Growing evidence shows that divorce can have a devastating impact on a child. Parents are being urged to think of the consequences of divorce for themselves and for their children. Sociologist Sara McLanahan, of Princeton University, states that "between two-thirds and three-quarters of the families who divorce should probably give it more time and more thought about whether they're doing the right thing."
Recent studies show that children of divorce are at greater risk of teenage pregnancy, dropping out of school, depression, divorce in their own marriages, and joining the ranks of welfare recipients. In the Western world, 1 in 6 children is affected by divorce. Historian Mary Ann Mason, in her book on child custody in the United States, observed: "A child born in 1990 had about a 50 percent chance of falling under the jurisdiction of a court in a case involving where and with whom the child would live."
