Surviving the break-up: teenagers’ experience in maintaining wellness and well-being after parental divorce

ABSTRACT

The study uses a phenomenological approach to explore teenagers’ conceptualization of wellness after parental divorce. Ten teenagers between 16 and 18, who all have a minimum of one year of living as a part of a divorce family, participated in this study, which was conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and were triangulated with information gathered while monitoring contents from participants’ social media profiles.  Nine themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) Reluctant to confront their parents’ divorce, (2) Willingness to express and reflect, (3) Acceptance of parental divorce, (4) Forgiveness of their parents, (5) Letting it go and moving on with life, (6) Acceptance of support from others, (7) Spiritual inclination, (8) Self-help, and (9) Helping others.

KEYWORDS:

• Teenagers
• wellness
• divorced families
• well-being
• social media

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarada Devi R. Subramaniam

Sarada Devi R. Subramaniam is a Registered Counsellor at the Malaysian National Population and Family Development Board. She is pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur

Melati Sumari

Dr Melati Sumari is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to [email protected]

Norfaezah Md Khalid

Dr Norfaezah Md Khalid is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.