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Elizabeth Marquardt is an affiliate scholar for the Institute for American Values in New York, which was the driving force behind the controversial movement pushing for marriage during last year's election. Now, in a new book and numerous opinion editorials, Marquardt is again stirring controversy by arguing divorce is so bad for children that it is unjustifiable.
Except in the most extreme cases, Marquardt argues divorce should not be carried through. She claims that research shows that two-thirds of divorce ends in low-conflict marriages where there is no abuse, violence or serious fighting. Instead, Marquardt argues the children would be better off it their unhappy parents stayed together.
These claims have angered other experts and have raised criticism. Marquardt herself is a child of divorce which has cast some shadow of doubt on how she interprets her findings. Drawing her conclusions from a telephone survey she and a Texas professor conducted with 1,500 young adults ages 19 to 35, half of whom came from divorced families but maintained contact with both parents, critics have said Marquardt's definition of pain is too narrow.
According to Constance Ahrons, a sociologist and author who has also studied divorce, Marquardt's logic is a disservice to parents and children. Ahrons wrote in a recent letter to the Washington Post, “Such a prediction has no published research or clinical data to support it.”
Saying any marriage will better guarantee a child's happiness is, to most critics, an opinion not based on actual evidence. Although divorce can be tough, divorce is no longer attached to the stigma it once was, and children are able to adjust in a healthy, well-adjusted manner. For more information on divorce, please contact an experienced divorce lawyer.