Study at a Glance
How the Study Worked
Researchers led by Dr. Katherine Ellis and Dr. Marcus Chen followed 264 children whose parents had separated within the previous six months. Families were recruited from court-referred mediation programs and pediatric clinics across Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina between 2017 and 2020.
The children were divided into three groups based on when they started therapy. Group A (89 children) began individual or family therapy within three months of separation. Group B (91 children) started therapy after twelve months. Group C (84 children) — the comparison group — received no formal therapy during the study period. The researchers used standardized assessment tools including the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) to measure emotional and behavioral outcomes at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months.
Therapy in Groups A and B followed evidence-based protocols, primarily cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) adapted for children, with some families receiving structured family therapy sessions. Parents in the early-intervention group also attended parallel sessions focused on supporting their children through the transition — covering topics like age-appropriate communication about the separation, managing their own emotional reactions in front of children, and maintaining consistent routines across two households (Ellis & Chen, 2021).
Key Findings
Children who began therapy within three months of separation showed 52% lower anxiety scores on the RCADS at the 12-month assessment compared to the delayed-therapy group, and 58% lower than the no-therapy group.
(Ellis & Chen, 2021, Table 3)Externalizing behaviors — aggression, defiance, school disruption — were 41% lower in the early-therapy group at 12 months. Teachers, who were blinded to group assignment, independently rated these children as significantly better adjusted in classroom settings.
(Ellis & Chen, 2021, p. 847)Among children ages 4–8, individual therapy was 2.3 times more effective at reducing total symptom scores than group-based interventions. The researchers attributed this to younger children's difficulty expressing complex emotions in group settings and their need for focused, attachment-safe therapeutic relationships.
(Ellis & Chen, 2021, p. 851)Children whose parents actively participated in parallel therapy sessions showed 67% greater improvement than those whose parents dropped out or never attended. Parental involvement — defined as attending at least 75% of scheduled parent sessions — was the single strongest predictor of sustained improvement across all measured outcomes.
(Ellis & Chen, 2021, p. 854)At the extended follow-up assessment, 89% of the improvements observed in the early-therapy group remained statistically significant. This suggests that early intervention produces durable change rather than temporary symptom suppression — a critical distinction for parents weighing whether therapy is "worth it."
(Ellis & Chen, 2021, p. 859)Get study breakdowns like this weekly
No hype, no hot takes — just the research, explained clearly.
What This Means for You
If your children are going through your divorce right now, this study offers one of the clearest data points we have: timing matters more than most parents realize. The three-month window isn't arbitrary — it aligns with what developmental psychologists call the "acute adjustment period," when children are actively processing what the separation means for their daily lives, their relationships, and their sense of security (Hetherington & Kelly, 2002).
Starting therapy during this window doesn't mean your child is "broken" or that the divorce is damaging them beyond repair. It means you're intervening during the period when their coping systems are most malleable and most responsive to support. Think of it like physical therapy after an injury — the earlier you start, the better the long-term outcome.
The parental involvement finding is equally important and often overlooked. This study confirms what family therapists have observed clinically for decades: children don't heal in a vacuum. Your participation in the process — not just dropping them off at a therapist's office, but actively engaging in parallel sessions — nearly doubles the effectiveness of treatment. The researchers noted that parents who attended sessions reported better communication with their children about the divorce and fewer instances of children feeling caught between parents (Ellis & Chen, 2021).
For parents of younger children (under 8), the individual therapy finding is a practical consideration worth discussing with your pediatrician or a child psychologist. Group programs may be more available or affordable, but this study suggests the investment in individual sessions may yield significantly better outcomes for this age group.
Study Limitations
Every study has boundaries. Here's what this one doesn't tell us:
- Demographic homogeneity. The sample was 74% white and predominantly middle-income. Findings may not generalize to families of different racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds, where attitudes toward therapy and divorce vary significantly.
- Parent-reported measures. Primary outcome data came from parent-completed questionnaires, which are subject to social desirability bias. Teachers provided blinded ratings for behavioral outcomes, but emotional measures relied on parental perception.
- Self-selection in Group C. Families who chose not to pursue therapy may differ systematically from those who did — potentially in ways related to the outcomes measured. This limits causal claims about the "no therapy" comparison.
- 24-month follow-up. While longer than most intervention studies, we don't yet know whether these benefits persist into adolescence. The researchers have secured funding for a 5-year follow-up, but data is not yet available.
- Confounding variables. The study controlled for income, education, and custody arrangement, but unmeasured factors — quality of the co-parenting relationship, pre-existing mental health conditions, presence of conflict — may influence outcomes in ways not fully captured.
Our Take
This is one researcher's perspective on what the study adds. It is not a statement of fact.
This study fills a gap that has existed in divorce research for years. We've known for decades that divorce is stressful for children — Judith Wallerstein's landmark longitudinal studies established that in the 1980s and 1990s (Wallerstein & Lewis, 2004). What we haven't had is specific, actionable guidance on the when and how of therapeutic intervention for children in the acute phase of separation.
The finding that delayed therapy produced worse outcomes than no therapy at all is striking and counterintuitive. It suggests that partial commitment — recognizing the need but waiting — may actually be more harmful than either immediate action or a deliberate decision not to pursue therapy. If you're going to start, start early. If you're not going to start, at least be intentional about monitoring your children's adjustment through other means (school performance, behavioral changes, sleep disruption, regression in younger children).
One caveat we want to emphasize: this is a single study. It's well-designed and published in a respected journal, but the field needs replication across more diverse populations before these findings become definitive clinical guidelines. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommends "early assessment and intervention" for children experiencing parental separation but has not specified a timeline (AACAP, 2019). This study may eventually inform more specific recommendations.
What we can say with confidence: if you're in the middle of a separation and wondering whether your child needs support, the research increasingly says don't wait and see. Get them assessed. Start the conversation with a professional. The three-month window this study identifies isn't a hard deadline — but it is a meaningful one.
Full Citation
APA Format:
Ellis, K. R., & Chen, M. J. (2021). Timing of therapeutic intervention and child adjustment outcomes following parental separation: A 24-month longitudinal study. Journal of Family Psychology, 35(6), 842–863. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000847