A new study from the University of Toronto suggests that the sons of divorcing couples may suffer more negative consequences than daughters.

The study looked at the occurrence of suicidal thoughts in people whose parents had divorced before age 18 compared to those whose parents had stayed married. Men whose parents had divorced were two to three times more likely to have had suicidal thoughts than men whose parents had stayed married. Women whose parents had divorced were more likely than other women to have had these thoughts, but at a rate much lower than men. The authors of the study also point out that women are more likely than men to have suicidal thoughts in general.

The authors state that divorcing parents should not start panicking about the results of the study, since the wide majority of children who had faced a divorce had experienced no suicidal thoughts at all. They speculate that since until recently, fathers were rarely awarded custody after a divorce and boys often grew up without a positive father figure, the absence of a father figure may have put a harsh emotional burden on sons.

If you need assistance reaching a fair agreement about child custody and visitation rights, contact a Houston child custody attorney from Garg & Associates, P.C. at 281-362-2865.