Study Suggests Parents Of Twins More Likely To Divorce

Difference Of 1 Percent Could Be Statistically Significant

The study was conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who used census data from 1980 to determine the difference between twin and non-twin divorce rates.

According to the study, the researchers chose to use data from 1980 partially to avoid recent changes in fertility treatments that could skew results, and partially because the newer data did not bother to track which families had twins and which did not. From the data set, the researchers discovered that 13 percent of families with non-twin eldest children had divorced parents, while 14 percent of families with twins as their first children were divorced.

Though the difference was only one percent on average for all families, the data showed that the gap between twin and non-twin families increased as income decreased and total number of children went up. The divorce rates were also higher when one of the twins was a girl, as opposed to sets of two boys.

Researchers Say Money And Stress Are Biggest Factors

The findings of the study were no surprise to several specialists with experience dealing with twin families.

One researcher who runs studies of parents of twins said that increased stress was almost certainly a factor, as her research indicated that twins added a huge extra stress to their caretakers. Because both children are the same age, parents have no previous experience or older children to lean on for support, adding to the difficulties they face in raising their kids.

Money is also a factor, the researchers said. Twins cost more money than a single child, and unlike multiple children separated by several years, cannot pass down possessions such as cribs and clothing to each other, further increasing the financial burden they represent.

The researchers argue that the increased stress from financial and logistics that twins create in their parents is the primary cause for the slight bump in divorce rates.

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