Parental Divorce: Its Ramifications on Adolescents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25215/1301.023Keywords:
Parental divorce, parentification, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, pre-divorce counsellingAbstract
Parental divorce has implications for children’s cognitive, emotional, behavioral and psychological realms. The present study enables an understanding of the effects of parental divorce on adolescents in Kerala. A mixed methods research design was used to explore the impact of parental divorce with an emphasis on the adolescent. The data was derived from in-depth interviews and responses on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The respondents were 20 adolescents (11 girls and nine boys), aged 12- 17 years, whose parents had been legally divorced for at least one year. Thematic analysis of the data showed that all adolescents were negatively impacted by the divorce. The adverse effects were seen in academic and conduct problems, anxiety, insecurity, conflict with peers, and withdrawal from participation in functions at school, church and festivals. After an initial period of distress, most adolescents adapted to new family structures and dynamics. Parentification of adolescents was seen in the study, where emotional parentification was seen more often with male adolescents in the custody of their mothers. For girls more instrumental parentification in the form of caregiving was seen. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) identified academic problems, conduct issues, hyperactivity and internalizing behaviour among adolescents. Adolescent boys exhibited external expressions of emotion and frustration, compared to girls. The research indicates the need for pre-divorce and relationship counselling for families and adolescents to deal with the aftermath of divorce.Metrics
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Published
2025-03-31
How to Cite
Aneesh T., & Sujata Sriram. (2025). Parental Divorce: Its Ramifications on Adolescents. International Journal of Indian Psychȯlogy, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.25215/1301.023
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