We used a mixed-methods online survey to recruit 616 young Australians whose parents had separated, to understand their experiences and how to better support them throughout the separation process. Persistent themes included conflict, lack of communication and agency, mental health concerns, and feelings of confusion, frustration, loss, and grief. Some suggested it would have been useful to talk about reasons for the separation, their rights, opinions and feelings, with some indicating the separation process affected their ongoing mental health and relationships. There was a general preference for face-to-face counseling, closely followed by online counseling and online peer-to-peer support, indicating that a “one size fits all” approach is not suitable for young people. Young people should be offered services early in the separation process that can be extended in content to other issues such as new partners, school life and mental health, and continued beyond the timeframe of the separation process.
AmatoP. R. (2001). Children of divorce in the 1990s: An update of the Amato and Keith (1991) meta-analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(3), 355–370.
2.
AuerspergF.VlasakT.PonocnyI.BarthA. (2019). Long-term effects of parental divorce on mental health – a meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 119, 107–115.
3.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2010). Parental divorce or death during childhood. Australian Social Trends, September2010 (cat no. 4102.0). Author.
4.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Love me do. Australian Social Trends, March2012 (cat. no. 4102.0). Author.
5.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2018). Marriages and divorces, Australia, 2017 (cat no 3310.0). Author.
6.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2020). Marriages and divorces, Australia, 2019 (cat no 3310.0). Author.
Australian Law Reform Commission. (1997). Seen and heard: Priority for children in the legal process (ALRC Report 84). Author. Retrieved fromhttp://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/report-84.
9.
BeckhouseK. (2016). Laying the guideposts for participatory practice: Children’s participation in family law matters. Family Matters, 98, 26–33.
10.
BradfordK.Burns VaughnL.BarberB. (2008). When there is conflict: Interparental conflict, parent-child conflict, and youth problem behaviors. Journal of Family Issues, 29(6), 780–805.
11.
BrynerC. L. (2001). Children of divorce. The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 14(3), 201–210.
12.
ButlerI.ScanlanL.RobinsonM.DouglasG.MurchM. (2003). Divorcing children: Children’s experience of their parents’ divorce. Jessica Kingsley.
13.
CampbellA. (2013). I wish the views were clearer: Children’s wishes and views in Australian family law. Children Australia, 38(4), 184–191.
14.
CampbellA.RidoutB.AmonK.CollyerB.DalgleishJ. (2018). Kids Helpline Circles: Findings from participant action research in the development of a secure national mental health social network. Paper presented at the Cyberpsychology, Cybertherapy & Social Networking Conference, Gatineau, Canada.
15.
CarsonR.DunstanE.DunstanJ.RoopaniD. (2018). Children and young people in separated families: Family law system experiences and needs. Australian Institute of Family Studies.
16.
CarsonR.KaspiewR.MooreS.DeblaquiereJ.De MaioJ.HorsfallB. (2014). The role and efficacy of independent children’s lawyers. Family Matters, 94, 58–69.
17.
CashmoreJ.ParkinsonP. (2009). Children’s participation in family law disputes: The views of children, parents, lawyers and counselors. Family Matters, 82, 15–21.
18.
Convention on the Rights of the Child. (1989). 1577 U.N.T.S. 3.7.
19.
DouglasG.MurchM.RobinsonM.ScanlanL.ButlerI. (2001). Children’s perspectives and experience of the divorce process. Family Law, 31, 373–437.
20.
EysenbachG.WyattJ. (2002). Using the internet for surveys and health research. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 4(2), e13.
KaspiewR.GrayM.WestonR.MoloneyL.HandK.QuL.; the Family Law Evaluation Team. (2009). Evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms. Australian Institute of Family Studies.
27.
KellyJ. B.EmeryR. E. (2003). Children’s adjustment following divorce: Risk and resilience perspectives. Family Relations, 52(4), 352–362.
28.
KilkellyU. (2006). Operationalising children’s rights: Lessons from research. Journal of Children’s Services, 1(4), 35–46.
29.
LerschP. M.BaxterJ. (2021). Parental separation during childhood and adult children’s wealth. Social Forces, 99(3), 1176–1208.
30.
McIntoshJ. (2003). Enduring conflict in parental separation: Pathways of impact on child development. Journal of Family Studies, 9(1), 63–80.
31.
McIntoshJ. E. (2009). Legislating for shared parenting: Exploring some underlying assumptions. Family Court Review, 47(3), 389–400.
32.
McLanahanS. S. (1999). Father absence and the welfare of children. In HetheringtonE. M. (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting, and remarriage: A risk and resiliency perspective (pp. 117–145). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
33.
MoloneyL.SmythB.RichardsonN.CapperS. (2016). Understanding parenting disputes after separation (research report no. 36). Australian Institute of Family Studies.
34.
MorrisonD. R.CherlinA. J. (1995). The divorce process and young children’s well-being: A prospective analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57(3), 800–812.
35.
NowellL. S.NorrisJ. M.WhiteD. E.MoulesN. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1–13.
36.
O’HaraK. L.SandlerI. N.WolchikS. A.TeinJ. Y. (2019). Coping in context: The effects of long-term relations between interparental conflict and coping on the development of child psychopathology following parental divorce. Development and Psychopathology, 31(5), 1695–1713.
37.
ParkinsonP.CashmoreJ.SingleJ. (2005). Adolescents’ views on the fairness of parenting and financial arrangements after separation. Family Court Review, 43(3), 429–444.
38.
PeralesF.JohnsonS. E.BaxterJ.LawrenceD.ZubrickS. R. (2017). Family structure and childhood mental disorders: New findings from Australia. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(4), 423–433.
39.
RidoutB.CampbellA. (2018). The use of social networking sites in mental health interventions for young people: systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(12), e12244.
40.
RodgersB.GrayP.DavidsonT.ButterworthP. (2011). Parental divorce and adult family, social and psychological outcomes: The contribution of childhood family adversity. Social Policy Research Paper No. 42. Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
41.
SmartC.NealeB. (2000). “It’s my life too”: Children’s perspectives on post-divorce parenting. Family Law, 30, 163–169.
42.
TaylorN. (2017). Child participation: Overcoming disparity between New Zealand’s family court and out-of-court dispute resolution processes. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 25, 658–671.
43.
Van DamL.SmitD.WildschutB.BranjeS. J.RhodesJ. E.AssinkM.StamsG. J. (2018). Does natural mentoring matter? A multilevel meta-analysis on the association between natural mentoring and youth outcomes. American Journal of Community Psychology, 62(1–2), 203–220.
44.
WarshakR. A. (2003). Payoffs and pitfalls of listening to children. Family Relations, 52(4), 373–384.
45.
YoungS. (2017). The missing heart of parenting disputes in the Australian family law system: A case for a child-inclusive approach to judicial decision-making. Family Law Review, 7, 116–134.
46.
Yourtown. (2017). Kids helpline insights 2017: National statistical overview. Author.
