- 23
- July
2013
Divorce more likely to affect young children according to study
When couples in California make the decision to divorce, the children involved may be the ones who feel the change the most. Divorce and child custody issues are often emotionally taxing for all involved, but children may at times feel lost and confused about the future when their parents are fighting. Although divorce may eventually be a positive thing for a child, a recent study found that the age of the child might factor seriously into how the child handles the splitting up of the family and the future of the parent-child relationship.
In a study designed to gain insight into why some people form strong attachments while others don’t, a professor at the University of Illinois recently discovered that children who were between birth and five years old during the divorce are more likely to be insecure in future relationships with their parents.
The study surveyed almost eight thousand people with questions about relationships and personality. Over a third of those surveyed were from divorced homes, and researchers state that those with a secure relationship with a parent are more likely to trust the parent. According to researchers, a child with a secure parental relationship is more likely to feel the parent will be available psychologically when they are needed.
The study also dissected the importance of relationships in the lives of most people. According to the research, children who were older during a divorce trust their parents more because they were able to establish a secure relationship with the parents before the divorce occurred while their younger siblings did not.
Source: Huffington Post, "Children of divorce: Study finds younger children feel lasting effects of divorce," July 1, 2013