Abstract
M.A.
The alarming increase of single parent families in South Africa is distressing. The
rising divorce rate and the crisis surrounding divorce was the motivation for the
researcher to undertake this study. Many children in South Africa are
disadvantaged by the high divorce rate and much documented evidence proves the
extensive sociological and psychological effects which this has on these children.
Research has shown over and again that divorce is observed from a child's
perspective as being stressful. (Wallerstein & Kelly, 1974) It has also been shown
that many children are adversely affected by divorce. However the extent to which
they are affected depends on various elements, such as age of the child, time
since divorce, sex of the child and developmental stage of the child, to mention
but a few.
The goals of this study were formulated in a response to the need for the
eventual development of a support program for adolescent girls experiencing the
divorce of their parents. The aim of this study was to select a sample of
adolescent girls and interview them by means of a semi-structured interview in
order to hear their experiences of their parents' divorces. Research has shown that
boys from divorced families are affected differently to girls from divorced families
and hence the researcher chose to interview only females so as to exclude any
extraneous variables. (Wallerstein & Blakeslee, 1989)
The reason for choosing the stage of adolescence in particular is due to the fact
that it represents a critical period in the establishment of the self-concept, due to
all the changes that accompany adolescence. Adolescence is complicated if it is
experienced without the security and care of a stable family structure and the
support of both parents. The emotional stability of the single parent and their
dealing with single parenthood influences the adolescent and his or her self-concept
to a large extent.
This study was undertaken within the framework of a qualitative study and
qualitative methods of data collection were applied. The research design integrated
exploratory, descriptive and evaluative methods. The phenomenon of divorce with
specific reference to the effects it has on adolescents and aspects pertaining to the
phenomena of coping with parental divorce, were identified and discussed.