Education triumphs:It is more important for a child's well-being that they have well educated parents than that they have parents who are married or live together, according to a new study from UCD.
Family Relationships and Family Well Being: A Study of the Families of 9 Year Olds in Ireland shows that family type is not the over-riding influence on the well-being of a child.
Lead author of the study, Prof Tony Fahey of UCD’s School of Applied Social Science said: “All other things being equal, this research reveals that it is more important for children’s well-being that they have well-educated parents (particularly in the case of the mother) than that they have parents who stay together.”
According to the findings, 79 per cent of 9-year-old children in Ireland live with both their natural parents, 17.5 per cent live in lone parent families, and 3 per cent live in step-families (which in nearly all cases is when the natural mother has formed a second union).
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