The Effects of Divorce on America - Essay Example

There are seven factors identified as the reasons for divorce based on the study done by Mafauzy, director of the faculty of health in Malaysia. According to him the following is the reason for divorce; failure by husbands and wives in discharging their responsibilities, low grounding in religion, interference by third parties, differences in culture, sexual problems, money, and careers. A recent study by the Creighton University Center for Marriage and Family concludes that the biggest obstacle in marriage life is the time, sex, and money. The study found that debt brought into the marriage, the couple's financial situation, balancing job and family, and frequency of sexual relations were of greatest concern to those ages 29 and under.

Effects of Divorce

            The female or male may have their freedom from the marriage but the biggest impact will be on the children of the couple. Each year over 1 million children suffer the divorce of their parents. Those children who witnessed the divorce of their parent before they turn 18 usually carry the effect up to their adulthood and even affect the future generation. Some of the damaging effects include the following:         

• Children whose parents have divorced usually exhibit more health, behavioral, and emotional problems. Some would be involved in crime and drug abuse, others would commit suicide.
• Children of divorced parents are usually having a hard time in their school. They perform more poorly in school and sometimes even involve in dropping out.
• Families with children that were not poor before the divorce see their income drop as much as 50 percent. Almost 50 percent of the parents with children that are going through a divorce move into poverty after the divorce.

• Religious worship, which has been linked to better health, longer marriages, and better family life, drops after the parent's divorce.

Conclusion

            Institutions, governments, and every individual should be aware of the effects of divorce on children. The people or couple should understand the core principles of marriage before getting into it. That principle is that marriage is the best environment in which to raise healthy, happy children who can achieve their potential and that the family is the most important institution for social well-being. If the family is the building block of society, then marriage is the foundation of the family. If this foundation is growing weaker, then society will not be as strong as it used to be.