BC Council for Families

A new report released last week by the Vanier Institute of the Family explores the current state of divorce in Canada, including its effects on children. Anne-Marie Ambert, a retired sociology professor from York University and author of the report, Divorce: Facts, Causes and Consequences, debunks many of the common misunderstandings about divorce statistics, and reviews the most current research on children of divorce.

Among her findings:

• 30 per cent of Canadian children born in 1984 witnessed the end of their parents' marriage by age 15
• almost half of children from divorced families will see their parents divorce again
• in 1998, 36,252 children were involved in a divorce and that figure is probably similar today

Ambert emphasizes that most children of divorce do not experience developmental problems as a result, but on average they are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, behavioural problems, poor school performance, becoming young offenders or experiencing their own relationship problems as adults. 



Many of these effects are related to poverty rather than divorce itself, she writes, noting that divorce brings an increased risk of poverty particularly for mothers and children. In countries with more equitable income distribution, the negative effects of divorce on children are lower than in Canada. 



Ambert concludes that “It is often said that the family has become an outdated institution: High rates of divorce, cohabitation, and births to solo mothers are often used to justify this statement. Is this true? No. As is documented elsewhere, families fulfill more functions now than was the case 50 years ago. What is also true is that conjugal dissolution complicates and burdens family life but does not destroy it.”