Broken homes make troubled teens - study

If we, the adults, cannot cope with divorce, how can we expect our children to?

If we, the adults, cannot cope with divorce, how can we expect our children to?

Published Dec 1, 2014

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London - Teenagers whose parents divorce are more likely to get poor exam results, drink alcohol, try drugs and suffer eating disorders, a study has found.

Nearly two-thirds of youngsters whose parents had split said their GCSE results were worse than they should have been, and nearly half said their A-levels had suffered.

About 14 percent admitted they had started drinking alcohol or drinking more heavily in the wake of their family’s break down.

And more than a quarter reported comfort eating or not eating enough.

But the most concerning finding, according to the report authors, was that 13 percent had admitted to experimenting or thinking about taking drugs.

Pollsters ComRes questioned 502 young people aged 14 to 22, whose parents had divorced or separated, for family lawyers organisation Resolution. The findings add to an overwhelming weight of evidence demonstrating that divorce damages not just younger children, but also those in their teens and twenties, who are at a crucial stage in their lives.

As well as faring worse than they had hoped in their exams, 24 percent of those surveyed said they struggled to finish homework or essays, 11 percent said they were getting into more trouble at school, college or university, and 12 percent admitted that they were skipping lessons.

Social media was also found to be a source of unhappiness, with 23 percent saying they found out that a parent had a new partner through the internet, while 20 percent revealed their parents had made embarrassing online posts about the divorce.

Nearly a third said one parent had tried to turn them against the other, and 27 percent said their parents had tried to drag them into their arguments. Meanwhile almost one in five said the divorce had meant losing contact with a grandparent.

The survey was timed to mark Resolution’s Family Dispute Resolution Week, which urges parents to speak to a lawyer to get advice on collaboration, mediation and arbitration as means of making the separation process more amicable.

Chairman Jo Edwards said: “These new findings show the wide-ranging impact of divorce and separation on young people.

“They underline just how important it is that parents manage their separation in a way that minimises the stress and impact on the entire family, especially children, otherwise their exam results could suffer. Divorce and separation is always traumatic, but there is a better way to deal with it.”

However, critics pointed to evidence showing that it is the fact of divorce and separation, rather than the level of conflict between parents, which damages children – and said it was better for couples to try to stay together.

Harry Benson of the Marriage Foundation think-tank said: “The worst effects of divorce, according to research, are felt by children whose parents didn’t argue much before the separation. ‘Mummy and daddy don’t love each other’ makes no sense to a child because it comes out of the blue.”

He added: “Children then internalise the reason as being down to them or to the unpredictable nature of relationships. This can then go on to affect their own relationships in adult life.

“The other factor that damages children is the number of transitions experienced post-divorce. New partners, new homes, new schools, all cause disruption and confusion.” - Daily Mail

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