Nurturing parents help children cope with divorce

Many recent studies have shown that children of divorce are at an increased risk for mental health problems, as well as having educational and social difficulties. However, other studies have estimated that between 70 and 75 percent of children with divorced parents do not have any significant problems. Why would so many children avoid the problems that other children of divorce have experienced? This question lead to a recent study that evaluated parenting styles of divorced parents.

The study conducted by scientists at the Prevention Research Center at Arizona State University suggests that having caring, nurturing parents is more important to a child’s well-being than having married parents.

The study followed a group of 240 mothers who had custody of 10-year-old children for a period of six years. The mothers and their children took part in a divorce intervention program, meeting two hours per week for 11 weeks. This program focused on teaching the mothers disciplinary skills and methods for improving their overall relationships with their children.

Six years later, the scientists contacted the mothers to see how the children were coping. They learned that the children whose mothers who were both nurturing and firm disciplinarians were the most well adjusted. Children with warm, but firm, mothers experienced fewer symptoms of depression and generally had higher self-esteem. Children were also less likely to experiment with alcohol and other drugs when they had a parent that provided consistent discipline.

This research demonstrates that well-adjusted children are the result of consistent, loving parents, and divorced parents are very capable of providing their children with the nurturing environment they need.

Source: Huffington Post, “Can Parents Prevent their Children from Having Problems Following Divorce?,” Robert Hughes, Jr., 2/16/2011