Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects
Date of Award
2015
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Family Therapy
Advisor
Martha Marquez
Committee Member
Debra Nixon
Committee Member
Robin Cooper
Abstract
This study examined the lived experiences of adult children of mid-later life parental divorce. It was designed and conducted to address the gap in the current literature regarding this phenomenon. The experiences of 5 Adult Children of Divorce (ACD) ages 25 to 45, who experienced mid-later life parental divorce, were examined using in-depth semi-structured interviews. The researcher employed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) of which the findings illustrated various outcomes for adults experiencing their parents’ mid-later life divorce. The results of this study showed that parents’ waiting until the children are “grown” does not mitigate potentially detrimental outcomes for these “adult children.” Some of these concerns shared by the ACDs interviewed included: dealing with the shock of the divorce, the acrimonious parental relationships post divorce, feeling the need to choose sides, effects of the divorce on the ACDs' children, among others. Future studies and implications for the field of marriage and family therapy were offered.
NSUWorks Citation
Joan Collins Ricketts. 2015. The Lived Experiences of Adult Children of Mid to Later-life Parental Divorce: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Family Therapy. (19)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dft_etd/19.
Included in
Arts and Humanities Commons, Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons