Divorce 'affects elderly care'

There could be a link between divorce rate and the amount of elderly care offered by children to parents, new research from Temple University in the US has revealed.

Analysing data from more than 2,000 parents aged over 50 and their 7,000 children, the researchers found that children were more likely to provide help in the later life of their parents if they had divorced when the children were young, rather than in adulthood.

Professor Adam Davey, lead researcher on the project, said that a divorce could have occurred 30 years ago, but that it could have long lasting effects for children into their adulthood.

"It's not the divorce itself that affects the quality of the parent-child relationship, but it's what happens afterwards such as geographical separation," he said.

"Marital transitions affect families in a number of ways. They can interrupt the relationship of support between a parent and child, and the evidence suggests that the community of support by parents and to parents matters."

According to the Centre for Separated Families, more than 20 million Brits, one third of the population, are now directly affected by a divorce or a separation.