tioned above conducted by

tioned above conducted by Judith Wallerstein, five years after a divorce, 37 percent of the children studied demonstrated significant depression and could not concentrate in school. Perhaps even more alarming, 60 percent of all youth receiving mental health outpatient counseling have divorced parents and children of divorced parents account for 80 percent of children hospitalized for mental health reasons.

In addition, youth carry long term vivid memories about their parent’s separation and three out of five children of divorce feel rejected by a least one of their parents.

Despite these concerning statistics, there are ways to help children cope more effectively with divorce in order to minimize both short and long term* effects. The aforementioned research demonstrated that youth whose parents resumed their parenting roles, put their differences aside, and allowed their children to continue a positive relationship with the opposite parent adjusted more quickly and effectively to their parent’s divorce.

Unfortunately, parents in the process of divorcing are often under a great deal of stress and frequently have a difficult time separating their own needs from the needs of their children.

New research on the effects of divorce on children is demonstrating that it is not necessarily a divorce itself that negatively impacts a child; rather, it is the way parents themselves cope and help their cKildren cope w-ith this major life change. Parents must remain parents during this stressful time, always remembering to put the needs of their children first.

Kimberly Finn is the Clinic Director at Rappahannock Family Guidance Services in Washington, 675-3329.

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