While it’s well-known that stress and trauma of divorce can have a negative impact on children, a recent study suggests that if those children are attending university, the impact is minimal – even beneficial.
As reported by Healthday.com, University of Warwick (Coventry, England) researchers gauged the productivity and happiness levels of 270 students of recently-divorced parents. The levels were then compared to other students whose parents were still married. The results were similar, with the added insight that some male students of recently-divorced parents actually improved their productivity levels.
The reason behind these surprising observations are, according to research Dr. Eugene Proto, about emotional and psychological resiliency. “University students are much more resilient than has been presumed,” Dr. Proto stated in a news release. “Although parents do worry about divorcing around the years that their children go to university, our tests suggest those children turn out to be just as happy as other students.”
As for future implications of the study, fellow researcher Daniel Sgroi noted that “[g]iven the large number of university students throughout the industrialized world who have recently divorced parents, our results can only be reassuring news for concerned parents and students alike.”
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To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Samantha Friedman, an alumna of the University of California at Berkeley and Fordham University, and I am currently a doctoral clinical psychology student at Saybrook University (San Francisco). I am seeking adults between the ages of 20 and 35 who have experienced parental divorce in either childhood or adulthood to assist me in the completion of a study that examines the effects of parental divorce on marital attitudes and intimacy.
If you agree to participate in this study, please click on this link (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TK8Q7GT) and complete the survey on SurveyMonkey.com. The online survey I am conducting is very easy to complete. The whole process is designed to take less than 15 minutes to complete. Participation in this study is completely voluntary and anonymous. You are free to not answer any question, to stop participating at any time for any reason, and to not have your information be part of the data set. All forms will be kept confidential; that is, no one will have knowledge of which questionnaire belongs to you.
The aim of my study is to learn about the psychological impact of parental divorce, particularly how the age at which parental divorce occurs influences attitudes towards marriage and intimacy. It is of particular importance to examine the effects of parental divorce on marital attitudes and levels of intimacy because they are indicators of relationship stability. The ultimate goal of this study is to acquire data that can be used to assist adult children of divorce in understanding the impact of mid- to late-life parental divorce and develop strategies that encourage healthy, lasting marriages.
Please contact me if you would like a summary of my findings when the project is finished. If you have any questions, please contact me at SamanthaFriedman@hotmail.com.
Thank you in advance for your time and assistance. I really appreciate your help and I am sincerely grateful.
Best wishes,
Samantha Friedman