Divorce: definition and types

It is in the sixties when you begin to have a rough estimate of the number of divorces both in Europe and the United States. Since then and until now, it is estimated that parental separations have grown by around 300% and, of course, the great victims of these decisions are usually children. That is why from Psychology-Online we see it necessary to talk about divorce: definition and types.

Parental separation or divorce can be considered as a traumatic and stressful event for children and that, depending on the attitude shown by the parents towards it, it can bring consequences of one kind or another. By this I mean the marital conflict that is usually present in the vast majority of separations marriage and that it is a high risk factor in the development of psychopathologies in the childhood. However, it must be taken into account that this risk to which I am pointing depends, to a large extent, on the type of relationship and the number of conflicts that the marriage develops during the process; as well as the way in which parents communicate the decision to their children.

The end of a marriage is a tough process, both for the couple and for the rest of the family, but the children are supposed to be more vulnerable, since they see that concept of support group that the family supposes and of which I have spoken in the introduction of the Article. All this is due to the great structural and personal change that a separation implies and as a consequence, according to Fernández Ros and Godoy Fernández, five types of divorce could be established with different consequences each one:

• The marital separation or psychic divorce, which supposes the emotional distancing between the couple, whether they both agree or the decision is made unilaterally.
• Legal divorce, the one established by law and in which measures must be taken with respect to property, children... etc.
• Community or social divorce, which supposes the distancing of the members of the couple from the social environment that until then they shared.
• Property divorce, with regard to the distribution of goods that occurred in the couple.
• Dependency Divorce, understanding as such an evident change of roles performed from here on.

These five types of divorce will have an impact on children, either directly or indirectly, taking into account the stages of crisis that their parents have to face and resolve them with respect to the post-divorce relationship between the members that make up the family.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.