Children of High Asset Divorce Suffer Most from Parent Breakup

 Posted on October 28, 2014 in High Asset Divorce

There have been numerous studies done regarding the effects that divorce has on children. Several studies have concluded the negative impact parents breaking up have on children. However, a new study has found that it is actually children of high asset divorces who suffer the most from their parents' breakup.

A team of researchers from Georgetown University and the University of Chicago analyzed data that was taken from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). That federal survey initiated in 1979 in order to examine how children are affected by family changes, such as divorce or separation. In 1986, the NLSY survey team also began assessing children born to women who were participating in the survey. The women were asked questions to determine the socio-economic state of their children. The assessments were conducted every other year until 2008, when the children reached 12 years of age.

The research team for the new study examined the NLSY data of approximately 4,000 children. The children were broken up into groups by income. High-income children were those that were living 300 percent above the federal poverty level. There were also a group for medium-income and low-income families.

Negative behaviors were divided into two categories. The first was externalizing negative behaviors. These behaviors included defiance, aggression and bullying. The second category was internalizing behaviors and included nervousness, anxiety, low self-esteem and sadness.

What they found was that children who come from high-asset divorces exhibited far more of both the externalizing and internalizing negative behaviors than children from medium to low-income divorces. In trying to explain the wide gap in their findings, the team concluded that in the majority of high asset families, it is the father who is the main bread-winner and also the one who typically moves out of the family home when parents break up. This often leads to a drastic decrease in the family's standard of living, which can cause all kinds of upheaval in the child's life, such as the necessity to move or change schools.

If you are facing a complex divorce, it is important to have an aggressive Cedar Park high asset divorce attorney representing you and protecting not only your best interest, but also the best interests of your children.