The Impact of Parental Separation and Divorce on the Health Status of Children, and the Ways to Improve it

Abstract

The divorce rate rose steadily in recent years, becoming a significant social problem. Many studies showed that the divorce has negative impact on children, but there are many different interpretations of the consequences of this situation on children's lives.There is no doubt that children are being affected by the sudden change in their familial environment as well as by additional influences that accompany the divorce process. It is well recognized that the divorce process affects the mental state of the children, including development of behavioral problems, negative self-concept, social problems, and difficulties in relationships with the parents. Among these children there is a higher frequency of depression, violence, learning and social deterioration, and high risk for suicidal attempts. Research in recent years had shown that the divorce process apparently affects also the state of physical illness in children.Based on clinical and empirical studies in recent years, for most children, the traditional visiting arrangements are out of date, unnecessarily restrictive, and do not meet the interests of the children themselves. There are many advantages for children in separation and divorce situations when the children's living arrangements allow the caring fathers to be actively involved in the life of their children, when there are broad visiting arrangements or even shared custody arrangements.In these situations, there is a significant reduction in the negative aspects of the divorce process and there is an objectively beneficial effect on children's adjustment, which is also reflected from the experience of the children themselves.We describe the situation in Israel and recommend the appropriate management in these cases according to our experience and recently studies.

Latent profile analysis of anxiety disorder among left-behind children in rural Southern China: a cross-sectional study

“…Similarly, some studies found that parent’s divorce was not the decisive factor affecting the psychological development of children and adolescents 44. However, other studies showed that parent’s divorce affected the child’s mental state, leading to higher frequency of depression, violence, social problems and high risk for suicidal attempts 45. Direct comparisons cannot be made among these studies because they did not use the same sampling strategy or have all the same measures.…”

Effect of Spiritual-Religious Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, and Adjustment to Parental Divorce in Female High School Students

“…t is a common belief that marital life is a lifelong commitment; however, divorce challenges this belief and destroys marriages and subsequently families. In fact, the rate of divorce is rising and this can be very destructive (1). The divorce rate in Iran is very unfavorable, with 99852 divorces in 2007 and 174578 divorces in 2017 (2).…”

Custodia compartida, corresponsabilidad parental y justicia terapéutica como nuevo paradigma

“…Aunque la mayoría de los estudios descubren que la separación/divorcio tiene impacto negativo en los hijos, se cuestionan sus resultados y la interpretación de los mismos, especialmente el tamaño del efecto y si la afectación negativa está causada por la separación/divorcio o es consecuencia del proceso; además también se plantea que no siempre es negativa para ellos la ruptura de pareja, pudiendo ser hasta positiva (Haimi y Lerner, 2016). Por tanto, urge matizar que la separación y el divorcio de los progenitores no conlleva indefectiblemente daños en los hijos; por el contrario, cabe la posibilidad de que pueda ser una oportunidad de mejorar sus vidas.…”