colorado divorce attorneys spend a great deal of time hashing out child custody and visitation agreements.
There’s one aspect about this process to which perhaps we don’t pay enough attention: how is this divorce going to affect the perceptions of the children as they become young adults and enter into their own intimate relationships? Could perhaps the rate of divorce in the U.S. have this as a contributing factor?
There’s a great deal of scientific data being compiled these days on the effects divorce has on children, as our society attempts to divine why divorce seems so common in the U.S. as opposed to other countries, and as this research comes to light, some things seem clear.
Not only does the divorce of parents directly affect the chances of children to go through their own divorce later on (or even to remain unmarried), it appears that—particularly amongst young women—that the children’s relationship with their parents is also adversely affected by the process and aftermath of divorce proceedings.
Still, we have to ponder what is worse—for children to struggle through the process of divorce, or to have to watch their parents in a loveless marriage day after day, going through the motions and pretense of marriage when the spirit of partnership and love that sparked the union has died? Nobody seems to be collecting data on this end of the spectrum.
