I just came across an article that discusses a study from Florida State University researchers about how divorce affects a child’s future relationships. The researchers conclude that children of divorced parents are more likely to become divorced themselves for a myriad of reasons, including the fact that children learn relationship skills from their parents. The article states the following:
One of the important ways that children learn about relationships is by watching their parents interact. If children see their parents communicate positively, then they are more likely to communicate this way themselves. We see this in childhood through children’s ways of dealing with their siblings or peers. They often copy their parents’ ways of communicating. How conflict is managed and how quick parents’ [sic] get angry seems to have an especially powerful influence on children’s own skills in dealing with others. Cui and Fincham found that children who grow up in households in which their parents do not manage conflict or disagreement well are more likely to have similar problems in their own relationships.
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Of course, the study clarifies that children will not necessarily follow in their divorcing parents’ footsteps. To give children the best chance of having healthy, supportive, long-lasting relationships, parents should always treat one another with respect. This is especially the case when they are interacting with one another around their children.