A Danish study published in Frontiers in Psychology shows that the mental and physical health of recently divorced people is immediately degraded.
An immediate impact never studied before
While previous research had only looked at the long-term consequences, researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark looked at the immediate effects of divorce.
“Previous studies have not examined the effects of divorce without a prior separation period. We were able to focus on divorced people who had obtained a so-called ‘immediate’ divorce in Denmark and, on average, these divorcees obtained a divorce within 5 days of the request ”, explains Professor Gert Hald of the University of Copenhagen .
In total, 1,856 recently divorced people were asked about their health and their separation: “The mental and physical health of divorced people was significantly worse just after divorce, compared to the general population,” said Dr. Soren Sander, study co-author.
Not all equal in the face of the effects of divorce
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen noted disparities in the immediate health impacts of those surveyed.
Indeed, young men and earning a good living generally had better physical health after their separation. In addition, having children, a new partner or having already divorced beforehand were for their part guarantees of better mental health after the divorce.
Conflict impacts men’s and women’s mental health
Regardless of other factors, divorce-related conflict was inevitably associated with a deterioration in mental health: “Regardless of a person’s gender, more divorce-related disputes were associated with poorer mental health”, says Dr Soren Sander.
The work of Danish researchers could make it possible to intervene with recently divorced people in order to avoid long-term repercussions.
