Wednesday, October 10, 2012
New Study Evaluates Impact of Parental Divorce on Long Term Physical Health of Children
For decades, researchers have been studying the impact of divorce on
the psychological well-being of children. But until recently, there has been
very little research on how parental divorce impacts the long term physical health
of children.
A new study reveals that divorce may adversely impact the
physical health of children. The findings of the study also indicate that such
intense adversity during a child’s formative years may disrupt the development
of the stress response in children which in turn affects their reaction to
stressful events later in life.
In particular, this study looked at the impact of parental
divorce on a person’s risk of a stroke later in life. Health records of 5,632
women and 3,900 men were evaluated. Careful steps were taken to control for
other potential causal factors of stroke such as income, education, physical activity,
body mass index, alcohol use, smoking, diabetes, social support, marital
status, and mental health issues. This allowed researchers to more conclusively
isolate and evaluate the impact caused by parental divorce.
According to the study, parental divorce increased the risk
of stroke in men by three times. Interestingly, there was no correlation
between parental divorce and an increased risk of stroke in women.
It is not certain why parental divorce has a greater impact
on the health of men than women, and additional studies are likely necessary to
draw any concrete conclusions. However, these findings make it clear that
parents should make every possible effort to resolve their differences and settle
their divorce in as amicable way as possible in order to diminish these
potential harmful health effects on their children.
posted by Andrew @ 12:53 PM
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