Teens and Divorce
Many unhappily married couples wait until their children are teens before they begin the divorce process, hoping that as their children get older, they will be less affected by the emotional and social issues divorce creates. Unfortunately, the impact of a family break-up on teens is just as devastating as it is on young children.
Teens dealing with parental divorce can suffer a range of emotions. Many struggle with guilt that somehow their changing moods and bodies have driven their parents to split up. Others experience difficulties with dating and sexuality as they begin to observe their parents entering new relationships. Still others suffer from loneliness and depression because their parents are too wrapped up in their own volatile emotions to focus on their children.
Still, most children in the United States will have to face such turmoil at one time or another. Statistics show that nearly two-thirds of first marriages will end in divorce; that means about half of all American children will experience their parents' divorce. And since more than 75 percent of divorced parents remarry and second marriages are more likely to fail than first, many teens will go through a second divorce with their stepfamilies.
How do these constantly changing family dynamics affect teens specifically? While some teens fare well as they face the challenge of a divorced home, studies show that immediately before, during and after a divorce, teens are more likely to experience academic and behavioral difficulties at school. They are also more prone to having low self-esteem and substance abuse problems than are their intact family counterparts. They often struggle with their sexuality and interpersonal relationships more than teens whose parents are still married. And as adults, these teens of divorce often don't achieve as much success in their careers due to motivational and self-esteem issues.
Many of these problems have been linked to the single-parent home. But recent studies show that most of them are due to the divorce itself. Teens experiencing the divorce of their parents are exposed to marital conflict, affecting their future relationships. They typically notice changes in parenting practices, usually due to the differences between parenting styles at their two homes. And the change in family income level following a divorce can have a dramatic effect on a teen's ability to cope.
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Other Things to Consider
Related Topics
Relationships: Blended Families, Parents and Adult Children
Transitions: Preparing for Adolescence, Empty Nest
