When Children Shape Families
It’s long been known that parents shape their children's lives by creating the home environment, teaching values and supporting their growth. But new research suggests children may also shape the lives of their parents.
A study of nearly 40,000 families in Norway found that some children's inherited traits may influence important family changes, including whether parents stay together. The findings offer a new way of thinking about how families work—more than a one-way relationship where parents influence children.
Dr. Evelina Akimova, assistant professor of sociology at Purdue and Torkild Hovde Lyngstad from the University of Oslo, together with a team of co-authors analyzed genetic information from mothers, fathers and children in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study, one of the world's largest population-based family and health studies. They examined whether children's polygenic tendencies for a range of health and behavioral traits were linked to what happened in their families after the child was born.
They looked at traits related to ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, educational achievement, cognitive performance, bipolar disorder, childhood asthma, allergies and several other physical and mental health conditions by using polygenic indices of these traits and behaviors. For most of them, there was no connection to whether parents chose to have more children, got married or separated.
However, one result stood out.
Children with a higher genetic propensity of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were about 7% more likely to have parents who later ended their relationship. The pattern was strongest among families with daughters (11%), families with higher levels of education (15%) and families in which mothers were older when they had their first child (10%).
Researchers believe ADHD may have stood out because its symptoms, such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and difficulties with emotional regulation, often emerge during early childhood, a period when parenting demands are at their highest.
"By integrating population-genetic and demographic data, this study reframes the family as a dynamic system of mutual influence, where children inherit their parents' worlds but also shape them," states Dr. Akimova.
To better understand children's influence, the researchers used genetic information from both parents and the child. Researchers were able to separate the child's genetic contribution from traits inherited from the parents, giving them a clearer picture of how children's characteristics may affect family life – a phenomenon known as evocative effects.
The researchers emphasize that the findings do not mean a child's genes cause parents to separate. Many factors influence family relationships, including finances, communication, stress and life circumstances. Instead, the study suggests that children's behaviors and needs may influence family dynamics in ways that can affect parents' decisions and relationships over time.
The findings challenge the traditional view that influence flows only from parent to child, adding to a growing body of research showing that family influence moves in multiple directions. Parents shape their children, but children's unique characteristics can also shape the course of family life.