Tag Archives: divorce

Fifty-fifty split best for children of divorce

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Preschool children in joint physical custody have less psychological symptoms than those who live mostly or only with one parent after a separation. In a new study of 3,656 children in Sweden, researchers from Uppsala University, Karolinska Institutet and the research institute CHESS show that 3-5-year-olds living alternately with their parents after a separation show less behavioural problems and psychological symptoms than those living mostly or only with one of the parents.

The practice of joint physical custody, i.e. children living alternately and spending approximately the same amount of time in their parents’ respective homes, have increased in recent years and is more common in Sweden than in any other countries. Previous studies have shown that school children and adolescents fare well in joint physical custody. Child experts have claimed the practice to be unsuitable for young children since they are assumed to need continuity and stability in their parent relations. However, few studies of preschool children with joint physical custody have been conducted.

Based on parents’ and pre-school teachers’ estimates, the researchers compared behavioural problems and mental symptoms of 136 children in joint physical custody, 3,369 in nuclear families, 79 living mostly with one parent and 72 children living only with one parent. In this sample, joint physical custody was hence more common than living only or mostly with one parent. The symptoms were assessed using the popular “Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire” (SDQ), and showed that both preschool teachers and parents indicated children living mostly or only with one parent to have more difficulties than those living in joint physical custody or in nuclear families. In the parental estimates, there were no significant differences between children in nuclear families and joint physical custody, while pre-school staff reported fewer symptoms of children in nuclear families.

The study is the first of its kind to show how Swedish children this young fare in joint physical custody. The assessments of children’s health from the preschool staff, in addition to those of the parents, is a considerable strength of the study. However, the study design does not allow any interpretations of causal relations. Such interpretations require knowledge of the children’s wellbeing and symptoms before parental separation.

Job Loss Bigger Blow Than Divorce: Study

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In a new research for Bloomberg, the University of East Anglia and the What Works Center for Wellbeing, an independent body set up by the U.K. government, have revealed that it is worse to loose a job than loosing a spouse in a divorce.

The shock from the fact of getting fired in a job is more painful and impacts on mental health, self-esteem and satisfaction with life, said the data. Unemployment hovers around for years to come and people continue to become increasingly unhappy over the next few years, it said.

“After someone loses a partner, take a big dip and then, on average, it’ll get back to previous levels. But with unemployment, we just don’t see that happening,” said Tricia Curmi of the What Works Center for Wellbeing.

While it took two years to get over loss of spouse, job loss could torment them for more than four years, and men are more vulnerable to mental depression than women from this shock, pointed out the study.

“To have meaning in your life in this society means to be working, contributing, and to have that status,” Curmi said. It is not merely the salary but also the social mixing at the workplace and support from co-workers which keeps men going at the workplace than at home or leading a solo lifestyle.

Extroverts may bounce back quickly but incase of introverts, the suffering will last longer even for years, said another report. Many people who seek divine inspiration get to overcome such problems, Curmi said. “People who regularly attended church had a buffering effect from the impact of unemployment,” she noted.