Studies have shown that 40-50% of marriages in the US usually end up in a divorce. There can be many reasons that may cause this to happen. Some people think that when two parents get divorced it will begin to affect their kids’ mental health. The reason they think this is that divorce changes the way that kids have been living their whole life, in just a short amount of time. Psychologists and doctors have worked together and done many studies of whether they think they can prove this true or false. In 2019, two psychologists, Brian D’Onofrio and Robert Emery, did a study on how these two things can relate to each other. 

Some of their research showed that divorce was more associated with an increased risk for adjustment problems, and worsening grades in school. The children were more distracted by worrying about their home lives to focus on their schoolwork. Another problem that kids with divorced parents showed was difficulty adapting to change. They have to adapt to new family dynamics, a new house or living situation, schools, friends, and much more. One of the biggest problems that these kids were going through was being more emotionally sensitive. Divorce can leave children feeling overwhelmed and emotionally sensitive. Feelings of loss, anger, confusion, anxiety, and many others, all may be a result of this change.

Some of these changes occur too quickly for the kids to get prepared for. They have to change their whole routine based on whose house they are at. The parents have to find a time for the kids to evenly be at each of their houses. Kids have to decide what they want at each of their parents’ houses, because they may not be able to go from house to house to get a certain item they want. Holidays can also be hard for children with divorced parents. They have to decide what parent they want to be with on each holiday. If they want to be with both, they have to decide what time of the day to be with each family. Some families think that the best decision to make for these children is therapy. It gives them time away from their family to get to talk about their problems. 

Not everyone thinks that divorce is a negative change. They see it as a good way for people in unhappy marriages, or children that are being exposed to conflict, and abuse to get out of that situation. Most children whose parents divorce are resilient and exhibit no obvious psychological problems. Some children react to divorce in a natural and understanding way, while other children may struggle with the transition. Not only is this a change for children, it is also a new way for parents to learn to live.

https://www.familymeans.org/effects-of-divorce-on-children.html#:~:text=Feelings%20of%20loss%2C%20anger%2C%20confusion,someone%20who%20will%20listen%2C%20etc. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6313686/#:~:text=Research%20has%20documented%20that%20parental,)%2C%20and%20depressed%20mood2.