The Effects Of Divorce On Adolescents

Every person in this world is different and will react differently to situations that happen in their life. According to the American Psychological Association (Marriage and Divorce, 2015) about 40 to 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce in the United States, which will impact the lives of many adolescents. Some may say that adolescents are coping with a divorce positively, but these adolescents may appear to be fine when on the inside they are fighting many struggles. In order to conclude the validity of the effects of divorce on adolescents, I conducted an interview with Ashley S., a high school junior, who has many friends whose parents went through a divorce during the years of their friendship. “One day she was outgoing and chatting to everyone she knew. The next day after her parents informed her of the divorce she started to stay to herself.” This is the statement that started our conversation of divorce. Although her parents are not divorced, she believes her friends went through many difficulties during the first few months of …show more content…
Examples of this finding can be found in the interview conducted with Ashley, explaining how distraught her friends were emotionally when their parents went through a divorce. If the environment in which the divorce occurs is negative, adolescents are more likely to feel distressed. Adolescents also want to be heard by their parents about how they feel about the divorce. Sometimes the parents may be wrapped up in their own situations that the adolescent believes the only way to be heard is to seek out ways to get their attention, sometimes through rebellious acts. Verial also states that adolescents may also experience a decline in their academic performance. (Verial,