Does Divorce Create Long-Term Negative Effects on Children?
             Since the beginning of time the two sexes have been uniting into one to form a union that is to last until the end of their existence. Though easily said, the differences brought into a relationship are often much more than either party had bargained for. In today's society the divorce rate among men and women is around fifty percent. Divorce affects children more then the parents involved in it. In the United States divorce has affected over one million children every year since the mid 1970's (Heritage, 1). How badly are these children affected by their parents divorce, can it minimized, or are there any negative effects at all?
             The word divorce could send chills down a happily married couple's spine. By definition, divorce is a horrible word. There is no way to make the word sound better or make its effects less painful. According to the Webster's Dictionary, divorce is "the legal dissolution of marriage or the termination of an existing relationship or union" (Webster's 370). When a child is involved in his or hers parent's divorced that child not only looses a mother or father but also a mentor, companion and a comforter. There are many negative long-term negative effects for children, argues Zinsmeister (24-30). According to Fagan and Rector "Children whose parents have divorced are increasingly the victims of abuse. They exhibit more health, behavioral, and emotional problems, are involved more frequently in crime and drug abuse, and have higher rates of suicide"(Heritage, 2). Many children also perform poorly in their academics. They also are more likely to repeat a grade and to have higher dropout rates and lower rates of college graduation. Another alarming fact is families with children that were not poor before the divorce see their income drop as much as fifty percent. Almost fifty percent of the parents with children t...