Father-Teen Relationship Suffers from Divorce

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January 9th, 2008

"Divorce can Increase Father-Teen Emotional Distance"

Divorce may increase the emotional distance between fathers and their adolescent children, a new study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family suggests.

Fathers are already at a disadvantage since they typically tend to have less involvement with children than mothers. With divorce, fathers are often physically separated from their children and those who are already minimally involved may become less so.

The Research
Researchers at Penn State based their study on information gathered from high school students who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. A portion of those students was interviewed at the beginning of the study and then five years later.

At the beginning of the study, 71 percent of students reported having a close relationship with their mothers while 57 percent reported having a close relationship with their fathers.

After five years, 48 percent of the youths whose parents were still married reported a close relationship with their fathers compared to only 25 percent of teens whose parents divorced.

No significant difference was seen in teens’ relationships with their mothers during this time for either group.

This research was based on youth perceptions of parental relationships, but “future research may look at information directly from the fathers about their evaluation of father-child closeness…” said Dr. Alan Booth, co-author of the study.

(Source: Science Daily)

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