ABSTRACT
At least one in four children will experience the divorce of their parents by the time they are 16 years old. 1 Divorce figures from 2008 show that a total of 106 763 children under the age of 16 years in England and Wales experienced the divorce of their parents. 2 Of the 11.2 per 1 000 married couples who divorced, about half had children under 16, each of these couples having an average of 1.76 children living with them, including children of previous marriages, adopted and stepchildren. Of these 106 763 children, 21% were under five years old, 42% were aged 5–11 years and 37% were aged 11–15 years.
