Children of divorce still suffering in their 50s

CHILDREN who experience a family break- up are still suffering the damaging effects decades into their later life, according to a study.

It said children whose parents have divorced by the time they are 16 are more likely than others to be out of work 40 years later.

The state-funded report listed divorce and a parent leaving the family home among the central reasons why adults may be unable to hold down jobs in their 50s, or choose not to work into their later years.

And it found that children of a broken home are also three times more likely than others to be permanently sick by their mid-50s. The findings, which show that effects of a divorce do not simply ‘wear off’, add to a wealth of previous evidence that children are badly harmed by family break-ups.

Researchers from the Uncertain Futures group studied 9,000 children born in 1958 who had been followed throughout their lives via the National Child Development Study. The team, led by Professor Sarah Vickerstaff of Kent University, found that those who suffer a family break-up or other harm early in life are most likely to be out of work in their mid- 50s because of long-term illness.

The report, published by the International Longevity Centre UK, said: ‘Traumatic events experienced in childhood, such as physical or sexual abuse, parental absence or parental divorce are associated with reduced labour force participation at 55. Those who face adversities during childhood ... faced diminished employment prospects in later life, primarily due to permanent sickness.’

‘Permanent sickness’