Stable homes mitigate post-divorce harms
Published: May 8, 2008 at 6:38 PM
MANSFIELD, Ohio, May 8 (UPI) -- Children in unstable family situations after their parents divorce fare worse as adults than children in stable post-divorce situations, a U.S. study said.
Study co-author Yongmin Sun of Ohio State University's Mansfield campus said the results showed that young adults who grew up in stable post-divorce families had similar chances of attending college and living in poverty compared to those from always-married families. However, they fared less well on measures of the highest degree obtained, occupational prestige and income.
Sun and Yuanzhang Li of the Allied Technology Group used data for the study that came from the National Education Longitudinal Study, comparing 5,303 children who grew up in always-married households with 984 children whose parents divorced before the study began, but who lived in a stable family structure between ages 14 and 18.
The young adults, who lived in unstable family situations after their parents divorced fared more than twice as poorly on most measures compared to their peers who had stable family situations.
For example, adults from stable post-divorce families earned about $1,800 a year less than similar adults from always-married families, but those adults whose family situations changed one or more times between ages 14 and 18 earned about $4,600 less.
Study co-author Yongmin Sun of Ohio State University's Mansfield campus said the results showed that young adults who grew up in stable post-divorce families had similar chances of attending college and living in poverty compared to those from always-married families. However, they fared less well on measures of the highest degree obtained, occupational prestige and income.
Sun and Yuanzhang Li of the Allied Technology Group used data for the study that came from the National Education Longitudinal Study, comparing 5,303 children who grew up in always-married households with 984 children whose parents divorced before the study began, but who lived in a stable family structure between ages 14 and 18.
The young adults, who lived in unstable family situations after their parents divorced fared more than twice as poorly on most measures compared to their peers who had stable family situations.
For example, adults from stable post-divorce families earned about $1,800 a year less than similar adults from always-married families, but those adults whose family situations changed one or more times between ages 14 and 18 earned about $4,600 less.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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