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The United States is greatly affected by divorce, devastating the lives of children and hurting the American society. The number of divorces has tremendously increased. In 1935, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, there were 16 divorces for each 100 marriages, in 1963, 562,000 children under the age of 18 went through parental divorces. In 1980, the numbers had doubled to a rate of 1.18 million children, and in 1998 the number had risen to 51 per 100 marriages (Growing Up Divorced pg. 13). In certain counties in California the ratio of divorce is as high as two out of three families (Teyber). The statistics on the effects of divorce are disturbing. This paper will address the short- term, long- term and overall affect of divorce on teenagers. What The Experts Say: Over 1 million children experience parental divorce each year, and over 8 million children currently live with a divorced single parent (Culture of Life Foundation & Institute). Children whose parents are divorced are increasingly more likely to be the victims of abuse and neglect, they are 33 times more likely to be seriously abused, requiring medical attention, and 73 times more likely to be killed (“Marriage: the safest place for women and children”). Criminal Justice and Behavior vol. 14 reveals that 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes, 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in fatherless homes, 70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come from fatherless homes.