Children whose lives are shattered by divorce or family break-up are still suffering from the damage when they reach retirement age, a state-funded study said yesterday.
It said that children whose parents divorce by the time they are 16 are more likely than others to be out of work 40 years later.
The report by an ageing research group listed divorce or a parent quitting the home as central reasons – alongside physical or sexual abuse – why adults may be unable to hold down jobs in their 50s or to choose to work on in later years.
‘Traumatic events experienced in childhood, such as physical or sexual abuse, parental absence or parental divorce are associated with reduced labour force participation at 55,’ the study published by International Longevity Centre – UK said.
The findings, which add to overwhelming evidence gathered over decades that children are badly harmed by family breakup, say that the impact of a divorce does not wear off as a child grows, but instead casts a shadow throughout their life.
Children of a broken home are three times more likely than others to be permanently sick and unable to work by their mid-50s, the report said.
A report has said that children whose parents divorce by the time they are 16 are more likely than others to be out of work 40 years later. File image used
The findings come in the wake of the launch of a campaign backed by senior judges and legal figures to tear up the divorce laws and replace them with a new system in which no husband or wife would be held to be at fault when their marriage ends.
Critics of the campaign say that divorce law changes would make divorce easier and more frequent.
Researchers from the Uncertain Futures group, which is funded by the Government’s Economic and Social Research Council and Medical Research Council, based their findings on the experiences of children born in 1958.
Some 9,000 children who took part the National Child Development Study have been followed throughout their lives.
It said those who suffer family break-up or other harm early in life are most likely to be out of work in their mid-50s because of long-term illness.
‘Those who face adversities during childhood, such as abuse, neglect, illness, parental absence or divorce, faced diminished employment prospects in later life, primarily due to permanent sickness,’ the report found.
Alongside divorce and the absence of a parent, the report said long term inability to work is also affected if a child is taken into state care.
Children are taken into care only if their families are considered dangerous or incapable of looking after them.
Other childhood causes of later difficulties with work, it added, could include physical or mental illness, physical or sexual abuse, or ‘neglected appearance – if the child appeared scruffy or underfed.’
Children of a broken home are three times more likely than others to be permanently sick and unable to work by their mid-50s, the report also said. File image used
The report said: ‘Specific events and circumstances during childhood impact working life.
‘Adversity in childhood is associated with reduced labour force participation at 55, even when considering other factors such as gender, mental health, education and socioeconomic position during adulthood.
‘Those who faced adversities or consistent socioeconomic disadvantage were found to be three times more likely to be permanently sick at 55 than those who did not experience adversities.
‘It is suggested that physical or sexual abuse and neglect were more likely directly to impact the capability of an individual to work, while other adversities, such as divorce or parental absence, could potentially be explained by the consequence these experiences are likely to have on adulthood in general.’
The report, titled Working for everyone: addressing barriers and inequalities in the extended working lives agenda, was produced by a team led by Professor Sarah Vickerstaff of Kent University.
Children of divorced parents have long been shown to be more likely than others to suffer ill health and to do badly at school, and to have higher chances of unemployment, drug abuse, early pregnancy or falling into crime as they grow up.
Last week a study by the Marriage Foundation think tank found that children of parents who divorce or break up have a much higher chance of suffering mental health problems than those from intact families.
The Foundation said: ‘Even after taking mothers’ marital status, happiness, and background into account, not having a father in the house remains the number one predictor of teenage mental health problems in the UK.’
Children of divorced parents have long been shown to be more likely than others to suffer ill health and to do badly at school, and to have higher chances of unemployment, drug abuse, early pregnancy or falling into crime as they grow up. File image used