The master thesis investigates how adult children from divorced parents perceive romantic relationships. The main focus was how they experience romantic relationships in adulthood and how they experienced their parent’s divorce during childhood and youth. The theoretical part of the thesis describes divorce in general, its consequences and changes for partners and parents. The thesis is based on presuming that humans are driven and shaped by relationships. It continues by describing the influence of the divorce on children according by different age, as well as their romantic relationships in adulthood. The thesis describes a constructive way of dealing with potential traumas and explains how these traumas develop.
The empirical part of the thesis is based on qualitative research approach of phenomenology, which studies phenomena or individual’s experience of the phenomena, as well as semi-structured interviews to obtain data from six individuals who experienced their parents’ divorce and have been in a romantic relationship more than two years. Main research fields were how the individuals experienced their parents’ divorce in childhood or youth, the consequences of their parents’ divorce in adulthood and how they perceive romantic relationships in view of the divorce.
Research showed that all individuals were deeply affected by their parents’ divorce leading to feelings of anger, fear and agitation. They were frequently included in their parents’ disputes in one way or another. All individuals also reported having complicated relationships in the past and, at some point, experienced fear of abandonment. The individuals had already resolved the trauma from divorce or continue to do so with the help of personal development, some also with a help of a therapist. Their ongoing relationships are based on resolving their personal as well as interpersonal conflicts, but in general they are satisfied with their current relationships.
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