Having divorced parents doesn't necessarily mean that children will be divorced as well later on in their lives. A new study found that parents who stay together despite high levels of conflict at home can influence children's relationships negatively when they get older.
The study published in Marriage & Family Review examined whether divorced parents should be blamed in kids' later breakups, or if it's conflict at home that causes the problem. The research, which studied American families from 1987 to 2003, found that children who experienced great family conflicts - and not divorce - have higher chances of getting divorced when they become adults.
These family conflicts include parents fighting, domestic abuse and financial problems, among others, Tech Insider reported. This data means that parents deciding to get divorced can be solving the problem witnessed by their kids at home.
According to researchers, families enduring heavy conflicts despite obvious problems are only making the issue worse. That conflict can stop if parents had parted ways.
Children See Parents As Role Models
Researchers said children being exposed to conflict day-by-day can make kids unable to resolve relationship problems when they get older. Children become unable to compromise or come up with solutions to relationship problems, which lead to failure of marriages and cohabitations.
The study's findings, however, do not determine children's destinies. And not every kid of divorce and those who experienced conflicts at home will have unhappy marriages in the future. Every family situation is different and some of these children can have happy marital unions as well.
Another research published on Taylor & Francis Online found that divorce actually changes children's well-being for the better when their parents divorce after high levels of conflict at home. Kids with parents who divorced later on likely have mental health issues.
Problems Encountered After Divorce
Some of the problems a family can encounter after divorce are remarriage and economic issues. Residential relocation and time management are also an issue, as well as relationship changes between parents and children, the Huffington Post reported.
As kids grow older, they may need to spend more time with one parent than another due to same interests. For example, teenage boys who enjoy basketball may seek the company of their fathers more to play the sport.
It's also important that a parent does not forbid or discourage their children from speaking positively about their other parent. This could make the child feel guilty and refrain from sharing their feelings, which leads to unhealthy parent-child relationship, a separate report from Huffington Post noted.
