Survey shows the effects of parental breakup on children


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Survey shows the effects of parental breakup on children

It is Family Dispute Resolution Week this week (24th – 28th November) where the aim is to highlight the alternatives to court for separating couples and their families. To coincide with this week of raising awareness, Resolution has published findings of a survey looking at 14-22 year olds and what affects them when they are experiencing parental separation. The results of the survey are not all that surprising as it shows young people feel their exam results suffer as a direct result of parental breakup. The survey also revealed that some young people turn to alcohol or are skipping lessons, while some admit to experimenting, or are thinking about experimenting, with drugs.

The survey found that one in five (19%) said they did not get the exam results they were hoping for. Almost a quarter (24%) said that they struggled to complete homework, essays or assignments, and more than one in ten (11%) said they found themselves “getting into more trouble at school, college or university,” with 12% confessing to skipping lessons.

Jo Edwards, Chair of Resolution comments on the survey:

“Each year around 100,000 children under 16 see their parents’ divorce. Almost half of all break-ups (48%) occur when there is at least one child in the relationship, and with 230,000 people in England and Wales going through a divorce each year (and many more separating), this is an issue that affects hundreds of thousands of families in Britain every year. Therefore it is crucial that couples do everything possible to resolve disagreements in an amicable way that minimises stress on all family members – particularly any children they may have.”

For any couple going through a separation or a divorce, even if there are no children involved, it is important to get expert legal advice on all the options available to you.

Amanda Crowe is a divorce solicitor at Barker Gotelee, Solicitors in Ipswich.

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