Children whose parents divorce after they turn seven are more likely to misbehave and perform badly at 
school, according to a new UK Government-funded study.
It also showed that children who are brought up in homes where rules are enforced display strong verbal skills and are more likely to do well in school exams, the Daily Mail reports.
The study by the Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre analysed two major surveys of thousands of children.
It looked at the impact of dozens of family factors on children.
Arguing parents and moving to a new school after the age of seven were also found to be stressful events associated with doing badly at school.
When it came to family breakdown, a split after children had turned seven was linked with worse behaviour and possibly worse GCSE results.
The study said: “These findings highlight the continuing significance of family separation, conflict and dissolution on the educational attainment and wellbeing outcomes of young adolescents.”
The research was published by the Department for Education.
Younger children were less affected, perhaps because they were less able to grasp the implications.
The researchers said that factors which influence results at seven are also likely to affect achievement later on in the child’s school career.
Parenting practices, poverty and a long-standing illness or disability had the most bearing on children’s success.
Children with grandparents who, if necessary, helped with the family finances had better verbal skills and school results.
The report said: “Having a highly educated mother, living in owner occupation, having more rooms in the house, mother reading to the child more often, enforcement of rules and having grandparents willing to help out financially if needed were all associated with higher key stage one scores [at age seven].”
In contrast, “child disability, an increasing number of siblings, having a depressed mother, having a father with limited literacy skills and being frequently disciplined were all significant risk factors and associated with lower key stage one scores”.