Divorces and separations (which have increased by 54% in Spain since 2005) often negatively affect the behavior of affected children.
A new study by researchers from the universities of Georgetown and Chicago shows that a factor decisively influences this traumatic process: the economic level of the family.
Researchers have drawn on the behavior of 4,000 problem children between the ages of 3 and 12 and have analyzed the psychological effects produced by a breakup or re-mating of their parents.
Thus, they have been able to verify that in low-income households, children barely showed hostility or performed defiant acts that were common in children from more affluent families after experiencing a traumatic change.
This may be due to the fact that in households with few resources there are more single-parent families or families made up of couples who come from other relationships. Therefore, the new situation is perceived in a different , more natural way, experts conjecture. In addition, they have also found that children's conduct disorder was more pronounced when they were up to five years old. The older ones, in general, assume it better.
