How does the state of family economics before and after divorce affect both the family and the child's long-term adjustment to divorce?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Economic hardship is a post-divorce reality for many families, particularly for women. Even if the noncustodial parent (usually the father) faithfully pays child support, the amount is rarely sufficient to meet the living expenses of the mother and children. The economic toll of divorce often translates into still more adjustments for children (Amato, 2000). These adjustments may require enduring potentially poorer quality of parenting as the custodial parent must take on more work, and coping with the effects of financial pressures and strains on the family. While some children are more fortunate and are able to remain living in the family home, the financial pressures may mean that they need to make other sacrifices such as forgoing music lessons and/or sports lessons in order to make ends meet. When economic hardship afflicts single-parent households, other challenges arise for families already struggling to reorganize and redefine themselves following divorce. Because of the interrelated nature of family living, economic hardship then affects every other aspect of family life, including the challenges newly divorced families face.