Parents' divorce and early child development: a population-based study in China

The divorce rate has increased globally and in China. Literature from developed countries and few developing countries has shown the negative impact of parental divorce on children's health and development. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between parental divorce and early childhood development (ECD) in China.

This study used data collected from four provinces in China and reported by parents or other caregivers of 62 899 children, aged 3-5 years old, in 2017 and 2018. We constructed three types of ECD outcomes: (1) overall score of the early Human Capability Index (eHCI), (2) score of each domain of the eHCI, and (3) a dichotomous variable indicating a child developmentally on track, defined by ranking above the 20th percentile of overall eHCI scores in the corresponding age group in the pooled dataset. To understand the link between parental divorce and ECD outcomes, we used the propensity score matching method to match children from divorced families to those from intact families. We applied generalised linear regression models in data analysis using both the full sample and matched sample.

A total of 3.8% (N=2409) of young children came from divorced families. Children whose parents divorced had significantly lower overall eHCI scores (OR: 0.95, 95% CI 0.92 to 0.98) and lower odds of being developmentally on track (OR: 0.79, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.89), compared with their counterparts after matching. Statistically significant differences were observed in nearly all of nine domains of eHCI, especially for physical health, reading and social and emotional skills. Subgroup analyses showed more prominent associations in Shanghai.

Children from divorced families showed slower early sociopsychological and physical development than their peers. Efforts are needed to help this vulnerable group minimise the differences.