WANNEER VOEL IK ME THUIS?

Abstract

Nowadays, many children grow up in two houses after their parents’ divorce. Living in two houses could lead to adolescents feeling like they live in two different worlds, and truly belonging in neither. A sense of belonging can benefit the development of adolescents, whereas parental conflict during and after a divorce could cause for additional challenges. This study looks at the possible relationship between parental conflict, adolescents’ current wellbeing and their current sense of family belonging. The aim of this study is to contribute to the growth of knowledge concerning the sense of (family)belonging of adolescents after parental divorce. The data is obtained from the study Scholieren en Gezinnen, where 198 Dutch adolescents from divorced families filled in a questionnaire. Single and multiple regression analysis have shown that adolescents experience a higher sense of belonging with their mother than with their father. The results confirm that a great part of the adolescents’ wellbeing can be explained by the sense of belonging (with mother as well as father). The results also confirm that parental conflict has a significant negative effect on the adolescents’ wellbeing and their sense of belonging with both parents. Additional analysis, conducted through an ANOVA, shows that the sense of belonging with mother is rather stable, regardless of the adolescents’ living-arrangements. This is not the case for the sense of belonging with father after parental divorce. In conclusion, this study shows that parental conflict plays a big part in the negative outcomes concerning the adolescents’ wellbeing. A sense of belonging seems to be a predictor for adolescents’ wellbeing also after parental divorce. Knowing this, it is important for youth care professionals to ensure that every child, after parental divorce, does not only have a home, but feels at home as well.