Divorce rates have never been as high as they are today, and it seems like marriage is an institution that is on its way out. More and more often, couples get seemingly disposable marriages, staying together for a few years and then parting without a second thought. High-powered divorce attorneys helped convince would-be divorcees they getting out of marriage is the most lucrative and beneficial option, but people seldom weigh the effects of divorce. There are many things a divorce does to people that are traumatic. It can leave deep emotional scars, particularly in children. Before you get a divorce, you should carefully weigh all of these risk factors and determine if it is right for you. After all, once you go through with it, there may be no going back.

Many psychiatrists have studied the effects of divorce on children, but too few unhappy couples consider them before filing for divorce. One of the most powerful effects of divorce on children is that it teaches an inability to trust. The children feel betrayed by their parents. They feel like the parents didn’t love them, and turned on them when they were in their hour of need. This effect of divorce can profoundly hinder the child’s ability to form meaningful relationships later in life. Although there are effects of divorce on everyone – the divorcees, their community, and their families – the effects of divorce on kids are the most profound and tragic. Before you get a divorce, you would be wise to consider carefully what it might do to your children. Once you are married with kids, after all, they are your chief responsibility.

Of course, there can be positive effects of divorce. Sometimes people stay married because they see no other choice. They may have been unhappy for years, and feel so helpless and emotionally paralyzed that they can see no way out of it. Particularly if they have not had children yet, they should think of these positive effects of divorce as well. The negative effects of divorce get a lot of press, but there is obviously an advantage to it or else people would not do it so often. Even the emotional effects of divorce can be positive. People from religious families are often pressured into marrying too young, thinking that it is the only way to pursue a relationship. When they divorce the person they mistakenly married, it is an empowering experience.