ABSTRACT
Some, like little children, cling to the hope of reunion. Others rush into partner relationships just as a way (often out of conscious awareness) of running away from the family situation. Many teenagers are not helped to work through the grief, guilt, anger, resentment and abandonment they are left feeling after their parents have separated or divorced. Some are pulled into taking sides and begin to place blame. Others are starting to develop more sophisticated thinking capacities, and so can see both sides when perhaps their parents are failing to do so. Hence professionals must support these teenagers with effective interventions. However, the statistics below clearly show that at present, we are failing to do so:
• After parental separation or divorce, children and teenagers: • are 75 per cent more likely to fail at school • are 70 per cent more likely to become a drug addict • are 50 per cent more likely to have alcohol problems (Centre for Social
Justice, 2007) • are 50 per cent more likely have low self-esteem • are 50 per cent more likely to experience poor peer relationships, have
behavioural difficulties or suffer from anxiety or depression (Centre for Social Justice, 2011)
• have increased risk of behavioural problems, bedwetting, withdrawn behaviour, aggression, delinquency or antisocial behaviour
• show higher levels of smoking, drinking and other drug use • are more likely to lack qualifications, be on benefits and suffer from
depression (The National Child Development Study, 1970). • Seventy-five per cent of children and young people who have experienced
parental separation or divorce shift from secure to insecure attached (Murray, 2008).
