Abstract
Family disruption, such as divorce, separation, children being removed from the home, as well as parent deployment and veteran suicide, can have long-standing consequences on children’s mental health and well-being. Children who experience family disruption are at higher risk of developing myriad diagnostic and functional difficulties, including depression, anxiety, and academic failure, among other issues. Given the divorce rate in the United States hovering around 50%, the number of children in the child welfare system, and the impacts of multiple wars over the past two decades on the security and health of familial bonds, risks to children’s mental health are of paramount concern. This chapter explores the types of family disruption most commonly associated with various youth diagnostic concerns, as well as includes description of V- and Z-codes relevant to family disruption as evidenced in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual from the American Psychiatric Association.