14 DAY TRIAL // A recent study conducted by researchers at the Princeton University's Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, in New Jersey, found that married couples who have kids are more likely to keep off mental-health disorders than single moms and dads. Besides the fact that marriage promotes mental health in parents, this is transmitted to the offsprings, too. Scientists involved in the study showed that children of married couples are also more likely to avoid mental and behavioral problems than kids born to single mothers or raised by single dads.
However, being an unmarried "parent is not a homogenous state. It might make a difference if children are living with the biological parents or if you have little or no contact," added study lead author Michelle DeKlyen, Research Scholar at Princeton University.
Robin Goodman, Clinical Psychologist and Art Therapist in New York City, who took part in the research also pointed out: "The article really lends support to the idea that you need to take a comprehensive and broad and holistic view about child and family mental health."
Previous studies also showed that living alone may bring about more health problems than living in a couple. Findings provided research-based information according to which both men and women leading a solitary life are more prone to heart disease, a wide range of emotional and affective disorders and are also more likely to die prematurely and have shorter life spans than their co-habitating or married peers.
"When people can establish a secure and long-lasting intimate relationship, everything tends to be better for everybody. When you get married, you have a social acknowledgment of your relationship and therefore you get more benefit, you're accepted, you're liable to be seen as one who can get along better, may be seen as a better employee," highlighted Barry Ginsberg, Child and Family Psychologist and Director of the Center of Relationship Enhancement in Doylestown, Penn.
Writing in the American Journal of Public Health, the team involved in the current research reported that their findings are based on data from about 5,000 marital and non-marital births. The team interviewed the new parents of the babies and asked them about their mental health and possible emotional and behavioral disorders, addiction to bad habits etc.
On the overall, scientists found that unmarried parents present in the study were more prone to mental health issues than their married counterparts. In detail, single parents who put an end to their relationship before the birth of their infant were found to suffer from more disorders than other unmarried parents. Also, parents of the new born babies who were currently not cohabitating and were no longer romantically involved when the birth occurred were found to exhibit the most numerous mental health problems.
"There's a physiological, biological, genetic component to things like anxiety and depression. There's a whole system in terms of the individual and how they're wired, as well as the actual environment," noted Robin Goodman.
His fellow researcher Michelle DeKlyen concluded: "We know that parents who abuse alcohol or drugs or are violent are a risk for children. Maybe somewhat insidious and less well-known to the general public is the potential damage when either mothers or fathers suffer from depression, which is a more common problem.
Because we have so many more unmarried parents, we should want to address parents' mental-health needs if we are concerned about the well being of children. This is a wake-up call. This is a big group here. Maybe we should increase our concern."