Supporting the mental health of children and youth of separating parents

Question 1

What percentage of marriages will end in divorce before their 30th year in 2008?

Answer 1

41%

Question 2

What are children of divorced parents at higher risk for/higher rates of problems in?

Answer 2

1. Academic achievement
2. Conduct
3. Psychological adjustment
4. Self-concept
5. Social relations
6. Poverty
7. Educational failure
8. Risky sexual behavior
9. Unplanned pregnancies
10. Earlier marriage or cohabitation
11. Marital discord and divorce

Question 3

What are family risk factors for consequences in children post divorce?

Answer 3

1. Ongoing conflict between parents (esp. if it is abusive and/or focused on children)
2. Diminished capacity to parent or poor parenting
3. Lack of monitoring children’s activities
4. Multiple family transitions
5. Parent mental health problems
6. Chaotic, unstable household
7. Impaired parent-child relationships
8. Economic decline

Question 4

What are family protective factors for consequences in children post divorce?

Answer 4

1. Protection from conflicts between parents
2. Cooperative parenting (except in cases of domestic violence)
3. Healthy relationships between child and parents
4. Parents’ psychological well being
5. Quality, authoritative parenting
6. Household structure and stability
7. Supportive sibling relationships and extended family relationships
8. Economic stability

Question 5

What are the three most significant factors that impact children’s well-being during the process of parental separation or divorce?

Answer 5

1. Effective parenting
2. Quality of parent-child interaction
3. Degree, frequency, intensity and duration of hostile conflict

Question 6

What are recommendations for physicians?

Answer 6

1. Become familiar with the possible negative outcomes related to separating and divorcing parents.
2. Provide information, advice and advocacy for children, youth and parents on issues related to separation and divorce. Inform them about the possible emotional and behavioural responses to separation and divorce. A parent handout titled ‘Helping children cope with separation and divorce’ is available.
3. Maintain supportive and positive relationships with the children and both parents. Avoid taking sides and encourage open communication.
4. Refer parents and/or children and youth to mental health services for treatment of associated mental health issues, if indicated, and provide information on supportive community programs.
5. Encourage parents to look after their own physical and mental health.
6. Recommend mediation in complex cases of separation and divorce.
7. Encourage positive parenting and effective discipline. Refer parents to positive parenting programs and other appropriate supportive community services.
8. Advocate for more research on the impact of parent–child relationships with parents of either sex.
9. Advocate for research that answers questions related to the magnitude of effects of separation/divorce and co-occurring risk factors.
10. Advocate for more research to answer the questions related to shared-time parenting and the effects on development in the young child.

Question 7

What is children <3yo typical response to divorce?

Answer 7

1. Reflect caregiver’s grief and distress
2. Irritability
3. Separation anxiety
4. Developmental regression

Question 8

What is children 4-5yo typical response to divorce?

Answer 8

Blame themselves for separation
Excessive fears of abandonment
Increasingly “clingy”

Question 9

What is school-aged children typical response to divorce?

Answer 9

Taking sides

Question 10

What is the adolescents typical response to divorce?

Answer 10

Need access to both parents