Divorce rates in America are at an all-time high. A divorce between parents of elementary school students can be devastating in a young child's life. Divorce causes stress in children not only at home, but also at school. Children of divorced or separated parents often have to commute between homes. Not only do they have to deal with the pain of their parents' separation, but they may also feel like they are the ones causing their parents' problems. Parental divorce has negative effects on children's academic achievement, social life, and achievement, particularly for elementary school students (Neighbor, 1992; Tucker, Friedman, Schwartz, Criqui, Tomlinson-Kasey, Wingard, & Martin, 1997 ; Kinard and Reinherz, 1986). As with any child, a sudden change in family life can be a difficult adjustment. At school, a child's academic performance may be negatively affected by his or her parents' divorce. Having divorced parents is not yet their fault; they must suffer from the stress this causes. Usually, students' grades drop and they can also become very emotional. Neighbor (1992) demonstrates that boys from divorcing homes perform worse academically than boys whose parents remained together. It is believed that boys and girls often react differently to divorces. According to Neighbor (1992), during the year following divorce, the GPA of girls remained higher than that of boys whose parents had divorced. Marital difficulties have significant effects on children's literacy skills, overall academic achievement, and productivity, according to teachers' opinions (Kinard & Reinherz, 1986). If a child's parents divorce before starting school, the child is less likely to show signs of distress, sadness, and emotional turmoil following the divorce. The ...... middle of paper ......Journal of Marriage and Family, 48(2), 285-293.Mustonen, U., Huurre, T., Kiviruusu, O., Haukkala, A. and Aro, H. (2011). Long-term impact of parental divorce on the quality of intimate relationships in adulthood and the mediating role of psychosocial resources. Journal of Family Psychology, 25(4), 615-619. doi:10.1037/a0023996Neighbors, B., Forehand, R., & Armistead, L. (1992). Is parental divorce a critical stressor for young adolescents? Adolescence, 27(107), 639-646. Stroschein, L., (2005). Parental divorce and children's mental health trajectories. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(5), 1286. Tucker, JS, Friedman, HS, Schwartz, JE, Criqui, MH, Tomlinson-Keasey, C., Wingard, DL, & Martin, LR (1997). Parental divorce: effects on individual behavior and longevity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(2), 381-391. do I:10.1037/0022-3514.73.2.381