Divorce and separation are also affecting children at an increasingly young age. In 2010, around half of all divorcing couples had at least one child under age 16. Of all the under 16-year-olds affected by divorce that year, a quarter were under age five (ONS, 2011).

Politicians and researchers have long been interested in what exactly causes the negative outcomes often experienced by children of divorced or separated families. Is it the separation itself? Is it the single-parent family structure resulting from the separation? Or is it down to associated drop in household income? And what is the role of parenting practices in mediating these negative outcomes for children.

This project analysed data from the first four surveys of the Millennium Cohort Study, at ages 9 months, 3 years, 5 years, 7 years and 11 years. It looked specifically at factors related to parents’ contact with their children after separation, and how separation affects parenting activities and capabilities.

This project was funded by the Nuffield Foundation and ran from October 2013 to September 2014.