Friday, July 11, 2008

Divorce Still Damaging to Children Despite Being More Acceptable

"Divorce remains equally damaging to a child's prospects in life despite having become more common and more socially acceptable, researchers say."

-- From "Divorce Still Damaging to Children Despite Being More Acceptable" by James Kirkup, Political Correspondent, The Telegraph 7/9/08

A study run over several decades has shown that children whose parents split up are more likely to end up without qualifications, claiming benefits and suffering depression.

The National Child Development Study has tracked around 17,000 people born in Britain during one week in 1958 over the course of their lives.

As those people approach their 50th birthdays, researchers have compared their lives with those of other sample groups born in earlier and later years.

The lengthy study has confirmed that children born in 1958 were much less likely to experience parental divorce than children today.

Family break-up was subject to much greater social stigma at the time, something that was sometimes thought to contribute to the problems experienced by the children of divorced parents.

Yet the study's data suggest that greater social acceptance of divorce has not reduced its impact on children.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.