The Quality Of The Relationship Between Parents Can Shape Their Children ’s Life Paths

By Emily Reynolds Our relationship with our parents can have a big impact on our life trajectory. Research has found that those of us lied to by caregivers often end up less well-adjusted, that hard workers are more likely to produce children with good work ethics, that cognitive skills can be improved by having talkative parents, and that positive parenting can impact cortisol levels even years later. But though we might pay less attention to it, how parents relate to one another is also important for children’s long-term development. A new study, published in Demography, has taken a look at affection within parental relationships, finding that loving spousal relationships can have a positive long-term impact on children’s life paths. The researchers focused on Nepal, which they say provides an interesting backdrop for an investigation into marriage. Marriage has changed significantly in the country over the last few years: marrying for love (as opposed to arranged marriage) is now more common than it used to be, and rates of divorce and premarital cohabitation are also increasing in the country, though remain rare. Data was gathered from a longitudinal study, where marital relationship quality and the educational and personal progress of children were tracked for twelve years. The first set of data was collected from 151 neighborhoods in the Western Chitwan Valley in 1996. The quality of relationships among married participants was measured by asking partners separatel...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Developmental Educational Social Source Type: blogs