Effect of timing of parental divorce on the vulnerability of children to depression in young adulthood.

The significance of a child's age at parents' divorce on later well-being was studied. In a population-based follow-up study from age 16 to 22, children who had experienced parental divorce before school age (n = 134), in latency at age 7 to 12 (n = 129), and in adolescence at age 13 to 16 (n = 71) were compared. In young adulthood, 24% of the boys who had experienced parental divorce in latency were depressive as compared with 9% and 6% in the other two groups, respectively. Interpersonal problems in adolescence predicted depression in young adulthood especially in the group of latency-aged boys. Among girls, depression was independent of the timing of parental divorce.