The Causes And Mitigation Paths Of Relative Deprivation Of Adolescents From Divorced Families

Under the constant erosion of family life by the structural pressures of social change,divorced families have begun to emerge on a large scale.Due to the breakdown and deficiencies of family structure,adolescents from divorced families are inevitably in a relatively disadvantaged position,highlighted in various aspects such as interpersonal relationships,family environment,and social environment.In the process of comparing with adolescents from non-divorced families,they often perceive that they have lost their due benefits or rights,thus generating a sense of relative deprivation,which affects their individual growth and development and even causes social problems.Based on the theory of relative deprivation,this study uses a quantitative research method to analyze the current situation of relative deprivation among adolescents from divorced families in Z middle school and investigate the degree of their relative deprivation.On this basis,we used qualitative research methods to identify interviewees through purposive sampling,conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 adolescents from divorced families in Z Middle School,and delved into the inner world and life situations of adolescents from divorced families to analyze the causes of relative deprivation of adolescents from divorced families and explore social work service practices.The study found that adolescents from divorced families have a moderate level of relative deprivation,and their sense of relative deprivation is the result of multiple causes.The negative orientation of individual traits,the intensification of interpersonal interactions,and the multiple constructs of life situations contribute to the relative deprivation of adolescents from divorced families.Specifically,the negative orientation of individual traits includes personal characteristics such as introversion and isolation,psychological sensitivity and vulnerability,self-perception bias,and negative attributions;the continuous reinforcement of interpersonal interactions refers to the reinforcement of adolescents’ sense of relative deprivation due to unreasonable interactions in family and peer relationships in divorced families;the multiple constructs of life situations include poor family economic status,unreasonable family The multiple constructs of life contexts include family life contexts such as poor family economic status and unreasonable family parenting,school life contexts such as inappropriate teachers’ attitudes and poor school climate,and social life contexts such as social culture and negative portrayal of divorced adolescents by mass media.On this basis,we explore individual,social,and systematic ways for social work to alleviate the relative deprivation of adolescents from divorced families from three levels:self-image reconstruction,interpersonal relationship reconciliation,and life situation reshaping.Specifically,in the individual path of self-image reconstruction,social workers should assist and facilitate divorced adolescents to reduce the constraints of discrimination experiences,reconstruct their self-perceptions,and change their attribution styles.In the social pathway of interpersonal reconciliation,social workers should encourage and guide divorced adolescents to strengthen positive emotional connections,actively seek social support,and break out of the comparison trap.In the systemic approach of life contextualization,social workers should improve the internal family system,create a friendly school environment,and foster a rational social climate,starting from the external context of divorced adolescents.