Chapter 7

Chapter 7 focused on the role that divorce plays in the longevity of the affected child. It was discovered that it was more than just the disappearance of a parent that could negatively impact their children’s life; surprisingly, loss of a parent through divorce was actually more impactful on mortality than the loss of a parent through a threat. Furthermore, despite the hardships that one encounters in the face of the divorce of their parents, it was shown that resilience in the face of such adversity, as opposed to being brought down by it, enabled one to live a long and fruitful life.

On a more personal facet, it mentioned that another related factor that can impact personal life can be the quality of familial relations in the domestic space. For example, avoiding divorce and staying together for the children may not always be the best approach because it can create tension induced stress within the home. My parents have frequently threatened divorce over the course of most of my life. It has not come into fruition and I don’t think it ever will. They typically don’t get along and fighting was commonplace during my childhood. The house was only calm when they were avoiding each other. While their reason for staying together for so long was not because of me, I am curious how this could potentially affect my longevity. Additionally, I was my mother’s first child, but I am my father’s fourth because he had previous marriage. I would like to see how this may affect my half-siblings and even my father, who was not the child of divorced parents but was divorced himself at some point.