New study sheds light on controversial reason many modern relationships fail

Published September 15, 2020 7:12pm ET



There’s more than one reason why marriage in the United States is down and why dating is all but dead, but a new study sheds light on one factor that has rarely, if ever, been addressed: how being a product of divorce affects one’s ability to love.

“Studies of children experiencing parental divorce find effects on mood disorders, substance abuse, and other behaviors in adulthood,” write the study’s authors. “Here, we examine the effect of divorce on adult urine oxytocin levels. Results suggest that oxytocin levels are adversely affected by parental divorce in humans and may be related to attachment measures in adulthood.”

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