I would guess that I am not unusual, at least in this particular area, in my thinking and rethinking my recent divorce. So, because it is still has some emotional impact for me, I will not venture into the discussions about law, gender and fairness. My recent thinking comes from a question that struck me the other day: What are the real economic and social impacts in our society on the high rate of divorce. The considerations that came to mind were these:
- While we know that divorce can make the lives of our kids more stressful and emotionally challenging, do we know what the short and long term impacts are? Do we know what the educational, psychological and physiological impacts are over the span of their lives?
- Do we know what the true economic impacts are on families, schools, mental health, and other related entities?
- Does divorce often mean that both parents are working more? If they are does divorce mean that children get less parental attention?
- Does divorce mean that we need twice the housing for the annual 2.28 million (Wolfram alpha) divorces?
- What is the impact of divorce on the economy? (The average cost of a divorce some put at $20,000 which I assume are primarily legal fees which multiplied the 2.28 million divorces per year comes out to $45,600,000,000. The average length of time to settle ranges, according to internet sources from 9 to 12 months with a not unusual maximum of 2 years.)
No matter what perspective one takes on divorce, it is a costly phenomenon in our society and most industrialize societies today. From where I sit as a teacher about half of whose students come from non-intact families and as a parent new to the non-intact family scene the cost on our youth looms large.
