broken homes
Shattered family units
A broken home is a family disrupted by divorce, separation, or parental absence.
The term carries a judgmental undertone, implying dysfunction or damage: He blamed his troubles on coming from a broken home.
Critics note it stigmatizes single-parent households and non-traditional families.
The phrase appears less frequently now as family structures have diversified.
Protective care or control
- alimonyCourt-ordered post-divorce payments
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
- co-parentingJoint child-rearing by separated adults
- visitationOfficial or formal visit
mediation · family court · spousal support · dissolution · annulment · divorcee · litigation · prenuptial
Abnormal or unhealthy operation
- insecurityUncertainty about oneself
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
tension · precariousness · volatility · unpredictability · transience · maladjustment · unease · fragility
State of being isolated
- riftCrack or estrangement
- disconnectionState of being severed
- distanceSpace between two points
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
severance · isolation · schism · gulf · abandonment · rejection · loneliness · reconciliation
custody
Protective care or control
- alimonyCourt-ordered post-divorce payments
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
- co-parentingJoint child-rearing by separated adults
visitation · mediation · family court · spousal support · dissolution · annulment · divorcee · litigation · prenuptial · irreconcilable
dysfunction
Abnormal or unhealthy operation
- insecurityUncertainty about oneself
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
stress · tension · precariousness · volatility · unpredictability · transience · maladjustment · unease · fragility · discontent
alienation
State of being isolated
- riftCrack or estrangement
- disconnectionState of being severed
- distanceSpace between two points
detachment · severance · isolation · schism · gulf · abandonment · rejection · loneliness · reconciliation · reunification
- povertypoverty line, poor, poverty rate, impoverished, generational poverty
- divorcedivorce court, divorce decree, divorce papers, divorce filing, divorce lawyer
- juvenile delinquencyjuvenile crime, juvenile justice, juvenile court, youth crime, youth offenders
- criminologycrime, criminology, criminal behavior, criminologist, criminalization