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Impact of Divorce on Adolescents Essay

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2011 there were 2,118,000 marriages in the United States and almost half as many divorces (2013). The CDC also reports that only half of all first marriages will reach their twentieth anniversary. Divorce is a topic everyone is familiar with and it has almost become a normal part of life. While it is assumed that more divorces occur now than in the previous generation, the CDC actually reports that divorce rates have dropped over the past twenty to thirty years, though this could be due to the increase in individuals who live together without ever getting married or those who simply separate and cannot afford to become legally divorced. However, it has become a more …show more content…

However, if one of the individuals in the marriage is resisting the divorce, or situations are complex, such as children being involved, then divorces can take a long time to finalize and can become extremely messy affairs. The constant arguing, disagreements, snide comments and hateful words that occur during this time frame, which most likely started before the topic of divorce was even brought up, can take a toll on not just the two individuals whose marriage is ending, but everyone else who is involved, no matter how little their involvement is. Adolescence is defined as “the period of transition between childhood and adulthood that involves biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes” (Santrock, 2012, p. 16). This time period can be very stressful in itself with all the changes that are going on physically, socially and emotionally. Not only is an individual experiencing physical changes as they enter puberty but his or her social roles are also changing and that can be difficult to adjust to. It can be hard enough for a person to discover who he or she is and to become their own person during this time of transition, but that is made even more difficult when the individual’s home life is thrown into chaos and he or she experiences the turmoil of divorce. Experiencing a parental divorce or separation during adolescence can have long-term effects not only on the teenager’s

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