ABSTRACT
Adolescent adaptation and coping can be conceptualised as a series of risk and protective factors. Puberty is one of the multiple transitions of adolescence, and is often considered the signal for its onset, though there is some evidence to support the position that adolescence commences with 'adrenarche', which precedes puberty, rather than with 'gonadarche'. It is clear that as the adolescent life stage is approached there are risk factors inherent in biological development, personal history and in the social context in which the individual finds him or herself. The litany of changes occurring during the extensive adolescent period, albeit that the changes may represent developmental milestones, has a significant impact on the adolescent's ability to deal with stress associated with the risk factors. As a response to shifts in life situation the immediate aftermath of a parental divorce or remarriage is anger, resentment, demandingness, confusion, non-compliance, anxiety and depression.
