Divorce continues to take a heavy toll on children in central New Mexico. More than 5,000 divorces take place each year in Bernalillo County alone. In Albuquerque there have been more divorces than marriages in some years.

Research has convincingly shown that divorce often has a devastating impact on children. Children whose parents divorce and remain in conflict are at greater risk for emotional, academic, and social adjustment difficulties than children of married parents. In addition to the stressors and risks of the divorce, children in blended families face further challenges. Children must cope with competing loyalties among several parent figures, unresolved grief and conflicts from former relationships, complicated schedules involving two or more homes, and societal myths about stepfamilies.

When divorce does occur, children’s interests are best served by cooperative relationships between parents and other family members. The single most significant factor affecting the adjustment of children to their parents’ divorce is parental cooperation—the higher the conflict between parents, the more the children are at risk.

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