A study by researchers at
Virginia Commonwealth University and Lund University in Sweden has revealed
that children of divorced parents are more likely to get divorced when compared
to those who grew up in two-parent households.
According to the study, this
increased tendency is caused by genetics and not psychological factors.
In the study published in the
2017 journal of Psychological Science, the researchers analysed Swedish
population registries and found that people who were adopted resembled their
biological but not adoptive parents and siblings in their histories of divorce.
In the study report, Jessica
Salvatore, an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, said:
“We were trying to answer the basic question: Why does divorce run in families?
“Across a series of designs using
Swedish national registry data, we found consistent evidence that genetic
factors primarily explained the intergenerational transmission of divorce.
“By recognising the role that
genetics plays in the intergenerational transmission of divorce, therapists may
be able to better identify more appropriate targets when helping distressed
couples.
“Focusing on increasing
commitment or strengthening interpersonal skills may not be a particularly good
use of time for a therapist working with a distressed couple.
“At present, the bulk of evidence
on why divorce runs in families points to the idea that growing up with
divorced parents weakens your commitment to and the interpersonal skills needed
for marriage.
“However, these previous studies
haven’t adequately controlled for or examined something else in addition to the
environment that divorcing parents transmit to their children: genes.
“For example, other research
shows that people who are highly neurotic tend to perceive their partners as
behaving more negatively than they objectively are [as rated by independent
observers].
“So, addressing these underlying,
personality-driven cognitive distortions through cognitive-behavioral
approaches may be a better strategy than trying to foster commitment.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete