'Nurturing' fathers cope better with divorce

Married men with children are more likely to be able to cope with a marital separation if they have a keen "nurturing" instinct than those who do not.

That is according to new research from Queensland University of Technology, which indicates that those men who are more prone to thinking about their children and wanting to care for them are less likely to suffer from depression or commit suicide after divorce separates them from their families.

Health researcher Helen McKeering has suggested that these men are more adept at coping with divorce because they think more about their children's feelings than their own, the Australian Associated Press reports.

She said: "Before I undertook the study I had expected that those with stronger instincts would suffer a lot more than those with weaker nurturing instincts, but that's not the case.

"The more nurturing a father is, the more he can cope with separation from his kids. They are thinking more of the child, so they may put feelings of hurt and anger aside, while someone less developed may be more self-centred or self-absorbed."

In related news, a recent study indicates that those who are in a bad relationship may be more prone to developing heart disease as a result of the stress that this can entail.

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