As any divorcing couple in Pennsylvania knows, trying to get along for one another through the feelings of frustration, anger and sadness that often accompany a divorce is no small feat. But new studies show that going through the stressful and acrimonious divorce of parents can have lasting effects on the health of the children–reaching into adulthood.
As HealthDay News reports, researchers at Carnegie Mellon studied 200 healthy adults to see how they would react when exposed to a common cold virus. Adults who had parents who remained married throughout their childhoods and adults whose parents divorced as children but remained in contact had an equal chance of catching the cold virus. Yet adults whose parents divorced during and did not speak throughout their childhoods were three times more likely to catch the cold virus than the others. Previous studies have shown that adults with divorced parents are in worse health, and the researchers involved in this study believe their work may provide insight into those prior conclusions.
Psychology Today offers suggestions on how to get along with an ex after divorce, which include refusing to put down an ex to the children. This will only make getting along more difficult and could breed anger and resentment. If in the heat of the moment things were said to the children or other family members that were too biased, offering a more balanced view in an effort not to build a coalition against your ex will help to keep the peace. Although this is difficult to handle, at times, remembering that the children’s mental and physical health could be at stake.
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