For more than 30 years, the fastest-growing divorce rate in the U.S. and abroad has been among people age 50 and older. Researchers call this phenomenon "The Gray Divorce Revolution" and predict it will triple by 2030.
Researchers Wallerstein and Blakeslee wrote, "Divorce is deceptive. Legally it is a single event, but psychologically it is a chain – sometimes a never-ending chain – of events, relocations and radically shifting relationships strung through time, a process that forever changes the lives of the people involved." Many gray divorce parents have children who are not yet adults. They may be elementary, middle-school, or high-school-aged children.
Divorce is a challenging and emotionally charged process, especially when minor children are involved. Minor children are the family members who are the least prepared and capable of coping with the myriad changes their family is experiencing. During their parents' separation and divorce, children often find themselves caught in the crossfire of the conflict. Their emotional and psychological welfare can be profoundly affected as they grapple with feelings of confusion, insecurity, fear, anger, and even guilt. They have not yet developed ways to deal with the losses of divorce effectively and often respond with anger toward their parents or withdrawal from seeing or speaking to one or both of them.
Amid divorce's legal complexities and emotional turmoil, a child and........