Non-Beneficiality

Divorce and the Family

Divorce hinders society by dissolving families and weakening belief in the family as an essential

social unit. According to sociologists, the family does more than unite people by marriage and blood or

adoption; it provides the educational, financial and emotional support its members need to thrive socially.

Without such support, divorced adults and their children are mentally and physically weakened, becoming

less productive social participants. More broadly, divorce leads people to question whether having a

family is worthwhile. The Heritage Foundation reports that children of divorced households tend to enter

high-risk marriages. Even worse, says researcher Patrick Fagan, these children often do not marry and

start families of their own, a phenomenon that can disturb social harmony.

Divorce and its negative impact on children

Divorce prejudices the normality of the lives of the children. It may be a source of social

embarrassment or hiya, not necessarily for the spouses, but for their children. In the countries where

divorce is allowed, the system of divorces has been subjected to grave abuse. (Juco, 1966)

Young children whose parents were divorced can develop anxiety disorder where there they

experience overwhelming fear of being abandoned. Such could lead other problems such as eating

disorders, or worse, conte Each year, over a million American children suffer the divorce of their parents.

Divorce causes irreparable harm to all involved, but most especially to the children. Though it might be

shown to benefit some individuals in some individual cases, over all it causes a temporary decrease in an

individual’s quality of life and puts some “on a downward trajectory from which they might never fully

recover (Amato, 2000).

Divorce introduces a massive change into the life of a boy or girl no matter what the age.

Witnessing loss of love between parents, having parents break their marriage commitment, adjusting to
going back and forth between two different households, and the daily absence of one parent while living

with the other, all create a challenging new family circumstance in which to live. In the personal history

of the boy or girl, parental divorce is a watershed event. Life that follows is significantly changed from

how life was before (Pickhardt, 2011).

People whose parents divorced are slightly less likely to marry. They are much more likely to

divorce when they do marry. According to one study the divorce risk nearly triples if one marries someone

who also comes from a home where the parents divorced. The increased risk is much lower, however, if

the marital partner is someone who grew up in a happy, intact family. ( Popenoe)

The relationship between children and their nonresidential parents also must undergo a great

transformation following divorce. The frequency of contact obviously changes as nonresidential parents,

typically fathers, establish a new homeostatic balance with their children (Pickhardt, 2011).

Studies indicate that daughters of divorced parents have a 60-percent higher divorce rate in

marriages than children of non-divorced parents, and sons have a 35-percent higher divorce rate

(Blakeslee, Lewis & Wallerstein, 2000).

Teenagers in single-parent families and in blended families are three times more likely to need

psychological help within a given year (Hill, 1993).

Compared to children from homes disrupted by death, children from divorced homes have more

psychological problems (Emery, 1988).

A study of children six years after a parental marriage breakup revealed that even after all that

time, these children tended to be “lonely, unhappy, anxious and insecure. Source: Wallerstein, J. (1991).

The Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry.

Children of divorce are four times more likely to report problems with peers and friends than

children whose parents have kept their marriages intact (Breen & Crosbie-Burnett, 1993).
 Kegan theory of development, which postulates that early adolescents of divorce may not

advance as soon as other early adolescents from embeddedness in the family to embeddedness in the

peer culture. (Breen &Crosbie-Burnett, 1993)

Statistical comparisons of the mean moral maturity scores suggested that male delinquents

whose fathers were present attained higher moral maturity scores than those whose fathers were absent

(Bieliauskas & Daum, 1993).

New data from a national Dutch survey are used to examine the effects of divorce and re-

partnering on the relationships that fathers have with their adult children. Compared with divorced

fathers who live alone, re-partnered fathers have less frequent contact with their children, they exchange

less support with them, and the quality of the relationship is poorer. Divorce and re-partnering thus have

cumulative negative effects. (Kalmijn, 2013)

Although many children from divorced families will never show signs of severe psychopathology,

a substantive body of research indicates that divorce does place children at an increased risk for three

different types of adjustment difficulties: (1) externalizing problems, (2) internalizing problems, and (3)

cognitive deficits (Amato & Keith, 1991; Emery, 1988; Wallerstein, 1991; Zill, Morrison, & Coiro, 1993).

The most robust and consistent finding in the divorce literature relates to the association between

divorce and children's externalizing problems (Grych & Fincham, 1992). These include such behaviors as

delinquency, aggression, and disobedience. Using data from the National Survey of Children (NSC), a

nationally representative sample of 1,423 was evaluated three times between 1976 and 1987 when

children were ages 7-11, 12-16, and 18-22, respectively (Furstenberg & Allison, 1989; Furstenberg,

Peterson, Nord, & Zill, 1993; Zill et al., 1993). The majority of families remained married during this 11-

year duration; however, a large minority experienced a parental separation before or during the course

of the study, permitting investigators to examine the effects of age and divorce on children's short- and

long-term functioning at home and school. At all three age periods, children of divorced parents were
found to have higher rates of externalizing problems than children from two-parent families according to

mothers, teachers, and their own self-report. (Ingoldsby & Shaw, 1999)

The Heritage Foundation reports that children of divorced households tend to enter high-risk

marriages. Even worse, says researcher Patrick Fagan, is that these children often do not marry and start

families of their own, a phenomenon that can disturb social harmony (Vrouvas).

In most functioning societies, an intact family helps children develop strong moral character.

Lacking such guidance, children of divorce are more likely to behave as social deviants. Specific findings

reported by The Heritage Foundation are that these children are more likely to commit minor and serious

crimes, run away from home, be suspended from school, smoke cigarettes, abuse alcohol, carry weapons,

engage in physical fighting, and use marijuana and cocaine. And both male and female adolescents living

in single-parent households have experimented with sex by age 11. (Vrouvas)

In reviews by Hetherington, Camera, Featherman (1981) and Shinn (1978), children from single-

parent families show deficits in (1) IQ scores, ranging between 1 and 7 points; (2) school achievement

scores averaging less than one year in school; and (3) grade attainment of three-quarters of a year.

However, not all of these families attained single-parent status via divorce.

Data from the 2004 Monitoring the Future survey examined a nationally representative cross-

sectional sample of 8th to 12th grade adolescents in rural and urban schools from across the United States

(N = 37,507). Results found that drug use among daughters living with single fathers significantly exceeded

that of daughters living with single mothers, while gender of parent was not associated with sons’ usage.

(Crano & Hemovich, 2011)

Non Beneficial Effects of Divorce on Women

Oxytocin can cause a woman to bond to a man even during what was expected to be a short-term

sexual relationship. She may know he is not the man she would want to marry but intimate sexual
involvement causes her to be so attached to him she can’t make herself separate. This can lead to a

woman being taken off-guard by a desire to stay with a man she would otherwise find undesirable and

staying with him even if he is possessive or abusive (McIlhaney & McKissic, 2008).

In the years immediately after their divorce (1991–1994), divorced women reported significantly

higher levels of psychological distress than married women but no differences in physical illness. A decade

later (in 2001), the divorced women reported significantly higher levels of illness, even after controlling

for age, remarriage, education, income, and prior health. Compared to their married counterparts,

divorced women reported higher levels of stressful life events between 1994 and 2000, which led to

higher levels of depressive symptoms in 2001. Source: Conger, R.D., Elder Jr., G.H., Lorenz, F. O. &

Wickrama, K.A.S. (2006). The Short-Term and Decade-Long Effects of Divorce on Women's Midlife Health.

Divorce breeds poverty, particularly for women and children. In the first 18 months following

divorce, between 77 and 83 percent of mothers and their children live in poverty. With fewer economic

resources, most children of divorce experience disruptions – changes in child care, living arrangements

and schools – that create turmoil in their lives (Vrouvas).

Non Beneficial Effects of Divorce on Men

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort (N = 2,219), we track

unemployment before and during separation and show that men’s unemployment during separation,

rather than women’s, reduces the likelihood of divorce, independent of pre-separation unemployment

and other characteristics. For men, unemployment during a marital separation prolongs the divorce

process, creating an extended period of uncertainty in marital relationships on the brink of dissolution

(Qian & Tumin, 2015).

 When parents divorce each other, another sort of divorce occurs between the parents and their

children. The primary effect of divorce (and of the parental conflict that precedes the divorce) is a decline

in the relationship between parent and child (Meneghan & Parcel, 1995).

Divorce leads to a decline in the frequency and quality of parent-child contact and relationships,

and it becomes difficult for non-residential parents, 90percent of whom are fathers, to maintain close ties

with their children. For example, children spend significantly more nights with their mother than their

father. Nearly 50 percent of the children in one study reported not seeing their non-resident father in the

past year, and the small number that had recently stayed overnight at the father’s residence did so for a

special visit, not as part of a regular routine. An analysis of the National Survey of Families and Households

found that about one in five divorced fathers had not seen his children in the past year, and fewer than

half the fathers saw their children more than a few times a year. By adolescence (between the ages of 12

and 16), fewer than half of children living with separated, divorced, or remarried mothers had seen their

fathers at all in more than a year, and only one in six saw their fathers once a week. Contact with the

father declines over time after a divorce, though this pattern is less pronounced the older the child is at

the time of the divorce. 32 Daughters of divorced parents were 38 percent less likely than their peers in

intact families to have frequent contact with their fathers, and sons of divorced parents were 20 percent

less likely (Churchill & Fagan, 2012).

Non Beneficial Effects of Divorce to the Society

Divorce can save people from a bad marriage, but research has shown that it can also debilitate a

society. Divorced adults are more likely to become impoverished while their children experience

psychological and economic stress hindering their social development. According to the National Marriage

Project, between 1960 and 2009, the divorce rate in the United States doubled; between 40 and 50

percent of newly married couples will either separate or divorce. With high divorce rates threatening
social stability, the United Nations urges governments everywhere to adopt policies to reverse this trend

(Vrouvas).

Divorce hinders society by dissolving families and weakening belief in the family as an essential

social unit. To sociologists, the family does more than unite people by marriage and blood or adoption; it

provides the educational, financial and emotional support its members need to thrive socially. Without

this support, divorced adults and their children are mentally and physically weakened, becoming less

productive social participants. More broadly, divorce leads people to question whether having a family is

worthwhile (Vrouvas).

Divorce damages society, it consumes social and human capital. It substantially increases cost to the

taxpayer, while diminishing the taxpaying portion of society. It diminishes children’s future competence

in all five of society’s major tasks or institutions: family, school, religion, marketplace and government.

Divorce also permanently weakens the family and the relationship between children and parents.2 It

frequently leads to destructive conflict management methods, diminished social competence and for

children, the early loss of virginity, as well as diminished sense of masculinity or femininity for young

adults. It also results in more trouble with dating, more cohabitation, greater likelihood of divorce, higher

expectations of divorce later in life, and a decreased desire to have children (Amato & Sobolewski, 2001).

Divorce menaces society by disrupting children’s lives, which makes it harder for them to perform

well in school and pursue higher education. Divorced parents who remain single have less time to

supervise their child’s schoolwork or become involved in school activities. As a result, their children score

lower on tests of cognitive development, verbal reasoning and math and science aptitude. Also, 58

percent of these children are classified as special needs as opposed to 31 percent of children in intact

families. As for educational attainment, children of divorce are more likely to drop out of high school or

not attend college (Vrouvas).

 US data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), which tracks individuals in their

20s, 30s and early 40s, show that over time single respondents slowly increase their net worth. Married

respondents experience per person net worth increases of 77 percent over single respondents.

Additionally, their wealth increases on average 16 percent for each year of marriage. Divorced

respondents’ wealth starts falling four years before divorce and they experience an average wealth drop

of 77 percent (Zagorsky, 2005).

For the first time, there seems to be a positive correlation between the level of industrialization

and urbanization in Japan and the increasing divorce rate in the nuclear family. Recent statistics on divorce

in Japan show that more and more women initiate divorce, that an increasing number of divorced women

prefer to remain single, and that changing patterns of divorce have resulted in a lowering of the fertility

rate, all of which may have significant implications for the demographic future of the Japanese population.

With the development of industrialization and urbanization, the Westernization of lifestyles, and the

growing autonomy of women in society, an increase in the divorce rate in Japanese society is likely.

(Kumagai, 1985).

Divorce and the Querida System

Divorce would be easy for the wealthy to obtain, since they will be able to afford it in spite of the

financial obligations which it may entail. Poor couples, on the other hand, may decide to avoid the idea

completely, in the belief that it will be cheaper and less bothersome to maintain a querida than to support

two or more wives. Thus, divorce would not afford an absolute and complete cure for the ills spawned by

the querida system (Juco, 1966).

Non-Practicability
Divorce Law and the 1987 Constitution

Allowing Divorce Law in the Philippines is unconstitutional for the law provides that Philippine

Constitution (1987), Art. II, Sec. 12:

Sec. 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a

basic autonomous social institution.

xxx

Art. XV, Secs. 1-2 provides:

Sec. 1. The State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation. Accordingly, it shall

strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its total development.

Sec. 2. Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be

protected by the State.

The Constitution protects the sanctity of marriage and allowing divorce bill in the Philippines will

degrade the value of marriage as a special contract and destroys the Filipino families as it causes spouses

to easily give up on their marriage.

Divorce Law and current laws in the Philippines

The Family Code of the Philippines (Family Code) provides for three remedies on the dissolution

or suspension of marriage bonds: nullity, annulment, and legal separation (Paras, 1995). The remedies

provided for by the Civil Code are enough to address the problems arising marital concerns. The fact that

the Divorce Law was once existed and totally repealed by the Family Code, reveals that it remedy the evil

sought to be prevented by the previous law, which is the protection of the sanctity of marriage.

The Comission on Human Rights has declared divorce to be inconsistent with Article 16(3) of the

United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), for violating the human rights of the innocent spouse

and children whom the guilty spouse is allowed to abandon or neglect (CHR, 2001)
 Marriage and the family are considered so crucial to the stability and peace of the nation that

their nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to the whim of the parties

(226 SCRA 572)

Immorality and the tendency to degrade of the sanctity of marriage

The law does not permit people to remarry unless released by death from their first marriage; the

natural and inevitable consequence was the creation of illicit relations. Cases of desertion are extremely

common. The abandoned spouses cannot remarry, as mere desertion is not now and never has been a

ground for divorce and so many of them become mistresses and add to the swarm of illegitimate children.

(Pamfilo, 2007)

“Divorce is unconstitutional, that it is anathema to Filipino culture, that it is immoral, that it will destroy

the Filipino family, that it will legalize promiscuity, that it will contribute to the increase in broken families,

that it will be abused by spouses who find it easier to give up on their marriage rather than try to reconcile

their differences, that it will lead to custody battles, and that it will be detrimental for the children” (Gloria

2007: 18 as cited in (Abalos, 2017)

It is not the answer to the growing violence against women and children

Even if divorce exists, the wifes’ view towards the husband as the authority in the family

was deeply ingrained as the social norm. Such expectation from the wife extends to the obligation to keep

the marriage intact. Despite abuse and exploitation, a traditional Filipina, will endure it, hoping that her

husband will eventually change. (Pamfilo, 2007)

 Our culture holds the woman personally responsible for the quality of home and family

life; when the household isn’t running well, the woman must be incompetent. When the husband strays,

the wife must have been inadequate. When the children are not well-behaved, the mother must have

neglected them. In our culture, family failure is the woman’s personal failure. (Gonzales, 1996)

There is a tendency to abuse divorce

What makes the actual application of the Principle of Consent difficulty is the fact that,

quite often, the consent is not mutual, and therefore divorce cannot take place. One of the parties may

be unwilling to end the relation, whether the reason be one of social convenience, economic stability or

even "nobler" motives. For this reason, exponents of this principle believe that it is most effective if

combined with the principle of fault. For even if one party is unwilling to end the marriage, if he is the

party at fault, then the other spouse can make use of the fault principle (the innocent spouse can resort

to divorce without consent of the spouse at fault) to obtain a divorce. (Juco, 1966)

Annulment is sufficient

Data from the Office of the Solicitor General show that the number of annulment cases in the

Philippines increased by 40 percent from 4,520 cases in 2001 to 8,282 in 2010. Out of the 8,000 to 10,000

petitions for annulment filed before the Solicitor General, more than 90 percent have been granted by

the courts.

Philippine society, with its traditional mindset, is not quite ready for it. The biggest factor as to

why the Philippines should reject divorce is religion. Roughly 83 percent of Filipinos are Roman Catholics

(de Leon, 2014) The Philippines cannot lose the sanctity of marriage because majority of Filipinos are

Catholic and the family plays a big role in the Philippine culture.
SOURCES:

Abalos, J. (2017). Divorce and separation in the Philippines: Trends and correlates. Demographic

Research,36, 1515-1548.

Amato, P. (200). The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children. Journal of Marriage and

Family 62.

Amato, P.R. & Sobolewski, J.M. (2001). The Effects of Divorce and Marital Discord on Adult

Children’s Psychological Well-Being. American Sociological Review 66.

Bieliauskas, V.J. & Daum, J.M. (1993). Fathers' Absence and Moral Development of Male

Delinquents.

Blakeslee, S., Lewis, J., & Wallerstein, J. (2000). The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: a 25 Year

Landmark Study.

Breen, D.T. & Crosbie-Burnett, M. (1993). Moral Dilemmas of Early Adolescents of Divorced and

Intact Families. Journal of Early Adolescence.

Churchill, A. & Fagan, P. (2012). The Effects of Divorce on Children.

Colayco, M. A. (2001). God, Family, and Country: The Philippine Debate on the Legalization of

Divorce. Ateneo Law Journal, 227.

Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Position Paper on the Legalization of Divorce (2001), online:

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Long Effects of Divorce on Women's Midlife Health.

 Crano, W. & Hemovich, V. (2011). Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use: An Exploration of

Single-Parent Families.

Dedel v Court of Appeals [G.R. No. 151867. January 29, 2004].

Domingo v CA (1993) 226 SCRA 572, at 579.

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Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25 Year Landmark Study)

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Hill, P. (1993). Recent Advances in Selected Aspects of Adolescent Development. Journal of Child

Psychology and Psychiatry.

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Pesca v Pesca [G.R. No. 136921. April 17, 2001]

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Records of the 1986 Constitutional Commission 41 (1986)

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