Children who live with just one parent after a divorce or separation are more likely to suffer from health problems, new research suggests, citing joint custody as the healthiest option for children whose parents are divorcing or separating.
The findings, which were published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, compared the effect of different domestic arrangements on children’s wellbeing.
Researchers studied the psychosomatic health problems experienced by 150,000 12 and 15-year-olds. The results suggested that divorce was bad for all children’s health, but those in joint custody arrangements reported slightly fewer mental and physical wellness issues.
Though the study did not directly explore why joint custody is better for children’s health, its authors suggest that psychosomatic health symptoms frequently result from stress. Ready access to a reliable parent following a divorce may help reduce stress, even when joint custody requires more upheaval.
The study’s author Malin Bergström, PHD, researcher at the Centre for Health Equity Studies in Stockholm, Sweden said: “Child experts and people in general assumed that these children should be more stressed, but this study opposes a major concern that this should not be good for children.”
Bergström believes that it is harder to maintain engaged levels of parenting if a parent only sees their child infrequently.
“We think that having everyday contact with both parents seems to be more important, in terms of stress, than living in two different homes,” he said.
The study showed that girls are more likely to suffer from psychosomatic symptoms. Sleep problems were the most common issue in children overall.