The effects of divorce on divorced family children and posttraumatic growth: A qualitative study

This study aimed to investigate the effects of divorce in divorced family children studying at secondary and high schools and posttraumatic growth. The study used a qualitative design and was based on the phenomenology approach. The study group consisted of eight middle and high school students whose parents were divorced and who were going to school in a province in the Central Black Sea region. The students in the study group were selected using the purposive sampling method. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview form with eight open-ended questions prepared for students. The content analysis method was employed in the analysis of the data. As a result, seven themes and 19 sub-themes were obtained. The results of the study indicated that post-divorce life changes occurred in different areas and forms for children and that divorce is one of the most challenging experiences for children in their lives. Different ways of coping with post-divorce difficulties were determined to emerge. The participants were observed to have difficulty sharing the divorce with their non-family environment, and they were found to withdraw from seeking help when they experienced divorce-related problems. In conclusion, divorce was also found to be an educational and instructive experience for children. Besides, the results of the study revealed that there were interruptions in some parts of the social environment according to the post-divorce family structure and the status of the conflicts experienced. However, the participants were able to realize the individuals that they could receive social support from, and they were found to develop skills such as getting help and helping. Keywords: Divorce, effects of divorce, posttraumatic growth, divorced family children