Adult children whose parents have divorced are more likely to have seriously considered suicide than their peers from intact families, according to new research from the University of Toronto.  

The paper, Suicidal ideation among individuals whose parents have divorced: Findings from a representative Canadian community survey, published online in the journal Psychiatry Research, examined gender specific differences among a sample of 6,647 adults, of whom 695 had experienced parental divorce before the age of 18.

The study showed that men whose parents had divorced were more than three times as likely to have suicidal ideation compared to men whose parents had not divorced.

Adult daughters of divorce had 83 per cent higher odds of suicidal ideation than their female peers who had not experienced parental divorce.

The study showed that, in families where childhood stressors like parental addiction, physical abuse, and parental unemployment had been present, the link between divorce and suicidal ideation was particularly strong.

This was especially the case for women. Adult daughters who had not experienced these adverse childhood experiences, did not experience a significantly higher association between parental divorce and suicidal ideation, according to the study.

However, even in the absence of these childhood stressors, men who had experienced parental divorce had twice the odds of having seriously considered suicide at some point in their life compared to men from intact families.

Lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson, of the University of Toronto said the study suggested that there was a difference between the way in which men and women reacted to parental divorce.

She said: “The association between parental divorce and suicidal thoughts in men was unexpectedly strong, even when we adjusted for other childhood and adult stressors, socioeconomic status, depression and anxiety.

“Females whose parents had divorced were not particularly vulnerable to suicidal ideation if they were not also exposed to childhood physical abuse and/or parental addictions.”

Explanations for why men might be more negatively impacted by parental divorce are varied.

However, researchers believe it could be due to the absence of close contact with a father which may occur post-divorce. Previous studies have linked the loss of father-figures with adverse developmental outcomes in boys.

Fuller-Thomson cautions that “these findings are not meant to panic divorced parents. Our data in no way suggest that children of divorce are destined to become suicidal.”