Children of divorced parents continue to feel effects of the split even when grown, according to a new survey by the French organization Union des familles (Union of Families).
More than 1,100 adult children of divorce, aged 18 to 57, took part in an online survey to share their feelings and opinions about their parents’ divorce.
The vast majority of respondents – 88 percent – felt that their childhood experience of their parents’ divorce still had an effect on their adult personality, with 48 percent indicating it influenced their romantic lives. Many of those polled said that the divorce left them with a fear of abandonment, lack of self-confidence and a strong sense of guilt.
Participants in the survey also felt that the problems went beyond just their personal and romantic lives. Fifty-six percent said that the split caused their education to suffer, particularly because it became difficult to learn while distracted by thoughts of divorce. Forty-one percent felt that the divorce still influenced their professional lives as adults.
Many of the respondents expressed thanks for the survey, grateful that someone was finally asking them about their own experiences in coping with their parents’ divorce.