The Effects of Marital Conflict on Children
According to the CDC, the US marriage rate is 6.5, while the divorce rate is 2.9 per 1,000 people. In other words, almost 45% of marriages end in divorce.
Conflicts permeate the lead-up to a divorce, but these conflicts don’t only affect the couple. If disputes are properly handled, they could be a source of growth for the married couple. If they aren’t managed well, the issues can even filter down to the children. Here’s how marital conflicts can traumatize children.
Impaired Emotional Growth
Marital conflicts that involve shouting typically create a very stressful and tense home environment. Adults and children differ in how they handle this environment. On the one hand, adults may communicate or bottle up their emotions. On the other hand, children haven’t typically developed a method of dealing with these high-stress situations: they simply want to escape them.
Children will develop some way to alleviate their stress. This ranges from leaving the house to spending time with friends, and even resorting to violence. Some children may also try to mediate their parents’ conflicts. Regardless of whether these methods are successful, they force children to mature quickly.
Growing up so fast can have negative consequences as children get older. These children may, for example, commit to mediating all conflicts. In moderation, mediating disputes is a good thing. However, this disposition may cause children to rationalize and repress their emotions as they grow up, which can lead to anxiety and other mental illnesses.
Development
Stressful home environments lead to impaired interpersonal and social skills in children. This means children probably won’t develop the support networks they so badly need. This impaired development can negatively affect cognitive and emotional development.
Moreover, without a close social circle, children may find it difficult to get away from their stressful home environment. Impaired social skills can also make future relationships abusive and difficult, thereby perpetuating a cycle of impaired development and violence.
Health
Always living in a stressful environment can affect a child’s diet, exercise, and sleep. They may avoid food and have trouble falling asleep. They may also feel lethargic and avoid sporting activities.
This can harm other aspects of their lives, such as academics and their social life. If their parents don’t recognize how their conflicts are affecting their children, it can reinforce a cycle of worsening health.
Marital conflicts and domestic violence have a bevy of harmful effects on everyone involved or related to the conflicting parties. Take care of yourself and your kids with family violence intervention, family counseling Winder, and domestic violence treatment. At Comprehensive Counseling Services, LLC, we offer all these services, and more, in Winder, GA. Get in touch to learn about our state-certified family violence intervention program, and help your family heal.
