Is Divorce Affecting America's Society?

By Family & Relationships Last updated Sunday, June/16/2024

Behavioral Effects

Divorce impacts those involved on a behavioral level, especially children. Having lost a strong family support system, the sudden change can create an unstable environment for a child. This instability can cause them to act out due to frustration, fear, anger and concern. Behavioral issues can include fighting, pregnancy, criminal behavior and emotional disturbances, such as depression. Society, then, falls victim to the effect created by those impacted directly. Angry children of divorced parents who vandalize public property, for instance, have involved society, thereby making divorce a social problem.

Many people cannot afford the exorbitant expenses associated divorce. When a family is split into two homes, living expenses go up for each parent. One parent may need to buy new furniture, while the other parent may need to move out and find a new place to live. The toll that divorce takes financially on single parents can impact the economy. Single parents who struggle to support their children on one income may need to apply for government financial assistance, such as food stamps. As a result, poverty rates may increase as more divorced families require federal aid.

Society is impacted when children from divorced households show a diminishing interest in academic performance. According to Dr. Robert Hughes of Ohio State University's Department of Human Development and Family Science, children whose parents are divorced have higher dropout rates than students whose parents are not divorced. Dropping out of school may be in response to emotional issues, such as depression, or the need to work to help support the one-parent family structure. Children who drop out of school put a strain on the social system, as the Alliance for Excellent Education explains that such individuals will earn less and are more likely to enter the prison system, have periodic unemployment or rely on government assistance. In 2005 the average yearly income for a high school dropout was $17,299.

The divorces of today can impact the relationships of tomorrow. Children who witness their parents' divorce are likely to repeat this pattern in their own future relationships, thereby creating a cyclical societal problem. Additionally, people whose parents did not divorce, but know divorce to be a prevalent problem, may opt to avoid marriage altogether.