As parents, we often worry about how our decisions will affect our children both over the long term and in the moment. This is often at the forefront of parents’ minds who are going through a divorce. There is usually much debate and conflicting feelings leading up to a divorce if you have children.
How will the divorce affect the children? Should we stay together for the kids’ sake? Will this make our children more likely to get divorced as well? However, a study recently published in Marriage & Family Review seems to show that it is not divorce but high levels of family conflict that may increase a child’s risk of being divorced later on in adulthood.
According to the study results, children whose parents stayed married but were in a very high conflict relationship were more likely to get divorced as adults than children with divorced parents. One possible reason is that being exposed to ongoing high-conflict family dynamics may give children more of a chance to learn and model their parents dysfunctional relationship behavior.
However, this does not mean that getting a divorce is guaranteed to help you child either, but there are things you can do to help. Many studies have shown that children with divorced parents who able to peacefully co-parent fare best. This means both parties being able to discuss matters pertaining to the children and make decisions together as well as facilitating parenting time and a close, positive relationship with both parents. If you’re unsure how to get through a divorce and the years after with as little conflict as possible, consider talking with a Florida family law attorney.
Source: Parent Herald, “The Number One Reason That Affects The Relationships Of Children Of Divorce,” Samantha Finch, May 23, 2016
