Editing Divorce (section)

====Psychological====
Divorce is associated with diminished psychological well-being in children and adult offspring of divorced parents, including greater unhappiness, less satisfaction with life, weaker sense of personal control, anxiety, depression, and greater use of [[mental health]] services. A preponderance of evidence indicates that there is a causal effect between divorce and these outcomes.<ref name="Amato">{{cite journal |last1=P. R. |first1=Amato |last2=Sobolewski |first2=J. M. |year=2001 |title=The effects of divorce and marital discord on adult children's psychological well-being |journal=[[American Sociological Review]] |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=900–921 |jstor=3088878 |doi=10.2307/3088878 |url=http://grammar.ucsd.edu/courses/hdp1/Readings/Amato-Sobolewski-2001.pdf |access-date=9 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117075714/http://grammar.ucsd.edu/courses/hdp1/Readings/Amato-Sobolewski-2001.pdf |archive-date=17 November 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A study in [[Sweden]] led by the Centre for Health Equity Studies (Chess) at Stockholm University/Karolinska Institutet, is published in the ''Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health'' found that children living with just one parent after divorce suffer from more problems such as headaches, stomach aches, feelings of tension and sadness than those whose parents share custody.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kids living with 1 divorced parent 'fall ill more'|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/kids-living-with-1-divorced-parent-fall-ill-more-1-3756165#axzz3qby7gbRm |website=The Scotsman |access-date=2015-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814191956/http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/kids-living-with-1-divorced-parent-fall-ill-more-1-3756165#axzz3qby7gbRm|archive-date=2015-08-14|url-status=live}}</ref>

Children of divorced parents are also more likely to experience conflict in their own marriages, and are more likely to experience divorce themselves. They are also more likely to be involved in short-term cohabiting relationships, which often dissolve before marriage.<ref name="Amato"/> There are many studies that show proof of an intergenerational transmission of divorce, but this does not mean that having divorced parents will absolutely lead a child to divorce. There are two key factors that make this transmission of divorce more likely. First, inherited biological tendencies or genetic conditions may predispose a child to divorce as well as the "model of marriage" presented by the child's parents.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cultural Sociology of Divorce; An Encyclopedia|last=Emery|first=Robert|publisher=Sage Reference|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4129-9958-8|pages=30–31}}</ref>

According to [[Nicholas Wall (judge)|Nicholas Wall]], former [[President of the Family Division]] of the [[High Court of Justice|English High Court]], "People think that post-separation parenting is easy&nbsp;– in fact, it is exceedingly difficult, and as a rule of thumb my experience is that the more intelligent the parent, the more intractable the dispute. There is nothing worse, for most children, than for their parents to denigrate each other. Parents simply do not realize the damage they do to their children by the battles they wage over them. Separating parents rarely behave reasonably, although they always believe that they are doing so, and that the other party is behaving unreasonably."<ref>{{cite news|publisher=[[BBC News]]|title=Divorcing parents can 'damage' children, says judge|date=21 September 2010|last=Sellgren|first=Katherine|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11380470|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518131541/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11380470|archive-date=18 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Children involved in high-conflict divorce or custody cases can experience varying forms of psychological distress due to conflict between their parents.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nichols |first1=Allison M. |title=Toward a Child-Centered Approach to Evaluating Claims of Alienation in High-Conflict Custody Disputes |journal=University of Michigan Law Review |date=February 2014 |volume=112 |issue=4 |pages=663–688 |pmid=24446573 |url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol112/iss4/4/ |access-date=24 October 2019 |archive-date=24 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024183749/https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol112/iss4/4/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Legal professionals recognize that alienating behaviors are common in child custody cases, but are cautious about accepting the concept of [[parental alienation]].<ref name=Bow2009>{{cite journal |last1=Bow |first1=James N. |last2=Gould |first2=Jonathan W. |last3=Flens |first3=James R. |title=Examining Parental Alienation in Child Custody Cases: A Survey of Mental Health and Legal Professionals |journal=The American Journal of Family Therapy |date=9 March 2009 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=127–145 |doi=10.1080/01926180801960658|s2cid=45543509 }}</ref>

Research shows that children can be affected 2–4 years before the separation or divorce even occurs. This can be due to parental conflict and anticipation of a divorce, and decreased parental contact. Many couples believe that by separating, or becoming legally divorced that they are helping their children, and in situations of extreme parental conflict or abuse it most likely will be beneficial.<ref name="Children 2014">{{cite journal |last1=Arkes |first1=Jeremy |year=2014 |title=The Temporal Effects of Divorces and Separations on Children's Academic Achievement and Problem behavior |journal=Journal of Divorce and Remarriage |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=25–42 |doi=10.1080/10502556.2014.972204 |pmc=4286357 |pmid=25580066}}</ref>

Exposure to marital conflict and instability, most often has negative consequences for children. Several mechanisms are likely to be responsible. First, observing overt conflict between parents is a direct stressor for children.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dennison|first1=R. P.|last2=Koerner|first2=S. S.|title=Post-divorce interparental conflict and adolescents' attitudes about marriage: The influence of maternal disclosures and adolescent gender|journal=Journal of Divorce & Remarriage|date=2006|volume=45|issue=1–2|pages=31–49|doi=10.1300/j087v45n01_02|s2cid=146436339}}</ref> Observational studies reveal that children react to inter-parental conflict with fear, anger, or the inhibition of normal behavior. Preschool children&nbsp;– who tend to be egocentric&nbsp;– may blame themselves for marital conflict, resulting in feelings of guilt and lowered self-esteem. Conflict between parents also tends to spill over and negatively affect the quality of parents' interactions with their children. Researchers found that the associations between marital conflict and children's externalizing and internalizing problems were largely mediated by parents' use of harsh punishment and parent–child conflict. Furthermore, modeling verbal or physical aggression, parents "teach" their children that disagreements are resolved through conflict rather than calm discussion. As a result, children may not learn the social skills (such as the ability to negotiate and reach compromises) that are necessary to form mutually rewarding relationships with peers.<ref>Amato, Paul R., Jacob E. Cheadle. "Parental Divorce, Marital Conflict and Children's Behavior Problems: A Comparison of Adopted and Biological Children". ''Divorce, Conflict and Child Behavior Problem'' 86.3 (2008): 1140–1161. Business Source Premier. Web. 23 November 2013</ref>

Girls and boys deal with divorce differently. For instance, girls who initially show signs of adapting well, later suffer from anxiety in romantic relationships with men. Studies also showed that girls who were separated from their fathers at a younger age tended to be angrier toward the situation as they aged. Anger and sadness were also observed as common feelings in adolescents who had experienced parental divorce.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rappaport |first1=Sol R |year=2013 |title=Deconstructing the Impact of Divorce on Children |journal=Family Law Quarterly |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=353–77 }}</ref>