This doesn’t surprise me. Think indeed that family stability matters and family breakdown can have a damaging effect on the mental health of children. Children are often loyal to both parents. Parents are often perceived as the rock of their existence. When their rock is no longer a solid unit/foundation the kids often suffer and struggle, even though the parents can be loving.

If the divorced parents are also caring parents, then the children won’t suffer long lasting effects.

There were lots of loose statements here towards the end that were not backed up by referencing any research.

How many children are the victims of a Dad who wants a baby, then changes his mind before the baby is born and walks away. Some don’t acknowledge their children, some say they don’t want anything to do with them, some only want to see them on their terms, when it suits them. Some have them for a weekend and leave them with a babysitter and the children become even more confused etc. Some are raised partly by a Stepfather who accepts them as their own. One of the worst things is when on parent “bad mouths” the other one….or they both do it. When a Dad pays child support he expects it to be used for the benefit of the children, not on unneccessary items only for the Mum, and then the Mum tell the kids she has no money when they need new shoes or something like… would like to go to something special with the school…or play school sports….some sports they have to have white soled shoes.

My children come from a broken divorced, tumultuous family with lots of anger & bitterness. All my children are adults now & all suffer from various forms of mental health issues. Some of these issues were diagnosed as children others are only coming out now. Two people make a mistake of marriage to the wrong person 30 years ago & now numerous people are paying the price including 7 grandchildren, my children’s spouses & their spouses grandparents.

I’m proof of this, unfortunately. My parents separated/divorced when I was 9 and I didn’t take it well. My younger brother and I have both suffered from depression/anxiety and myself worse things.

oh stop analysing everything, and be happy….. everyone has issues nowdays LOL

Wow so sad for all involved no one gets married planing on leaving the other person. As hard as it is as long as the kids are not caught in the middle it can be done

its so sad. i know a number of children who’s parents have divorced and have had their own problems because of it.

Mental health problems are caused by many factors and it would be interesting to have a link to the study and the results.

A very interesting article and a reminder as to how our relationships can impact our children.

yeah i wish that people would well and truly get to know each other before they get married and have kids.

Some relationships don’t last and in this day and age it’s normal to part ways but a child’s best interest and the long lasting effects need to be considered. It’s crucial that parents remain civil for the child/rens sake.

Correlation is not causation. We should be very careful to draw conclusions from observational studies. Mental health challenges are multi-factorial and are unlikely to be attributed to one single cause. There are many reasons that partners separate, including domestic violence. Staying in that situation or where a parent is unhappy can definitely be more detrimental to children’s well being, casual reporting of studies such as these make it harder for parents to leave a relationship when it is not in their best interest. Happy parents (whether single or together) = Happy children who grow into happy adults.

Interesting study. I am the youngest of five, our parents never divorced or seperated , it’s been other things in our lives that have cause 4 out of five of us to suffer from anxiety and depression.

My parents divorced when I was a teenager and I struggled with depression and anxiety all my life. No wonder. 🙁

This study highlights interesting points – things that can be (not always) evident at school. I know mine is different when hubby is away on extended FIFO rosters.