Children of Divorce: Experiences of Children Whose Parents Attended a Divorce Education Program Jason D. Hans Mark A. Fine ABSTRACT. Focus groups were conducted with 14 children, ages 8-13, in an attempt to uncover the extent to which a divorce education program achieves its goal of improving the divorce experience for chil- dren. The children discussed problems with feeling caught in the middle of their parents’ disputes, parents not keeping them informed, and com- plications arising when parents’ new partners enter the family realm. These results suggest that the program does not fully reach its objectives. The children also said the best way a friend could help them cope with their parents’ divorce is by discussing it, provided the friend has also been through a divorce. Accordingly, programs for children are recom- mended to further assuage children’s divorce experience. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <getinfo@haworthpressinc.com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> © 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.] KEYWORDS. Divorce education, children of divorce, coparenting, childrearing practices Jason D. Hans is a doctoral student, Department of Human Development and Fam- ily Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia. Mark A. Fine, PhD, is Professor and Chair, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Mis- souri-Columbia. Address correspondence to: Jason D. Hans, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia, 314 Gentry Hall, Columbia, MO 65211 (E-mail: jhans@familyscholar.com). The authors would like to thank the McNair Scholars Program at the University of Missouri-Columbia for funding this research. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, Vol. 36(1/2) 2001 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 1