Study Children with only one parent are more likely to have mental health problems

Intact family relationships protect the psyche of our children
Do children who grow up with just one parent have a higher chance of developing mental health problems later in life? Researchers at University College London (UCL) conducted a study on this topic, finding that children from broken homes are particularly prone to developing mental illness.

Children of a single parent or a stepfamily have three times the risk of developing a mental illness later in life. Scientists from the UK came to this conclusion. The British researchers found in their study that in such children later with a probability of fifteen to eighteen percent psychological problems occur.

The family relationships have a significant influence on the psyche of the children. (Image: klickerminth / fotolia.com)

Children from broken families are three times more susceptible to mental illness
Stability is especially important in parenting. In the current British study, the researchers now found that in about 6.6 percent of children with both birth parents later psychological problems occur. By comparison, about fifteen percent of children with only one parent and about eighteen percent of children in stepfamilies later develop mental illness. Children who grew up in appropriate family circumstances, would live in their later life three times more likely to mental problems, the scientists told the "Telegraph".

Stability of the family very important for mental health of children
The causes are still unknown, but the collapse of the family could force the child to live in poverty, for example, or grow up in an environment of stress and unrest, the researchers said. The most common mental health problems are general behavior and hyperactivity. The study would provide abundant evidence that the stability of the family is important for the mental health of children, the researchers added from the UCL. Breaking families can have a damaging effect on children's mental health, warned Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust.

Increasing number of children without both parents
The fact that an increasing number of children lack the benefits of living with their biological parents and a stable family unit is extremely worrying, the researchers said in their study. For this reason, the rise of extra-marital births should be viewed critically, the scientists added to the "Telegraph". The current study is a clear reminder that our personal decisions in life have a lasting impact on others, and especially on our children. For the purpose of the study, 10,448 11-year-old children in the UK were examined. For stepfamilies it was 19.5 percent more likely that the children had tantrums than in children with both biological parents. The current research has also found that white boys are most prone to hyperactivity and behavioral problems. Multiracial girls, on the other hand, usually develop severe mental health problems of any kind, the physicians explained in their study. (As)