This paper presents qualitative research done with young adults, children of divorced parents, to whom questions were asked, in a general sense, on how they had felt the changes in their personal lives after the separation. Efforts were made to interview thirty middle class individuals resident in Rio de Janeiro, from 21 to 29 years old, all children of divorced parents. Parental separation was expected by some and unexpected by others, but for most it brought unpleasant consequences. Facts within these results are emphasized, such as: they were put in the middle of the dissension, the lack of fatherhood, further care by whom they had started living with and difficulties to deal with their parent's new friends or relationships. It has been concluded that it is impossible to generalize the consequences of marital separation or divorce to all former family members, but it is necessary to perfectly distinguish, in further studies, parents from children.
Parentalhood; Marital Separation; Divorce; Forensic Psychology