The Impact of Divorce on Adolescents

A consensus that divorce constitutes a major disruption and disequilibrium in the lives of nearly all children is emerging. Reactions vary at different developmental stages. Divorce poses a very specific hazard to the normal adolescent process of emancipation from primary love objects. The author reviews recent research on the shortand long-term effects of parental divorce on adolescents, with special reference to adolescent developmental tasks. Treatment based on a psychoanalytic developmental perspective combined with a family systems approach is recommended. Careful attention should be paid to the gender of the therapist and the adolescent's developmental stage. Therapeutic modalities include individual and group therapy with the adolescent and conjoint therapy with the custodial parent, the single-parent family, and the noncustodial parent. The major goals of psychotherapeutic intervention with adolescents in divorced families are outlined.