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Wedding Bell Blues
Teens Share Their Thoughts on Marriage and Divorce
By Carma Haley
One out of every three marriages will end in divorce. According to the United States Department of Vital Statistics, marriage and divorce rates have increased by 68 percent since 1995. Today, one out of every four teens will have parents who are divorced. As the rate of divorce continues to rise, does having divorced parents change the way a teen feels about marriage?
The answer depends upon the circumstances that ended the marriage.
"Divorce always affects the children of the marriage," says Paul Coleman, author of "How to Say It to Your Children." Divorce, he says, can make children feel depressed, blameworthy and out-of-sorts at the disruption of their lives.
"Some will fare better than others," Coleman says. "The best predictors of positive adjustment are two factors: whether the [teens] have adequate time with each parent -- especially the father -- and whether the parents get along as well as can be expected post-divorce."
Teens who have experienced their parents' divorce agree. "Divorce causes a lot of unwanted arguments and disagreements between the divorced and the family members," says Mallory, age 17 from Leaf River, Ill. "I think that in some cases, kids get pulled into these arguments deliberately to hurt the accused parent. I think that teens that grow up without a mom or a dad miss out on a lot. I don't know what I would do without my mom there to discuss all of the problems I am having. I miss not having a dad around. I think divorce has a major affect on teens."
