Children untroubled by divorce …if parents share care
Couples who stay married ‘for the sake of the children’ are not necessarily doing the best thing for their youngsters’ mental health.
Children who spend time with each of their divorced parents are no more likely to suffer from mental health problems than children of parents who remain together, Swedish researchers have concluded.
They examined 150,000 Swedish schoolchildren to see how divorce and shared living arrangements affected their mental health. The researchers from Stockholm University’s Centre for Health Equity Studies found negligible differences in the mental health of divorced children who lived with each parent in turn, compared to the mental health of children with cohabiting or married parents.
‘This living arrangement in general does not imply worsened health for children four years and older,’ said researcher Emma Fransson. ‘Sensitive parenting and predictability of everyday life is important when raising children. This research implies that it is possible for parents to provide these features also if they do not live together.’
The team also found that children living in turn with each parent had better mental health than those who lived with just one parent.
‘This could be both a matter of better resources and better health to begin with,’ Ms Fransson said. ‘However, it could also result from higher support from both parents.’
There was no suggestion that children fared better or worse depending on the gender of the parent they lived with.
The findings support evidence from University College London, published last December, that children brought up by just one parent are three times more likely to suffer from severe emotional and behavioural problems.
And recent US research suggested individuals whose parents divorced before their seventh birthdays are more likely to suffer ill health in mid-life. A Pennsylvania State University team found a clear link between the number of health problems reported at the age of 50 and a parental divorce before the age of seven.