ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about parental divorce and separation case study. The majority of the children from divorced families eventually weather the stresses and strains of parental divorce and emerge as competent individuals. Separation and divorce are classed as the second most stressful life events in an adult's life, second only to death of a spouse. For children, parental separation is equally stressful but this is little acknowledged by parents. Family life is changing all over the world and parental separation and divorce are becoming common. For the child, parental separation and divorce is primarily a loss: the loss of the non-resident parent. This produces bereavement reactions and they go through the usual stages: an acute phase during which there is rage, aggression and depression; and a transition phase when they disengage from the parents. Bereavement affects not only the child but also the parents. Research consistently indicates that parental separation is viewed as a process rather than a single event.
