Bad Effects of Separation on Kids

Ivanhoe Newswire
Friday, May 16, 2008; 4:15 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Children who spend time away from parents, even if it's temporary, are at risk for emotional, behavioral and learning problems.

Although it has been documented that children in foster care or those who have been left in the care of relatives have considerable problems, a new study done in Rochester, N.Y., examines the effect of separation when one or both parents are in the picture but leave temporarily.

"In most cases separation is a marker for instability," study leader Sandy Jee, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Golisano Children's Hospital, was quoted as saying. "We suspect that homes in which children are separated from their parents may be less nurturing environments. Parents are less apt to be reading to their kids or taking time to teach them new skills such as tying shoes."

The researchers found 18 percent of these urban children had been separated from their parents at some point. Seven percent of them had been separated more than once.

The findings also showed youngsters who had been separated at any point scored significantly worse than their non-separated peers on the four-point scale used to measure the ability to learn new tasks and pre-literacy skills. However, their expressive language and speech were comparable to children who had not had any separations.

Dr. Jee notes the results were surprising but not unimaginable since the children were poor and poverty is often linked with volatile homes. She and her colleagues want to learn more about what kinds of separations are most harmful.

"This study reminds us to treat any sort of separation as a marker for possible psychosocial stress in a family," Dr. Jee said. "Intervening early is the best way to minimize long term educational and vocational deficits for these children."

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SOURCE: Ambulatory Pediatrics, May/June 2008