Long Term Effects of Divorce
When Sharon Keating's marriage went on the rocks the people she most worried about her kids. Jessie Keating, her daughter, says, "I was feeling... like down and sad and even though I didn't really show it.
"Those problems could last decades," says author Judith Wallerstein, "... and emerge in adulthood."
Judith Wallerstein says of her research, "And when man-woman relationships move to center stage. At that time all the ghosts of the parents' divorce sort of come out of the basement."
Wallerstein studied 93 children over a generation. She has written a book about it.
She says children of divorce are more likely to use drugs, often go into therapy and that 40-percent of them avoid marriage themselves. When they do marry, the marriages fail at nearly twice the usual rate.
Judith Wallerstein says, "They have difficulty trusting and are very frightened that their relationships will fail.
Sharon Keating knew of Wallerstein's work and swore that would not happen to her children. Sharon Keating is a divorced Mother who says, "One of the things that I did was that I immediately got the kids and I into some counseling."
But critics say Wallerstein generalizes too much from a small study. Professor Phil Cowan says factors other than JUST divorce should be studied, too. And that the study has no comparison with so called healthy families.
Phil Cowan says, "Can you say that divorce is harmful on the basis of that kind of study, the answer is no. You can't say anything on what causes a divorce because people have all kinds of explanations for their lives and what it is that they do."
Wallerstein's families divorced a generation ago. Times have changed and with them the attitudes toward divorce and attention to the innocent victims.
Claire Barnes of Kid's Turn says, "In our parents' generation people who got divorced didn't talk about it, they were ashamed by it." Programmes like Kid's Turn try to help kids whose parents are divorced. Jessie Keating says, "We just express our feelings out together and that helps us get through it".
So the next generation will hopefully be better at handling the results of a divorce.
September 10, 2000
"Those problems could last decades," says author Judith Wallerstein, "... and emerge in adulthood."
Judith Wallerstein says of her research, "And when man-woman relationships move to center stage. At that time all the ghosts of the parents' divorce sort of come out of the basement."
Wallerstein studied 93 children over a generation. She has written a book about it.
She says children of divorce are more likely to use drugs, often go into therapy and that 40-percent of them avoid marriage themselves. When they do marry, the marriages fail at nearly twice the usual rate.
Judith Wallerstein says, "They have difficulty trusting and are very frightened that their relationships will fail.
Sharon Keating knew of Wallerstein's work and swore that would not happen to her children. Sharon Keating is a divorced Mother who says, "One of the things that I did was that I immediately got the kids and I into some counseling."
But critics say Wallerstein generalizes too much from a small study. Professor Phil Cowan says factors other than JUST divorce should be studied, too. And that the study has no comparison with so called healthy families.
Phil Cowan says, "Can you say that divorce is harmful on the basis of that kind of study, the answer is no. You can't say anything on what causes a divorce because people have all kinds of explanations for their lives and what it is that they do."
Wallerstein's families divorced a generation ago. Times have changed and with them the attitudes toward divorce and attention to the innocent victims.
Claire Barnes of Kid's Turn says, "In our parents' generation people who got divorced didn't talk about it, they were ashamed by it." Programmes like Kid's Turn try to help kids whose parents are divorced. Jessie Keating says, "We just express our feelings out together and that helps us get through it".
So the next generation will hopefully be better at handling the results of a divorce.
September 10, 2000