Divorce in clinical practice.

The family physician today has many families in his/her practice who have decided on divorce and who turn to the family physician for guidance. The effect of divorce for children from infancy to age three years is primarily related to the mother's emotional adjustment to the divorce. Preschool and school aged children are most at risk for personality disturbances because of their emerging sense of identity and need for both parents as figures of identification. The adolescent is initially the most painfully distressed by the divorce but, in fact, is in time the least affected of all the age groups. An intervention aimed at helping reduce the pathological effect on the child's development is outlined, which includes an emphasis on the parents working together for the benefit of the children, the suggestion that the children be allowed as much continuity in their lifestyle as possible, and the need for each parent not to deprecate or blame the other so that the child may have a positive image of both parents.