Parents of Autistic Children Divorce Less than the Myths Say, Study Shows
There is a myth that circulates among the community of parents of autistic children saying that the divorce rate among such families is 80 percent.
However, a new study has debunked that myth, showing that divorce rates are in fact similar between families with and without autistic children, WebMD is reporting.
The study came out of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. The study’s researcher and the center’s clinical director, Brian Freedman, PhD, said that “there really weren’t any significant differences in terms of family structure when you consider children with autism and those without.”
He went on to explain that children with autism stayed with both of their biological or adoptive parents 64 percent of the time. In families without autistic children, that number is 65 percent, a very similar outcome. “That debunks the myth of an 80 percent divorce rate,” said Freedman. The divorce rate for first marriages in the U.S. is about half that, around 40 percent, according to WebMD.
Freedman will present the findings of the study at the International Meeting for Autism Research, which will take place in Philadelphia. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of disorders, including autism, Asperger’s syndrome and other disorders that lead to problems navigating social relationships and communication. About one in every 110 children in the U.S. have autism.
Freedman hopes that the new data culled from his survey can alleviate some anxiety on the part of parents with autistic children. With the families that he counsels, Freedman has felt that they feel the pressure of two diagnoses: their child’s autism, and their own impending divorce.
“They talk about how disheartening that [80 percent divorce rate rumor] is,” said Freedman, “and how their relationship seems doomed.”
Freedman’s hope is that the latter concern, fueled by the rumor, will not continue to trouble parents in these situations. He also acknowledged that there are certainly stresses that come with being the parent of an autistic child, and that it’s this stress that may have started the rumors about a high divorce rates.
In his study, Freedman evaluated data from a 2007 study by the National Survey of Children’s Health, that sampled almost 80,000 children aged 3 to 17. The factors he looked at were whether children lived in households with two parents, single parents, step-parents and so on.
It was in checking this data that he determined that the rates of autistic children living in alternative homes—with step-parents or away from one of their adoptive or biological parents—were very similar to those of non-autistic children.
These results held true even when other factors were accounted for, like socioeconomic status and other demographics.
Nor did the severity of the autism show an impact on divorce rates.
There was an increase when other psychiatric or other problems were present, like ADHD or other serious behavioral problems. Still, Freedman said, the rise in these rates did not impact the debunking of the 80 percent divorce rate myth.
