A recent study has shed light on the profound effects of parental divorce on children, revealing long-term consequences such as reduced income, increased mortality risk, and heightened chances of teenage pregnancy.
Conducted by economists Andrew C. Johnston, Maggie R. Jones, and Nolan G. Pope, the research examined the lives of children born in the US from 1988 to 1993. The study focused on key life indicators, including income, college enrollment, incarceration rates, and mortality.
To assess the effects of divorce, the study used a sibling comparison method, analyzing how children within the same family were impacted based on their age during the parents’ separation.
Based on data from over five million tax records, the research found that divorce contributes to negative outcomes for children, independent of prior family conditions or economic status.
The study highlighted a significant decline in household income following divorce. Pre-divorce family earnings ranged from $90,000 to $100,000 annually, but this figure dropped to approximately $42,000 post-divorce, with a persistent 30% income deficit lasting at least a decade.
The financial impact forced both parents to work more, with fathers increasing their hours by 16% and mothers by 8%, reducing their time spent with children.
Residential instability is another consequence, as 35% of children moved in the first year after divorce. Over time, the average distance between non-custodial parents and their children increased to over 200 miles within a decade.
Consequently, families often ended up in lower-income neighborhoods, with average incomes dropping by 7%, signaling a decline in living standards.
Through sibling comparisons, the research found younger children were more adversely affected by divorce than their older siblings, with those experiencing divorce early earning 9% to 13% less by their mid-to-late twenties.
This income drop was likened to “losing a year of education” or being raised in a poorer neighborhood.
Additional wellbeing indicators also worsened, with teen birth rates among girls rising from 7 to 13 births per 1,000 annually and child mortality rates increasing from 10 to 15 deaths per 100,000, marking a 35% to 55% rise.
These trends persisted even when accounting for pre-existing family conditions, indicating a direct impact from divorce itself.
The study outlined three main factors through which divorce affects children: reduced household income, relocation to lower-income neighborhoods, and increased distance from non-custodial parents. These factors explained 25% to 60% of the adverse outcomes observed.
Grant Bailey, research associate at the Institute for Family Studies, emphasized that these are not mere side effects, but crucial to understanding divorce’s broader impact.
Researchers noted that their findings are not due to temporary family crises or isolated events like job loss, but rather stem from entrenched marital tensions. The data showed no signs of economic or health shocks prior to the divorce.
Bailey argued that these findings challenge prevalent narratives in American media that often highlight the empowerment of divorcing individuals while overlooking the repercussions on children.
Though divorce can be beneficial for parents in certain situations, this study highlights the significant costs for children, suggesting parental separation is far from neutral, setting off a series of changes with long-lasting effects.
“This new study provides further evidence that lasting marriages matter, especially for child well-being,” Bailey concluded.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
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