This is due in part, of course, to the intense focus on self that comes to full flower during adolescence. Teenagers have things they want to buy, places they want to travel, and experiences they want to savor, and they are understandably focused on making sure their parents can afford them. In addition, however, adolescents are more aware than younger children about the limitations imposed by money. They suspect the divorce may have direct financial ramifications for them, and they're usually right. Adolescents are more likely than younger children to find and discuss the faults of their parents.
Adolescents are more likely than younger children to take sides in the divorce.
Teenagers seek clarity, and they're much more likely than younger children to condemn one of their parents. The most poignant cases of Parental Alienation Syndrome seem to involve teenagers. Filling Adult Shoes. Perhaps the most troublesome response of some adolescents to the divorce of their parents is to attempt to fill the role they perceive to be filled in the past by one of their parents. It's not mature, and it's not normal, for either parent to confide in a teenager about the issues of the divorce.