Divorce Through the Eyes of Adolescents

As if being on the roller coaster of adolescence isn’t tough enough, some youth also experience the aftermath of divorce. Parents divorce each other, but children often feel the pain more than parents realize. Children may be resilient with most life events but divorce requires more education and support than many other events.

In many cases, divorce requires children, especially adolescents, to assume independence and adult responsibilities. Needless to say, many youth are not ready for such responsibility. Previous rebellious behavior or bad decision-making may lead the adolescent to assume guilt for the divorce. Parents are responsible for providing age appropriate information and ongoing support to help the adolescent cope and grow throughout the divorce process.