The Struggle of Divorce: Part 7 - Collateral Damage & The Dividing of a Family

Collateral Damage & The Dividing of a Family. Most effected by divorce are the children of the couple. The age and developmental nature of children varies, but none are unaffected. Even older teens and adult children are impacted psychologically, emotionally, and at times physically. Loyalties are tested and stretched, boundaries are violated, and the people who the child counts on are the ones responsible. But the greatest damage is visited upon the younger children who are now torn apart as the marriage tears apart. They suffer from ambiguous loss, a unique form of loss that paralyzes the grieving process, threatens the child's sense of security, and forces them into a battle of choosing between two people they are entitled to love without competition.