Divorce has increased dramatically since the beginning of this century. Unfortunately, the probability that a marriage will today end in a divorce is a whopping 50 percent. Also, the average duration of a marriage has decreased from 17 years in 1971 to just over 9 years in 1990 (Halonen & Santrock, 1997). Halonen & Santrock claim that although divorce has risen for all socioeconomic groups, those in disadvantaged circumstances have a higher incidence of divorce. Suggesting that marriage at a young age, low educational levels, and low income are associated with increases in divorce. For most, divorce is extremely painful. Unfortunately, children are not excluded from related suffering. It is safe to assume that with such a high occurrence of divorce in our society that more and more children are being affected. For example, increasing numbers of children are growing up in single-parent families. There is no doubt that divorce involves quite a disequilibrium in childrens lives. Doctor Judith Gold takes the issue further claiming that divorce is one of the most severe psychological stressors for children (Gold, 1992). There are many factors which mediate the effects of divorce on children. It is important to remember that family structure (a divorced versus a non-divorced family) is only one of the many factors that influence childrens adjustment (Gold, 1992). Some circumstances which affect a childs adjustment to divorce are: (1) support systems, (2) the relationship between the custodial parent and the ex-spouse, (3) parenting styles, (4) gender of the child and the gender of the custodial parent, and (5) the age of the child at the time of the divorce (Halonen & Santrock, 1997). Halonen & Santrock claim that the best approach for evaluating effects on children is one which advocates evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the child prior to the divorce, the nature of the events surrounding the divorce, ...
