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Article

Nordic Journal of Nursing Research


2016, Vol. 36(3) 161–167
! The Author(s) 2016
To be in between: The meaning of PIS-divorce Reprints and permissions:
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groups for children from divorced families DOI: 10.1177/2057158516638275
njn.sagepub.com

Grethe Aarreberg Lofthus1 and Frode Skorpen2

Abstract
The aim of this study was to gain increased understanding about lived experiences of teenagers participating in PIS-divorce
groups (programme for implementation of divorce groups in school). From the perspective of caring science and based on an
ontological assumption of human interdependence, as well as earlier research that showed lack of consensus on the effect of
divorce on children, the question that we felt needed to be asked was how teenagers experienced PIS-divorce groups, and the
meaning of this experience in the time after. The methodological approach was phenomenological-hermeneutical. The sample is
based on interviews with five teenagers. The analysis uncovered two themes: To be in between and To be there for each other.
Teenagers viewed the offer of support as important. PIS-divorce groups enabled them to increase their understanding of their
life situation. The caring science concepts of suffering, love, and interdependence have contributed to give new and deeper
understanding to teenagers’ lived experience.

Keywords
interdependence, love, phenomenological-hermeneutical, PIS-divorce group, suffering

Accepted: 19 February 2016

Introduction
groups were important for health promotion.13 The experi-
Each year more than 30,000 children in Norway experience ence of being together with other children who had experi-
divorce. A Norwegian television programme entitled enced divorce had a positive health impact. The children
Divorced, broadcast in March 2015, discussed the issue of found someone to identify with, experienced openness, and
helping children cope with their parents’ divorce.1 As were supported by each other. Divorce support groups
divorce has become so common, one question that needs resulted in increased safety and confidence and enhanced
to be asked is whether teenagers have developed skills to understanding of divorce and of parents/step parents.
cope with their new situation.2 In a survey on dropping out Some children also managed to see a positive outcome
of high school, 50 out of 100 youngsters cited their parents’ from divorce.13
divorce, or the acquisition by their parents of new partners, Thuen observed that there was no consensus in the ear-
as a reason for dropping out.3 Divorce is one of the two lier research on the effect of divorce on children, a short-
most common reasons why children contact the coming which has resulted in ongoing heated debate about
Ombudsman for children in Norway.4 the extent to which divorce actually hurts children.14
It has been asked what family and society can do to help Researchers have agreed that the children of divorced par-
children cope with their new life in divorced families.5 Based ents reported significantly more psychological hurt; how-
on caring science and the ontological assumption about ever, where parents cooperated with each other, children
human interdependence we live in a world depending on were then better able to find coherence and meaning in
each other, and caring is in focus.6–10 Health is the aim of life.14 Teenagers who experienced divorce after the age of
caring and can be understood as experiencing feeling good.11 15 years did not suffer more than other children.15
PIS-groups (programme for implementation of divorce However, Ahrons found that 20 years after the experience
groups in school), which are on offer in some schools will of divorce, the quality of children’s family systems was
give children an opportunity to express and discuss their affected. New relationships had challenged many.
experiences regarding their parents’ divorce. Over a period Therefore, she insists that children’s voices must be heard
of six weeks 4–6 pupils meet in the group for an hour, because they are different from adults.16
together with a special educator and the school nurse.
After half a year there is a follow-up meeting.12
1
Karmøy Kommune, Norway
2
University College Stord/Haugesund, Norway
Earlier research
Corresponding author:
Størkesen found that divorce groups for children were Grethe Aarreberg Lofthus, Ramsdalskleiva 3, 5519 Haugesund, Norway.
beneficial.5 Egge further demonstrated that divorce Email: grethel@haugnett.no
162 Nordic Journal of Nursing Research 36(3)

Teenagers of divorced parents reported more symptoms conducted in 2014. Each interview lasted between 25 and
of anxiety and depression, lower subjective experience of 55 minutes, was tape-recorded and subsequently tran-
wellness and more school-related problems.5 According to scribed. All interviews, the transcription of which totalled
Amato et al.,17 earlier research18–20 has validated the 109 pages of text, were included in the analysis.
hypothesis of ‘the good divorce’. Amato et al., however,
refute the notion of ‘the good divorce’ as a panacea for
Ethics
ensuring that children thrive in divorced families.17 Butler
et al. found that children experienced divorce as an The study was approved by the Norwegian Data
ongoing crisis and that they reported problems sourcing Protection Agency (reg.38911/3/JSL). Written consent
information about divorce, which could have helped was obtained both from teenagers and the parent with par-
them better understand their own situation.21 According ental responsibility. All parties were provided with verbal
to Emery, the pain related to divorce never disappears, and written information about the study, which included a
even for the most resilient children, and it hurts children statement of the right of the children to withdraw from
if the parents do not allow them to have their own painful participation at any time. To ensure confidentiality, per-
feelings.22 Marschall found that children who moved sonal information, the tape-recorder, and transcriptions of
between their parents weekly tried their best to adjust to the interviews were stored separately and kept under lock.
their new situations and to develop strategies to cope with The participants were given fictive names, regardless of
the loss and grief they suffered from the absence of the gender. Quotes were not attributed to their authors. This
parent they were apart from.23 was a follow-up study of an existing programme and, by
virtue of the Regional Committee for Medical Research
Ethics in Western Norway (12.03.2014 reg.2014/507) fur-
Aim
ther approval was not required.
The aim was to gain increased understanding about lived
experiences of teenagers who participated in PIS-divorce
groups.
Data analyses
The phenomenological-hermeneutical method developed
by Lindseth and Norberg was adopted for the study.24
Design and methods From a phenomenological perspective, the focus was on
A phenomenological-hermeneutical research method was understanding the meaning of the lived experiences of the
adopted for the purpose of the study. This method gives informants communicating with the interviewer. Narrative
the opportunity to increase understanding of a phenom- interviews were transcribed and hermeneutically inter-
enon, in this case the experiences of teenagers participating preted. Initially, a naive understanding was formulated.
in PIS-divorce groups. The method was designed to afford Then the text was divided into meaning units that were
increased insight into the meaning that emerges from the condensed and divided into themes and sub-themes and
interviewees’ lived experiences. compared with the naive understanding. Then the text
was read again and a comprehensive understanding was
formulated.
Design
This is a qualitative study, based on semi-structured inter-
views. An interview guide containing two main questions Findings
and follow-up questions was used. The participants were
asked about their experience participating in the PIS-
Naive understanding
divorce group in school and what the PIS-divorce group Teenagers considered the offer to participate in a PIS-
meant for them in the time after. Focus during follow-up divorce group as important. They remembered a surpris-
questions was on what the teenagers found important to ingly great deal from their time in the group, even five
talk about. years on. They spoke openly, and communicated with
empathy on how the PIS-divorce group had influenced
their own lives, and what it meant to be a child in divorced
Selection families. Everyone remarked that his or her daily life was
To make the participants’ experience being interviewed as affected by having divorced parents, even those who were
safe as possible, the selection was limited to pupils the unable to remember how their lives were before divorce.
interviewer as school nurse had met in earlier PIS- The teenagers related the different themes of the PIS-
groups. The interviewer had not been in contact with the divorce group to their own real-life experiences. Even
teenagers in the period between participating in the PIS- though the research questions were about the PIS-divorce
group and being interviewed. The pool from which the groups all the teenagers in the interviews talked also about
selection was made comprised 36 teenagers. Two boys their own life experiences being a child in a divorce family.
and three girls, aged 13 to 15 years, who had participated Pivotal issues were tough choices in relation to visitation
in different divorce groups in the 4th to 7th grades in pri- arrangements, Christmas and vacations, new family mem-
mary school, were interviewed. The interviews were bers, loss, and thoughts of guilt. The teenagers needed to
Lofthus and Skorpen 163

know that there was someone there for them, someone to where four meaning units related to the sub-themes are
talk to, and someone to listen to and to understand them. presented.
The teenagers stated that the PIS-divorce group offer was To be in between was about the teenagers’ thoughts on
as important to middle school as to primary school pupils. being torn between, to miss, to have thoughts of own guilt,
They mentioned that they would recommend it to others and to be in need of love. Sub-theme one was To be torn
and suggested that we extend the group offer. between. One teenager said: ‘You become like a separated
soul. One part belonged to the one [parent], the second
part belonged to the other [parent]’.
Structural analysis The teenagers relayed their experiences on tough choices
The thematic analysis resulted in 127 meaning units, 127 in relation to everyday life, holidays and vacations. Issues
condensed meaning units, eight sub-themes and two arising in this context related to the choice of home and
themes. The first theme (see Table 1), To be in between, contact arrangements, weekly packing, and coordination
became visible from four sub-themes: To be torn between, of holidays and vacations. Everyday life was affected for
To miss, To have thoughts of own guilt and To be in need of many years following the parents’ divorce but the conse-
love. The second theme (see Table 1), To be there for each quences were experienced differently. One teenager said:
other, appeared from four sub-themes: To experience being ‘It affects everything in my life. I am back and forth.
safe, To be met, To be there for each other and To experi- I almost live in a suitcase’. Another teenager remarked
ence new understanding. The condensation-abstraction pro- that everyday life had changed dramatically after experien-
cess for the theme To be in between is illustrated in Table 2, cing a second divorce. Another described everyday life as
quite normal but experienced the weekly packing of lug-
gage a challenge. Choice of home and contact arrange-
ments were tough. The task of choosing between parents,
Table 1. Results of thematic analysis, identification of sub-themes based on their own needs, was hard. One commented:
and themes for to be in between and to be there for each other. ‘You are torn at both ends of your arm . . . and soon one
Sub-theme Theme had to let go . . . it was a very . . . like . . . creepy feeling . . . on
behalf of them . . . in a way’.
To be torn between To be in between One teenager found the experience of autonomy as both
To miss positive and problematic, venturing that dividing time
To have thoughts of own guilt between parents on a 50-50 basis was an optimal solution.
To be in need of love Another interviewee had looked for a 50-50 arrangement
To experience being safe To be there for each other for a long time and had finally experienced being listened
To be met to. A third teenager experienced relief in not having to
To be there for each other choose between parents, as one parent had been given par-
To experience new understanding ental responsibility by the court. Another observed:
‘Hardest . . . that has been . . . trial . . . THAT time was very

Table 2. Example of condensation-abstraction process for the theme To be in between.

Meaning unit Condensed meaning unit Sub-theme

‘There might be many thoughts in the beginning . . . it To experience being torn at both To be torn between
is wrong against dad that I will stay with mum ends of the arm.
and only be at his place in the weekends. How
does he feel about that? Does he hurt? Or should
I move to him, but then mum will hurt? . . . You get
torn at both ends of your arm . . . and soon one of
them had to let go . . . It was a very . . . creepy
feeling . . . on their behalf. . .’
‘I really think it is best with one week at both places. To experience it as best living To miss
[There are many youngsters wishing for one place one week at both places.
to live the most?] No, not me. Because then I miss To live in one place the most
them too much.’ would cause a huge loss.
‘It . . . is difficult sometimes . . . have been thinking a Hard to accept it, and difficult To have thoughts of own guilt
lot about accepting it. Was it me being thoughts of own guilt.
born . . . then it fell apart . . .?’
‘They can feel they get less attention from both, The parents’ conflict over- To be in need of love
because they spend more time on hate than on shadows the children’s need
love.’ for love.
164 Nordic Journal of Nursing Research 36(3)

hard . . . it was creepy everything . . . I did not like it, I did that feeling safe was the foundation for opening up to one
not like that they were arguing’. another. To experience, rather than being alone in the
One teenager remembered very well that holidays were a world with one’s experiences, a sense of community with
contentious issue, and commented that they were still others in the same situation, was important for the teen-
posing a challenge. In a similar vein, another teenager agers. One expressed it as follows: ‘It is very okay going in
stated that he had never experienced a holiday together such group, because . . . when you hear that others’ stories
with one of his parents. as are much the same as your own, then you get like . . . I
Sub-theme two was To miss. To choose one means to am not alone . . . I have people who have experienced get-
miss the other. To choose a 50-50 arrangement was a way ting through the same’. The teenagers experienced a feeling
of reducing deprivation. One of the teenagers remarked: of safety in the group and one commented: ‘I felt a little
‘One misses life as it was, in spite of understanding that free when I got the opportunity to talk about it. There are
one’s earlier life is not possible’, and one said: ‘I do not really not many I can talk about it to’.
know if I would have my parents together . . . but at the Some teenagers welcomed the fact that there were not
same time I would have them together. I would have a more than six children in each group. They would have
unity’. had more difficulty talking openly in larger groups. Also,
Sub-theme three, To have thoughts of own guilt, was some found participation difficult due to the presence of
often mentioned in the narratives. One reported that she peers from their own school class, whereas one teenager
experienced it as tough thoughts: ‘Was it my fault?? THAT felt safe knowing most of the other children in the group.
is what I often was thinking’, ‘I was very like . . . why . . . it Being there for each other was also about the possibility of
goes intense . . . you go around and think . . . why? Was it speaking when feeling ready to speak, of not being pushed
me? Didn’t they want me? . . . Was that the reason why to speak, and of having the right to decide when and what
there was quarrelling?’. She remarked that participation to talk about. One teenager remembered first being wor-
in group conversation made it possible for her to quash ried about speaking in the group, but felt confident about
these types of thoughts. speaking when she recognised her own experiences in the
Sub-theme four was To be in need of love. On the topic group themes. One said: ‘I remember that confidentiality
of what children of divorced parents needed, one was important, because then I could say everything, with-
declaimed spontaneously: ‘LOVE!’ children need love out anything muting me’.
from everyone, she emphasised. She added that children Sub-theme six, To be met, was about having someone
can feel that they are given less attention by both parents, who sees you, talks to you, listens to you, takes you ser-
as parents are paying more attention to hating each other. iously, understands you, and communicates trustworthi-
One teenager commented that it was difficult to understand ness when you need it. It may be a friend, a parent, a
what love was, in the way adults talked about it. Teenagers teacher or a neighbour. What is important is, not the per-
did not understand how parents could say they still loved son’s profession, but that that person understands you and
each other, when they were with new partners. takes you seriously. Many people can see, if they only open
The teenagers discussed why their parents divorced. their eyes: ‘What I think is important is that people should
Two reported that their parents did not fit together. bother to care’ one commented.
Another said that his/her parents did not like each other One of the teenagers said: ‘parents think a little more of
anymore, and two cited multiple conflicts as the reason. themselves . . . I understand it in a way, because it is them
Also, the experience of their stepparents cooperating who get most affected’. Another participant had the experi-
with their ex-partners gave rise to new questions. One com- ence where one parent understood that it was hard to be a
mented: ‘Then I started wondering why my mother and child of divorce, whereas the other parent saw only possi-
father did not manage to cooperate . . . My mother did bilities and solutions in the situation.
not manage to put words on it, neither did my dad’. One teenager ventured that when parents do not take
Another ventured that what was good also hurt: ‘It is their children’s needs seriously, it is important that other
really hard thinking of your parents not being . . . together. adults help the children to be understood. Another view
At the same time, I do not want to think about it expressed was that a school nurse should be more visible in
either . . . then I would not have got new siblings and schools, consulting the pupils regularly and enquiring
stuff’. Love is also about responsibility for parents and about their welfare. One participant observed that when
one’s new family. One of the teenagers said that you do someone is suffering it is important that another cares.
your best to make it work. Another confided: ‘I do not She reported an experience of feeling cared: ‘I see you
want to leave my mother, even if she is . . . may be . . . not are suffering. Do you feel like talking about it? . . . if not,
quite able to stand on her own feet’. you should know that I am here . . . Those are very nice
The second theme To be there for each other was about words to hear’.
the group offer, how the teenagers experienced it, and what Sub-theme three is to be there for each other. One said:
it meant to them. To be there for each other meant to feel ‘The fact that you know you have someone, that you are
safe, to be met, to be there for each other, and to experi- not alone in the world’. The teenagers had thoughts about
ence new understanding. Sub-theme five, To experience being there for each other, about talking and listening to
being safe, was about feeling safe in the group, about each other, and about doing things together. All of them
safety in common experiences, and about the perception found it important having a good friend. The PIS-divorce
Lofthus and Skorpen 165

group was emphasised as being important in primary means missing the other. Also, even where the parents do
school and as an option that should be on offer in their best to cooperate, teenagers may still experience being
middle school. The consensus was that individual conver- in between. According to Amato et al. this may be inter-
sations with a school nurse could not replace the PIS- preted as meaning that ‘good’ divorce does not necessarily
divorce group, which gave them the experience of a mean that children are necessarily happy in divorced
sense of community with others in the same situation. families.17
The PIS-divorce group gave them meaning in their life In this study, choosing contact arrangements was, for
for a time afterwards. One of them said it was difficult the teenagers, to choose between their parents. To opt for a
to encapsulate in words, but recalled that the group offer 50-50 arrangement was about reducing deprivation.
was comforting. The teenagers suggested more meetings Marschall described such measures as adaptation strategies
over a longer time-period and more time to talk about children deploy to deal with the deprivation and grief
themselves. A follow-up group half a year later was, caused by the absence of the parent from whom they are
according to the teenagers, also important. Everyone separated.23
wanted to recommend the group offer to others in the The single word ‘Love!’ used by one of the teenagers,
same situation. One said: ‘I think it can help a lot of represented the teenagers’ need for love. Tolerance, interest
people coming out of the little shell they are hiding and caring are everyday expressions of love.9 Also, assum-
inside’. ing responsibility for one’s parents and new families may
Sub-theme eight was To experience new understanding. be interpreted as expressions of love. According to Arman
The teenagers spoke about questioning their past and and Rehnsfeldt,9 love as a concept is not used in everyday
about how participating in the group had resulted in language, but, in this study, the teenagers were concerned
increased understanding. One said: ‘It was much that about love and expressed it in words. The youngsters com-
dawned for me. I felt it became easier for me’. According mented, reflecting the view of Ahrons,16 that parents were
to another, involvement in the group made it possible for challenged by the acquisition of a new partner. As one
the teenagers to move on with their lives, knowing that it noted, the children were liable to experience a diminution
was not their fault that their parents had divorced. in attention from their parents when one parent acquired a
Involvement in the PIS-divorce group also deepened the new partner and conflicts between the parents increased:
participants’ understanding, giving them both a feeling of ‘they use more time on hate than on love’. One way to
relief and a meaning which was conducive to their health understand this experience is as being in between, not
and enjoyment of life. experiencing the love one is looking for.
The second theme was about the meaning of the group
offer. The group offer increased the teenagers’ experience
Comprehensive understanding and discussion
of meaning and coherence which, according to Dahlberg
The themes To be in between and To be there for each other and Segersten, is important for children’s health.11 As one
summarise the essence of the structural analysis and will be interviewee said: ‘It was then much that it came clear
discussed applying a caring science perspective.6–10 Being a for me. I felt it became easier for me afterwards’. Egge
child from a divorced family may be understood as to be in reported similar findings.13
between and is about experiencing being torn between par- The teenagers’ stories also shed light on another way of
ents, missing one, having thoughts of guilt, and being in understanding the value of the group offer. To be there for
need of love. Divorce is a common phenomenon in our each other is the essence of the PIS-divorce group offer. It
society and narratives from both this study and earlier is about being met when you are suffering, having someone
research14,16 show that divorce affects teenagers’ health. open their eyes and be willing to see you, and being taken
Both our professional understanding as school nurses, seriously. It is, therefore, about the existential conditions
and the understanding of other professionals, affect how of life and the revelation that we are all dependent on each
the needs of children of divorce will be met. We need to other – it is about imparting an interdependence perspec-
listen to children’s voices as their experiences differ from tive.6 Suffering is a natural part of human life, and in line
adults’ experiences.16 Both this study and earlier research21 with Rehnsfeldt and Arman,10 suffering is compatible with
show that teenage children of divorced couples suffer in health. What is important is that the suffering experiences
their daily lives for many years following the divorce. are being met. As the teenagers say, being met makes you
Egge takes the view that the group offer can make it feel better, and this is important to health.11
easier for teenagers to see the positive effects of divorce;13 The teenagers emphasised that there are times when the
however, such beneficial effects were not evident in the children of divorced parents needed someone to talk to and
teenagers’ stories. Only one of the teenagers referred to someone to understand them. This need for a sense of
the positive experience of gaining new siblings, conceding, community with others was understandable and in line
at the same time, however, that it was difficult thinking with the views of Løgstrup6 and Martinsen7 that, as
about parents not being together. There was also a humans, we live in a common world, are dependent on
thread of ambivalence and double thinking running each other, and play a part in each other’s lives. Egge
through the teenagers’ stories which may be understood noted that, for children who experienced divorce, commu-
as being in between. To choose one means to relegate the nity with other children produced the same result as a
other. Experiencing happiness by being with one parent health promotion effect.13
166 Nordic Journal of Nursing Research 36(3)

The teenagers also emphasised the need to feel safe in the What we found in the interpretation of the text was not
group and to be able to share their thoughts and feelings just one, and only one, meaning.24 The questions about
with each other: ‘I felt a little free when I could talk about it. validity and reliability are different in qualitative than in
There are not that many I can talk to about it’. The group quantitative research. In qualitative research the question
was, therefore, about trust. Løgstrup ventured that human focuses on the extent to which the researcher is consistent
life is about meeting each other in natural trust.6 and aware throughout the research process. The fact that
The teenagers described themselves as wondering about the interviewer had met the informants as a school nurse in
the past and about why life was the way it was. This con- PIS-divorce groups could have affected both the conduct
cerned existential questions, which, some said, they were of the interview and the interpretation of the results. To
not accustomed to talking about with friends and parents. what extent it is possible to put one’s own pre-understand-
Martinsen commented that, in our busy society, there is no ing aside could be discussed, but both when doing the
room for these types of reflections.7 The group offer can be interviews and in the process of analysis one was aware
a forum for such conversation and reflection. of these challenges. In the interviews the focus was on
Another way of understanding the meaning of the the teenagers’ experiences, and the interpretation of the
group offer is in light of the ethics of life. According to text was from the perspective of caring science.
Løgstrup, if your understanding of life is that other
humans are important in your life, this understanding
will translate into your taking care of the others in your
Conclusions
life.6 With regard to the teenagers’ understanding of their The study showed that PIS-divorce groups were viewed by
lives, their views were framed with reference to their family the teenagers as an important offer. The study also brought
lives and the experiences of being in between. The teenagers to light new understandings of teenagers’ experiences of
emphasised the importance of being in communion with life. To be children from divorced families may be under-
each other. They also understood that their parents had stood as to be in between, which means having ambivalent
different levels of ability to understand and to take their thoughts and contradictory feelings, to be torn between
challenges seriously, which they attributed to their parents’ parents and to be in need of love. To be there for each
experiences in life. These thoughts showed the youngsters’ other was the essence in the teenagers’ stories about the
depth and maturity, but also their need for understanding meaning of the group offer, which meant being safe,
in their lives. The group offer was capable of providing a being met and experiencing new understanding. The
sense of community and experience of common meaning caring science concepts of suffering, love and interdepend-
and understanding of life.9 ence have contributed to new and deeper understanding of
The teenagers’ experience of the group offer was about the teenagers’ lived experiences.
the meaning of being met. One way of understanding this is
to reflect on the thoughts they shared about the loss of love Funding
and not being seen. May be talking about ‘being there for This research received no specific grant from any funding agency
each other’ was the reason why the teenagers opened up to in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
discuss their thoughts of what is missing in the experience of
being in between, which came up as the first theme. The Conflict of interest
group gave them something they missed: love and being The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
seen. This can be understood in line with what has been
described earlier: that children of divorced parents reported References
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