Children Affected by Divorce
Statistics Show Alarming Trends

During a divorce it is difficult to think about anything but your own hurt feelings and shattered life. However, recent studies have showed alarming trends about children affected by divorce. These children and divorce statistics show that kids of divorce are more susceptible to abusive and addictive behaviors than kids who come from an intact traditional family are.

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In a study presented by Jennifer Manlove, PhD, Kristin Moore, PhD, and Janet Liechty, MSW, statistics showed that children affected by divorce were more likely to have sex with older partners at younger ages then kids that came from a traditional home were. This study does not mean that if you get a divorce that your daughter will definitely become a teenage mother. What it does suggest is that early sexual promiscuity is often linked with home problems. The study showed that the more types of problems that a home had, the more affected the child would be and the more likely they would be to develop sexual issues. The silver lining of this realization is that you can reduce the chances that your children will fall victim to these types of problems by simply establishing a household that is stable, that provides consistency and that is supportive and nurturing.

Other studies have suggested that children affected by divorce are more prone to early adulthood problems. Sons are especially vulnerable to adulthood problems when they are raised in a single parent household. Boys who have been raised in single parent households have a much higher chance of committing a crime, committing suicide and being hospitalized because of an injury then boys raised in a traditional household are. Girls who have been raised in a single parent household have a higher likelihood of becoming pregnant at an early age, of having more children and for having an abortion. While these findings are disturbing and troubling for single parents, they aren’t written in stone for your kids. You can combat the causes of these problems by focusing on the emotional and developmental needs of your kids. If there is not another parent to help you raise your kids you can make up for the missing parent by creating a home life that is supportive, that has boundaries and that offers them plenty of good role models. This may mean that you will need to change the people you hang around with and it may mean that you will need to change your own behaviors.

In addition to being more likely to develop high risk behaviors, children affected by divorce are also more likely to disown the religious beliefs that they grew up with. The results of this study don’t link single family homes with atheism, in fact in many cases adults who grew up in single family homes tend to search for religions with stricter belief systems. What this demonstrates is that some single parent homes aren’t providing kids with the guidance, boundaries and support that they need. This is why they are searching for these things when they become adults. Again you can help to fill this need at home by providing your children with the guidance and support that they long for.