Parental separation and adult psychological distress: evidence for the 'reduced effect' hypothesis?

Authors

  • Rebecca Emily Lacey International Centre for Life Course Studies in Society and Health, Dept. Epidemiology & Public Health, University College London
  • Mel Bartley International Centre for Life Course Studies in Society and Health, Dept. Epidemiology & Public Health, University College London
  • Hynek Pikhart Dept. Epidemiology & Public Health, University College London
  • Mai Stafford MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, London
  • Noriko Cable International Centre for Life Course Studies in Society and Health, Dept. Epidemiology & Public Health, University College London
  • Lester Coleman One Plus One, London

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14301/llcs.v3i3.195

Keywords:

parental divorce, psychological distress, NCDS, BCS, cohort differences, parental separation, gender

Abstract

Parental separation has been linked to increased likelihood of reporting psychological distress in adulthood, but relatively little is known about how this association may have changed over time. One hypothesis is that as the experience of separation has become more common, the association with psychological distress will reduce (the ‘reduced effect’ hypothesis). Previous evidence using the British birth cohorts does not support this hypothesis, but past studies have several limitations which we aim to address. In this study we measure parental separation from birth, account for missing data and statistically test cohort differences using data from two British birth cohorts – the 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS) and 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS). Despite these methodological improvements, we find little evidence to support the ‘reduced effect’ hypothesis: parental separation was associated with a similarly increased likelihood of reporting psychological distress in adulthood for men and women in both cohorts.

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Published

2012-09-10

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 3 (2012): Longitudinal and Life Course Studies

Section

Research Notes

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