We've discussed on this blog the long-term ramifications of divorce: to finances, to young children and more. But what about the fall-out from a type of divorce that has been growing at an exponential rate — mature divorces? It seems like just because your kids are out of the house when it happens doesn't mean it doesn't continue affecting them.
According to a report from a study done at Columbia University, the adult children of divorced couples have a bad track record when it comes to suicide. Dr. Dana Alonzo, an associate professor at Columbia University specializing in social work, wanted to find out whether children of alcoholics or divorced parents caused a spike in suicides. What she found was harrowing, almost eight times the attempted suicides by children of divorce than non-children of divorce.
For the study, 49,093 participants were interviewed by the U.S. Bureau of Census and asked questions about the marital status and the alcohol patterns of their parents. After, they were then analyzed for depression.
Of the participants, 13,753 were classified as depressed. That group was then asked additional questions such as, "During that time when your mood was at its lowest and you enjoyed or cared the least about things, did you attempt suicide?"
Of the overall sample, 2.4 percent reported lifetime suicide attempts, 16 percent experienced parental divorce, 21.3 percent reported a parental history of alcohol abuse, and 6 percent experienced both parental divorce and parental alcohol abuse.
Read more:
Adult Children Of Divorce Show Greater Risk For Suicide: Study (Huffington Post)