Long-term effects of parental divorce timing on depression: A population-based longitudinal study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We examined the long-term effects of parental divorce timing on depression using longitudinal data from the Korean Welfare Panel Study.

METHODS: Depression symptoms were measured using the 11 items of Center for Epidemiologic Scale for Depression (CES-D-11), and we categorized parental divorce timing into 'early childhood', 'adolescent' and 'none'.

RESULTS: Although participants who experienced parental divorce during adolescence exhibited a significantly higher CES-D-11 score (p?=?.0468), 'early childhood' participants displayed the most increased CES-D-11 score compared to the control group (p?=?.0007). Conversely, among participants who were unsatisfied with their marriage, those who experienced parental divorce in early childhood showed lower CES-D-11 scores, while 'adolescent period' participants exhibited significantly higher CES-D-11 scores (p?=?.0131).

CONCLUSION: We concluded that timing of parental divorce exerts substantial yet varied effects on long-term depression symptoms and future marriage satisfaction.