Rep Mark Anderson asks that anyone who knows Gov Jane Dee Hull or who lives in Arizona give her a call. Use the info in the email that preceded this, the Wade Horn article on using TANF money to strengthen marriage, in your calls. Mavis Heatherington's research on the impact of divorce on children is interpreted by many professionals and lay people as evidence of the lack of long-term impact of divorce on children. What is not considered is how it affects their own intimate relationships. Research on the topic has shown that children of divorce have a much higher rate of divorce than children of intact families.
Many children of divorce are reluctant to marry and more likely to cohabitate.
We are getting more on Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome related to children of divorce. Many of the symptoms do not appear until the individual is in an intimate relationship. I would like to see a dialog on these issues. I believe that the research on impact of divorce on children is limited by the criteria used to assess mental health. We need to look more long term in our research including the impact on intimate relationships.