How deeply can divorce affect a child? This is a question many have asked, but the conclusion is rather split. While most studies show that a number of children involved in a divorce usually recover after the second year, it is still only a small percent that does so. For most, it stays with them for the rest of their lives, affecting their futures. Even with moving on and functioning in society, there are still underlying problems later on. And although many child psychologists and various articles would argue against this, the fact remains that a child of divorce is affected greatly and must be given the proper amount of study, with professionals looking into the long-term effects of their self-esteem, their future relationships, and the number of other psychological problems they can develop later in life, instead of focusing on the ones that adjust easily.
On the other side of the argument, a lot of children do adjust well to their parents splitting. While at first it might be difficult for them to understand, or grasp, they eventually go with it and can function properly. Most experience short-term negative effects from divorce, especially anxiety, anger, shock and disbelief. These reactions typically diminish or disappear by the end of the second year. The effects of conflict before the separation, however, may be the reverse in some cases. In a 1985 study E. Mavis Hetherington and her associates from the Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry reported that some children who are exposed to high levels of marital discord prior to divorce adjust better than children who experience low levels. Apparently when marital conflict is muted, children are often unprepared when told about the upcoming divorce. They are surprised, perhaps even terrified, by the news. In addition, children from high-discord families may experience the divorce as a welcome relief from their parents' fighting.
But now we move on to the ones that are affected by the...