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Study on the Intergenerational Effects of Divorce on Children in Singapore (2020)

Topic(s): Children & Families

1.  The Study on the Intergenerational Effects of Divorce on Children used administrative data to track long-term outcomes of Singaporean children of divorced parents, with a focus on their economic and marriage & parenthood outcomes at age 35. The findings would inform the need to strengthen support for children of divorce.  

2.  Understanding the co-occurrences of parental divorce and later-life outcomes is challenging due to differences between divorced and married parents. The study addressed this by exact matching of children whose parents divorced with children whose parents remained married across various demographic factors.

3.  The study found that children whose parents divorced generally fared less well compared to children whose parents remained married, including lower likelihood of obtaining a university degree, lower earnings, lower CPF balances, slightly lower marriage rates, and higher likelihood of divorce.

4.  However, it is important to note that these findings are based on average outcomes. Indeed, there were instances of children of divorced parents who did comparably well or better than their peers.

5.  This study highlights the need to strengthen support for children when their parents file for divorce. In this regard, the Government adopts a child-centric approach in supporting families of divorce. For instance, there are currently 10 Strengthening Families Programme@Family Service Centres (FAM@FSCs) providing a suite of counselling services, including those related to divorce support for both parents and children. In addition, there is also the MSF | Family Assist, an online resource portal, with information to help those who are contemplating divorce to make decisions in the best interest of everyone involved.  

6.  MSF also collaborates with community agencies to make marriage preparation/support programmes accessible and affordable, including imparting skills such as spousal communication and financial literacy, for soon-to-wed couples and newlyweds.

7.  The Government will continue to review programmes and services to provide stronger support for families and mitigate the lingering effects of divorce on the children involved.

View the report on Study on the Intergenerational Effect of Divorce on Children in Singapore (2020).

For more information, please visit the MSF Family Assist Portal.