Major JRF study reviews experiences of children whose parents divorce

Longer-term disadvantages, including employment, health and behaviour problems, occur more often than among children whose parents have stayed together, but they are typically found among no more than a minority of those whose parents have divorced.

These key findings emerge from a major review of more than 200 British research studies concerned with the impact of separation and divorce on children. The report was commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation from experts in Australia and New Zealand with the aim of providing a comprehensive and impartial overview of research spanning more than 30 years.

One of its central conclusions is that past confusion and misunderstanding have been caused by failure to view parental separation as a process beginning with family circumstances before divorce and continuing long after. Conflict and poor parent-child relationships are among the major risk factors linked to long-term problems. Children and their parents may, as a result, need help and support at a number of different stages.

The report also highlights a number of widely-held views about divorce that are not supported by the available evidence:

• absence of a parent figure is not the most influential feature of separation on children's development;
• the age at which children experience separation is not, in itself, important;
• there is no consistent evidence that boys are more affected by divorce than girls.

Children's short-term experiences
Examining studies of the immediate consequences of separation and divorce on children, authors Bryan Rodgers of The Australian National University, Canberra and Jan Pryor of the University of Auckland, New Zealand suggest that most children wish their parents had stayed together and hope that they will get back together. In the short term they are likely to experience unhappiness, low self-esteem and behaviour and friendship problems - as well as loss of contact with some members of their extended family.

Good communication between children and both parents appears especially important around the time of separation and afterwards in helping children to adapt. Children benefit from clear explanations about what is happening and from reassurance that a parent can still be a parent, even when they live elsewhere.

Longer-term disadvantages
As the immediate distress of divorce starts to fade, so most children settle into a pattern of normal development. Research has, nevertheless, shown that there is a greater probability of poor outcomes among children whose parents have separated than among others, and that some can be observed many years later during adulthood.

Typically, disadvantages are only found among a minority of those whose parents have separated, but as a rule of thumb adverse outcomes are often twice as common as they are among children whose parents have stayed together. Areas where children of separated families are at increased risk include:

• growing up in households with lower income, poorer housing and greater financial hardship;
• leaving school with fewer educational qualifications, and experiencing low pay and unemployment as adults;
• withdrawn behaviour, aggression and delinquency;
• health problems and admission to hospital following accidents;
• leaving home when young, early sexual activity, teenage pregnancy and giving birth outside marriage.
• depression and substance use in adolescence and adulthood;

However, the authors emphasise that poor outcomes such as these are far from inevitable and that there is no direct or simple link between parental separation and the way that different children adjust. Although differences in outcomes are clear, it cannot be assumed that parental separation is their underlying cause.

Factors affecting outcomes
Research seeking explanations for the links between divorce and the adverse outcomes experienced by some children has found that:

• financial hardship and other family circumstances that pre-date, as well as follow, separation play an important part in limiting children's educational achievement;
• family conflict before, during and after separation is stressful for children who may respond by becoming anxious, aggressive or withdrawn;
• the ability of parents to recover from the distress associated with separation is important for children's own ability to adjust.

Multiple changes in family structure
The report notes that children whose parents form new partnerships experience a further transition to a household made up of one natural parent, a step-parent and, sometimes, step-siblings. Research suggests ways in which older children in stepfamilies, especially, tend to fare less well than those living in intact families or with a lone parent. These include educational achievement, family relationships and sexual activity and parenthood at a young age.

However, if children experience the breakdown of their stepfamily as well as their first family, the impact can be particularly detrimental. The likelihood of multiple family transitions is greatest for children who are young when their birth parents separate.

Policy implications
Although drawing attention to significant gaps in current knowledge about children and divorce, the authors conclude that a number of policy and practice implications can be drawn from existing research.

• Children and parents should have access to professional support at the time of separation. Help for parents in coping with distress will make it easier for them to help their children.
• GPs, teachers and solicitors should be offered information and training making it easier for them to advise families or guide them towards specialist help.
• Parents need reliable information about the impact of divorce. While allaying their fears that separation itself can do permanent damage to children, they should be made aware of the detrimental effects of continuing conflict.
• There are likely to be benefits from enabling children to maintain contact with both their parents. Aside from circumstances where it is necessary to protect children from family violence or abuse, support services should enable non-resident parents to remain involved in their children's lives.

Bryan Rodgers said: "One of the clear policy messages that emerges from this review is that if children are to be protected against the kind of disadvantages identified by research, then both they and their parents will need better information and support both before, during and after separation.

"It is especially important that parents appreciate the possible damage from overt conflict and violence and from the involvement of children in their disputes. If they are able to minimise such behaviour, then they will improve their children's chances for better adjustment."

Jan Pryor said: "If families are to be helped to function in ways that are best for the health and well-being of children, it is also vital that policy makers recognise the growing diversity of family structures - in particular, the numbers of children living in lone-parent families, cohabiting families and stepfamilies. Support for parents and children may be just as important at time of re-partnering as it is following separation. What is needed is a focus on parenting rather than on marital status."