Institute for Health and Behaviour, Research Unit INSIDE, University of Luxembourg, 11, Porte des Sciences, L-4366 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
Department of Clinical Psychophysiology, Institute of Psychobiology, University of Trier, Johanniterufer 15, 54290 Trier, Germany.
J Affect Disord. 2019 Oct 1;257:91-99. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.06.071. Epub 2019 Jul 2.
Parental divorce has been associated with reduced well-being in young adults. It is, however, unclear whether this finding is clinically relevant as studies using structured clinical interviews are missing. This study, therefore, investigated if young adults with divorced parents are at risk to develop mental disorders. Furthermore, differences in parental care, social connectedness, chronic stress and traumatic experiences between children of divorced and non-divorced parents were investigated.
121 women (mean age: 23 years) were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I (i.e., major mental disorders) and II (i.e., personality disorders) Disorders and asked to complete questionnaires assessing parental care, social connectedness (loneliness, attachment anxiety and avoidance), chronic stress, childhood trauma and depression.
Young adults of divorced parents had a higher risk for Axis I but not Axis II disorders as compared to young adults of non-divorced parents. Participants from divorced families as compared to non-divorced families reported more depression, loneliness, childhood trauma, attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, chronic stress and less paterntal care.
Due to the cross-sectional design of this study, conclusions about causality remain speculative.
The increased vulnerability of children of divorced parents to develop mental disorders, and to experience more chronic stress, loneliness, attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and traumatic experiences during childhood is alarming and highlights the importance of prevention programs and psycho-education during the process of parental divorce. Parental support with regard to adequate caregiving is needed to help parents to better support their children during and after their divorce.
父母离婚与年轻人幸福感降低有关。然而，由于缺乏使用结构化临床访谈的研究，尚不清楚这一发现是否具有临床意义。因此，本研究调查了父母离异的年轻人是否有患上精神障碍的风险。此外，还调查了离异和完整家庭的儿童之间在父母关爱、社会联系、慢性压力和创伤经历方面的差异。
121 名女性（平均年龄：23 岁）接受了 DSM-IV 轴 I（即主要精神障碍）和 II（即人格障碍）障碍的结构化临床访谈，并完成了评估父母关爱、社会联系（孤独感、依恋焦虑和回避）、慢性压力、儿童创伤和抑郁的问卷。
与非离异父母的年轻人相比，离异父母的年轻人患轴 I 障碍但非轴 II 障碍的风险更高。与非离异家庭的参与者相比，离异家庭的参与者报告了更多的抑郁、孤独、儿童创伤、依恋回避、依恋焦虑、慢性压力和较少的父母关爱。
由于本研究采用的是横断面设计，因此关于因果关系的结论仍具有推测性。
离异家庭的孩子更容易患上精神障碍，并且在儿童时期更容易经历慢性压力、孤独、依恋回避、依恋焦虑和创伤经历，这令人震惊，强调了在父母离婚过程中开展预防计划和心理教育的重要性。需要父母提供适当的关爱支持，以帮助父母在离婚期间和之后更好地支持他们的孩子。
