How Minors Experience Divorce or Separation of Their Parents

V diplomskem delu raziskujem doživljanje ločitve ali razveze s strani mladoletnih otrok. V teoretičnem delu se posvečam štirim večjim temam, in sicer družini, ločitvi ali razvezi, otrokom in ločitvi ter socialnemu delu v procesu ločitve ali razveze. V empiričnem delu želim s kvalitativno analizo sedmih intervjujev mladih odraslih, ki so v času svoje mladoletnosti doživeli ločitev ali razvezo staršev, pridobiti čim bolj celosten vpogled v doživljanje ločitve ali razveze s strani otrok in v vse dejavnike, ki so na to vplivali. Rezultate predstavim s temami, ki sem jih pridobila s kvalitativno raziskavo. Te teme so splošni podatki o ločitvi/razvezi, informacije o ločitvi/razvezi, pogovor o ločitvi/razvezi, doživljanje ločitve/razveze s perspektive otroka, prilagoditve po ločitvi/razvezi, stiki s staršem, s katerim niso stalno živeli, odnos s starši, odnos med staršema po ločitvi/razvezi, odnos s sorodniki, odnos s člani reorganizirane družine, podporne osebe, podpora centrov za socialno delo in drugih institucij, vpliv ločitve/razveze na otroka in nadaljnje življenje ter upoštevanje otrokovega glasu. Te podatke nato predstavim še z razpravo, sklepi in na koncu dodam še predloge. V raziskavi ugotovim, da ločitev ali razvezo vsak otrok doživlja drugače. Največkrat je to povezano s konfliktnostjo staršev in njunim sodelovanjem po ločitvi ali razvezi. Informacije, ki so bile predane otrokom ob ločitvi ali razvezi, so bile pomanjkljive ali skope, skupen pogovor o ločitvi ali razvezi je redek. Tudi to vpliva na otrokovo sprejemanje in doživljanje ločitve ali razveze staršev, saj ugotavljam, da bi si otroci v času ločitve ali razveze želeli več pogovora in podpore tako staršev kot tudi drugih institucij. Mati je še vedno oseba, ki z otrokom preživi več časa po ločitvi ali razvezi. Pri stikih z očetom pa prihaja do različnih ovir in težav, kar vpliva na odnos med otroki in očetom. Sogovorniki največkrat navajajo onemogočene stike z očetom, nefleksibilnost stikov, težave v času izpitnih obdobij in epidemije, oddaljenost očeta in nezmožnost vstopa očeta v otrokovo življenje. Ugotovim tudi, da sogovorniki niso prejeli pomoči ali podpore izven družine, če pa so jo, je bila ta minimalna. Ločitev ali razveza staršev je imela vpliv tako na otroke, kot tudi na njihovo nadaljnje življenje. Ugotovim, da je bilo več slabosti oziroma negativnih vplivov kot prednosti. Ti vplivi se kažejo v odnosih, zaupanju, čustvih in na splošno v življenju. Vseeno ti negativni vplivi z odraščanjem izginejo ali se zmanjšajo do te mere, da ne pustijo trajnih posledic. V raziskavi tudi ugotovim, da otrokov glas v večini ni bil upoštevan v procesu ločitve ali razveze staršev. So pa kljub temu nekateri sogovorniki imeli možnost odločanja o tem, s kom od staršev bodo živeli, in pri uveljavitvi mnenja glede stikov z očetom.In my bachelors’ thesis, I explore how minors experience the divorce or separation of their parents. In the theoretical part, I focus on four major topics, namely family, divorce or separation, children and divorce, as well as social work during the process of divorce or separation. In the empirical part, I used qualitative analysis for seven interviews with young adults who had experienced divorce or separation of their parents during their adolescence. My goal was to gain a comprehensive insight into the experience of divorce or separation by minors and all of the factors that influenced it. By covering several topics, I present the results obtained with a qualitative survey. These topics include general information on divorce or separation, practical information on divorce or separation, discussing divorce or separation, experiencing divorce or separation from a child\u27s perspective, post-divorce/separation adjustments, communication with a parent with whom the minor has not lived together on a regular basis, relationship with parents, relationship between parents after a divorce or separation, relationship with relatives, relationship with members of the reorganised family, support persons, support of social work centres and other institutions, the impact of divorce or separation on the minor and further life and consideration of the minor\u27s voice. I present this information with a discussion, conclusions and, finally, provide some suggestions. The survey has shown that every child experiences divorce or separation differently. Most often, this is related to conflicts between the parents and their cooperation after a divorce or separation. The survey has shown that the information passed on to minors upon the divorce or separation of their parents was deficient or scanty, whilst a family conversation about a divorce or separation was rare. Since this affects the minors’ acceptance and experience of their parents’ divorce or separation, I found that minors wanted more discussion and support from both of their parents (as well as the relevant institutions) at the time of the divorce or separation. The mother is still the person who spends more time with her child after a divorce or separation. Since a variety of obstacles and problems occur in communication with the father, this affects the child\u27s relationship with him. The interviewees most often mentioned forbidden contact with their father, inflexible communication, problems during the exam periods and the epidemic, the father being distant towards them and unable to participate in the minor’s life. I established that the interviewees received no or only minimal help and support outside of their primary family. The separation or divorce of the parents has an impact on the child in their young age, as well as on their later adult life. I found that for them, there were more disadvantages and negative influences than advantages as regards the divorce or separation of their parents. These influences are reflected in their relationships, their ability to trust others, their emotions and life in general. However, these negative effects disappeared or diminished with them growing up – to such an extent that in most cases they did not leave lasting consequences. The survey has shown that for the most part, the minor\u27s voice was not taken into account during the process of their parents’ separation or divorce. Despite this, some interviewees had the opportunity to decide which of the parents they wanted to live with and give their opinion regarding contact with their father