Scientists are clear: parental divorce has a direct (and quantifiable) impact on children’s health. For example, previous studies have shown that a separation can trigger problematic weight gain in children (sometimes going as far aschildhood obesity), from asthma attacks or even heart problems.
This time, work carried out by the University of Montreal (Canada) emphasizes the impact that a divorce has on the mental health of adolescents, in particular when it is the father who leaves the family home (72 % of cases in France, according to the Ministry of Justice). To do this, the researchers followed 1,160 Canadian and American adolescents: at the start of the experiment, all were between 12 and 13 years old and lived with both parents. The volunteers were interviewed every 3 months using questionnaires.
A state of anxiety that can last
As a result, adolescents whose parents divorced reported depressive symptoms up to 6 months after the separation (and the departure of their father). And this state of anxiety could even last (to a lesser extent anyway) for up to 9 months after the proclamation of the divorce. Scientists also noted that in the majority of cases, relations with the mother deteriorated after the departure of the father figure.
“Nevertheless, we noticed that, contrary to what one might think, parental divorce did not promote risky behavior among the adolescents concerned (drugs, alcohol, etc.), explain the scientists, whose work has been published in the specialist journal Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. One can imagine that the departure of the father generates a certain feeling of responsibility among the young people. “