When Parents Part: Children's assessments of their parents' communication skills and their effect on the child's well-being

New research from Young Voice, The national charity making young people's views count. By Emma McManus.

Children will inevitably experience some degree of distress and disruption to their lives as a result of their parents' divorce or separation. Nevertheless, our research suggests that there are many ways in which parents and professionals can help to reduce the negative impact that this event can have on children. This study involves young people as active agents contributing their views and rating their parents' skills and their own happiness.

As part of a larger project of children's perspectives on divorce, we received questionnaires from 128 children and young people aged between 6 and 20, who had experienced the dissolution of their parents' relationship (either through divorce or separation). They were asked to rate their parents' communication skills on divorce-related matters, such as how well the parents explained why they were separating, where they would live and how often they would see their non-resident parent. Additionally, the young people were questioned about the extent to which they themselves were involved in making some of these decisions. They were also asked to rate their parents' ability to communicate and cooperate with one another after the separation and their own current well-being.

We found that the quality of the explanations young people were given about divorce related matters was significantly related to their subsequent well-being. There are important messages for parents.

These findings are discussed in terms of their application to policy and practice regarding children's rights in divorce/separation cases.

This study forms part of a project on children's perspectives in divorce. There are a number of other items produced in this project: A short film on DVD comes with a booklet written by a mediator - for work with parents. A forthcoming book offers all the interviews with young people, and this website opens a dialogue with those working on the field, who have a focus on children and young people. The project editor is Adrienne Katz of Young Voice.

To order a copy of this research paper or the DVD made by young people with an accompanying booklet, please visit http://www.young-voice.org/publications.asp.