Divorce Adjustment

Marital conflict, family separations, divorce, and remarriages, although common in the last 30 years, are difficult and often painful challenges for children. Today, approximately 50% of all first-time marriages end in divorce, and this figure has increased approximately 40% from 10 years ago. At any one time nearly 15% of all families will be divorced and in a given year, 17 out of 1,000 children will face a family divorce. Between 40% and 50% of children will experience a family divorce before age 18 years.

Divorce adjustment occurs when children and adolescents cope relatively well with parental divorce and separation provided that other factors such as a decline in parenting or parental psychopathology do not complicate the process, and provided that children receive some support through ...