Israeli Kindergarten Children’s Reactions to Their Parents’ Divorce “Suddenly It Was Quiet Because They Had Stopped fighting”

ABSTRACT

The current study investigated Israeli kindergarten children’s construction of sense of coherence during their parents’ divorce. 120 kindergarten children aged 4-6, whose parents had divorced in the previous two years took part in a semi-structured interview. Qualitative content analysis showed that the children perceived the divorce as both presenting difficulties of confusion and frequent transitions, and as enabling the benefit of double gifts and fewer arguments. The children structured the meaning of the concept of family as a form of conduct in which they see the help the family provides as well as the split and the expansion of the family. They gave emotional meaning to divorce - on the one hand sorrow and longing, and on the other, the fantasy of a reunion of their divorced parents. These findings are important for understanding the unique perspective of kindergarten children regarding their parents’ divorce and ways to help them accordingly.

KEYWORDS:

• Children’s reaction to divorce
• qualitative research
• sense of coherence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).