What Effects Does the High Divorce Rate Have on Society as a Whole

The rapid rise in divorce rates has rung alarm bells all around. Lawmakers as well as well social experts are alarmed and concerned about the fast increase in divorce rates.

Not many people think twice before seeking divorce these days; even trivial marital issues that can be sorted out if both the partners sit down and talk to each other are resolved only by means of divorce. After all, it takes time and energy to sort out trivial or major marital problems while it is so much easier to obtain a divorce. The changing family values and typology are bound to have an adverse effect on the society as a whole in the coming future.

Long Term Effects of a High Divorce Rate on Society As a Whole

The long-term social effects of divorce are bound to change the society, as we know it. We should ideally leave behind a safer and better society as a legacy for our children of tomorrow. However, what we are actually leaving behind is a society that is badly scarred with the brutal after-effects of high divorce rates. We will explore some of the long-term effects of high divorce rates in the following section.

• More Single-Parent Households

There has been a rapid increase in single-parent households due to the high divorce rates. Recent studies have proved that children who grow up in single-parent households tend to have more psychological and physical problems than children who grow up with both the parents in a normal household.

Children have impressionable minds and need both their parents in order to develop into mature and normal adults. Absence of any parent due to divorce can create a permanent scar on the minds of innocent children.

According to recent research, even though death also results in a loss of a parent as does divorce, children are able to deal with it in a far better manner than divorce because they are able to understand that phenomenon. However, with divorce, children just cannot figure out what went wrong and keep guessing whether or not their lost parent will ever come back. This distorts their perception about relationships. Therefore, children of divorce are more likely to divorce when they get married.

• More Crime, Teenage Pregnancy

This is a direct effect of a single-parent household. Young girls as well as boys need both the parents in order to mature into healthy individuals. When young girls are brought up in a household that is devoid of a father, they are likely to form their own perceptions of men since there is no father figure around.

In such cases, if the mother portrays a bitter attitude towards men in general, the young girl is more likely to be confused about the opposite gender. Such girls are more at risk of teenage pregnancy because men become an unknown territory that they want to explore. In cases where young boys are raised without fathers, they are more likely to become delinquents.

Growing up without a mother also has a set of negative consequences. Whereas young boys growing up without a mother may have trouble expressing their feelings or displaying emotions in general, young girls growing up without a mother may feel lost during their growing up years because they have no one to look up to.

• More Poverty

Divorce brings about a change in living conditions and lifestyles. The standard of living provided to the children by a two-income household cannot be provided on a single income. There are times when the custodial parent is not financially stable. In such cases, children are more prone to experience financially tough times. Since children have a tough time coping with divorce, they are more likely to drop out of school due to low academic achievements. Doing so ruins the future of the children completely.

• Impact of Divorce on Stepchildren

Divorced parents tend to remarry which makes their children from previous marriage stepchildren. It is not easy for children to accept a complete stranger as their new mother or father. It is common for children to be psychologically disturbed about their parent marrying someone else. In addition, recent studies have also proved that stepchildren have higher chances of being abused psychologically and physically than children from intact families.

• Impact of Divorce on Mental and Physical Health of Adults

According to research, divorced people are more likely to experience psychological and physical disorders than their married counterparts. Many people become alcoholics or drug addicts in order to cope with divorce. This not only impacts their own health but also the mental and physical health of their children around them.