Loathe as I am to break my blog silence only to respond to the claims of a certain recent tabloid staple, there appears to be no evidence whatsoever that parents of multiples divorce at higher rates than parents of singletons. A 2003 study in Denmark found that 7.3 percent of parents of IVF/ICSI twins, 6.9 percent of parents of IVF/ICSI singletons, and 13.3 percent of parents of non-IVF/ICSI twins had divorced or separated four years after the birth of their child(ren). Having twins wasn't predictive of divorce; not having endured IVF/ICSI, or being over age 30, was. A 2002 study in Sweden found that "The influence of twins on the divorce risk appeared to fall between that of a first and a second singleton."
If there's any study of the divorce rates of British, US, Australian or Canadian parents of multiples, I can't find it.
There have certainly been divorces among the families who post on the Triplet Connection, but they don't seem to be happening at particularly high rates. There are divorced parents with triplet blogs, but not a large number.
Yes, there's a sample-selection bias at work, but eight years into parenting triplets, I have a strong sense that divorce is no more likely with multiples than with singletons. In fact, it may be lower, at least in the early years: most parents of multiples are too exhausted and overwhelmed to leave each other.
Other good news I stumbled upon while searching: a 2007 study in Britain found (in its admittedly minuscule sample of 10 triplet and 15 twin families) that "The birth of triplets or twins does appear to cause difficulties for parents in the early years [with no differences between mothers of triplets and mothers of twins], however, the children themselves do not seem to experience markedly raised levels of psychological or developmental problems."
Meanwhile, we're leaving Monday for our annual road trip up north. Any recommendations for books I could download to the absurdly fancy gadget my spouse gave me as a Mother's Day/birthday birthday present, so I could use it on the trip?
I'm glad to see your response; I also have not seen much evidence that the divorce rate increases in families of multiples. Raising triplets can be challenging, but so (I imagine) is raising any number of children, whether born at the same time or separately.
As for books, have you read Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum? I finished that one recently and thought it was great. Have a good and safe trip!
Posted by: Sheila B | June 18, 2009 at 11:26 PM
How about Twilight?
Iamtotallykidding.
Posted by: Julie | June 18, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Am jealous of your Mother's Day/Birthday gift!!!! Have a great trip.
Am in the middle of Heat, it started well but my interest is failing quickly. Other than that I don't think I have read a good book since March or so, I can't remember what it was :-).
Posted by: chichimama | June 19, 2009 at 07:08 AM
I am currently plowing through Peter and the Starcatchers by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. Can't wait to finish it and move on to the next two in the series. There is a fourth book in the series that is coming out soon (or just out?). These might be good for your kids, too. I think it's a little dark for Petunia right now, but WEG have 2-3 years on her and probably could handle it.
Posted by: merseydotes | June 19, 2009 at 10:19 AM
I just finished Cutting for Stone. I LOVED it.
I have always wondered whether it's having more children that increases the divorce rate (not multiples). Do parents of 3 kids have a higher divorce rate than parents of 1? I'd be curious to know...
Posted by: Anjali | June 19, 2009 at 10:20 AM
My mother gave my daughter that device for her birthday and I love it! (Yes, I steal it after she goes to bed - bad mother.)
Currently, I am loving:
Olive Kittredge
The Elegence of the Hedgehog
Loving Frank
Gilead
Outcasts United
I am too lazy to look up exactly how the authors spell their names, but you should be able to find them all on Amazon.
Have a good trip!
Posted by: K | June 19, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Hi, I'm a lurker, but the mention of books brought me out...
Try "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. The first in a series (with a new one coming out in September!!!), it's a long read that some people find hard to get started into...but by the end, they're hooked.
Posted by: Stephanie M | June 19, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Where is the "Like" button for Julie's comment? Spit-out-my-coffee funny....
Posted by: Phantom Scribbler | June 19, 2009 at 03:55 PM
If you're fond of adventure books, I can't speak highly enough of Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, and its sequel, which I could remember the name of if I hadn't been up all night finishing a paper. But they're both available for that absurdly fancy device.
Posted by: Jane Dark | June 20, 2009 at 01:31 AM
Multiple Births Canada has been searching for similar research on marital breakup rates for multiple births families, and can't find anything either. I saw the same Danish and Swedish studies. Reports of higher rates of breakup seem to be anecdotal, or perhaps there was just one small study a few years ago that keeps on being quoted (without attribution).
Have a wonderful vacation!
Posted by: tripleblessings | June 21, 2009 at 01:46 AM
If your new toy is the one we all think it is, you don't have to decide now, though you might have to load up at major highway interchanges before you reach your remote destination.
Also you can read first chapters of most things for free and see what you like! Reader's paradise.
Posted by: Madeleine | June 21, 2009 at 10:54 AM
I would second Elegance of the Hedgehog.
Posted by: Hannia | June 21, 2009 at 10:19 PM
I'm guessing that divorce rates of people whose lives are filmed non-stop are higher than the average.
Posted by: liz | June 23, 2009 at 02:08 PM
I just finished _The Porcupine Year_, the 3rd volume of Louise Erdrich's series about Omakayas, an Ojibwa girl growing up in the mid-19th century, and like it a *lot* (more than I like Erdrich's novels for adults). If you're looking for recorded books, the audiobook versions of the first two volumes in the series--The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence--are gorgeously read by Kate Fleming. Depending on your kids' tolerance level for sad stuff, they might like them too.
Posted by: elswhere | June 25, 2009 at 07:15 PM
MOST (Mothers of Supertwins) just put out a press release with some findings from a study called 'Divorce and the Multiple Birth Family' that they conducted in June and July 2009. While not a scientific sampling, it did have a very large sample size of over 2800 participants. The study indicated a low divorce rate (4.3%) among parents of multiples.
Posted by: MOST (Mothers of Supertwins) | July 31, 2009 at 03:58 PM