Difficult Childhood Divorce Could Have Health Impacts on Adults

Many conditions of a person’s life could impact his or her health. While some factors may seem obvious such as diet and living conditions, there are some other scenarios that may have more of an impact that realized. For instance, Michigan children whose parents went through a difficult divorce may be more likely to have immune system issues as adults.

A recent study utilized approximately 200 adults and explored the connection between parental divorce and sickness. Individuals who participated in the study apparently either had parents who remained married, divorced but continued to have contact, or divorced and no longer spoke during their childhoods. The participants were exposed to a virus that could result in their catching a common cold.

The outcomes of the study reportedly showed that adults whose parents divorced and never spoke were three times as likely to catch a cold. The conclusions drawn suggest that children whose parents go through a contentious divorce may be more likely to develop immune system issues than individuals whose parents divorced but kept in contact and those with parents who remained married. This type of information could potentially impact some parties’ approach to ending their marriages.

Most Michigan parents do not want to put their children in situations that have substantially negative impacts. While divorce may be unavoidable in some cases, the parties involved could work toward making the process as amicable as possible. When it comes to dealing with child custody, they may want to explore their options for creating an arrangement that works in the best interests of their children.

Source: Reuters, “Nasty parental divorce may leave a mark on adult immune system“, Lisa Rapaport, July 5, 2017