Stark Legacy of Pain for Kids of Divorce (provided by Elizabeth Fernandez) Drugs, alcohol, fear of intimacy plague children whose parents break up Childhoods spent in resigned solitude, adolescence roiled by drug and alcohol abuse, adulthood compromised --this is the stark legacy for children of divorce, says a landmark study by an acclaimed Marin County researcher. The new study, unveiled Monday, challenges society's basic perceptions on the impact of divorce, finding that a full quarter-century after their parents' divorce, the offspring remain emotionally troubled. Haunted at important stages of their lives by lingering memories of the divorce and hurtful aftermath, the children shy away from intimacy, are mistrustful of marriage indiana child support laws wisconsin child support and starting families of their own. Half of those studied got deeply involved with drugs and alcohol. One-third ended their education with high school. While others continued their education and entered the working world, they have not reached a socioeconomic level comparable to their parents'. Their overall trend: downward. The study, co-written by Judith Wallerstein, a psychologist and renowned researcher on divorce, provides disturbing documentation on the consequences of divorce over the course of 25 years on children of 60 middle class and upper-middle class families from Marin County. "Our jury is no longer out," Wallerstein writes. "The children who were rendered mute by the system have returned to give child support calculation wisconsin child support us their verdict. . . . There is little evidence that we have succeeded in serving or protecting their interests." Her findings are serving as the springboard for a gathering this week in San Francisco of authorities on children's issues, called the Second World Congress on Family Law and the Rights of Children and Youth. In a plea to the nation's legal system, Wallerstein and co-author Julia Lewis, a psychology professor at San Francisco State University, say that children's voices must be heard in shaping post-divorce decisions and economic safeguards established for them. "Divorce needs to be looked at as an ongoing effect that lasts far longer than decisions wisconsin child support wisconsin child support about custody, visitation
