Study Links Positive Teen Years to Divorce

While adults who experienced adivorce during childhood often blame it on their current unhappiness, this may not be the case.  A study out of the University of Cambridge and the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing has discovered a link between positive teen years and well-being in adulthood.

The study included 2,776 people who participated in the 1946 British birth cohort study. Teachers were asked to rate students between the ages of 13 and 15 on scales of friendship, energy and happiness. A student could receive one positive point for four characteristics: unusually happy and contented; extremely energetic; makes friends easily and very popular with other children.

Students could also be rated negatively based on conduct (like daydreaming, disobedience, lying and restlessness) and emotional problems (like anxiety, diffidence, avoidance of attention and fearfulness). This study was then adjusted for childhood intelligence, social class of origin and education. The results of this study were then linked to the participants overall relationships, work experience and mental health years later. They found that happy teens were 60 percent less likely to have a mental disorder.

If you're going through a divorce and would like legal assistance, contact the Meyers Law Group to speak with a Long Island divorce lawyer.