Family experts sceptical about separated-family figures

Family experts are incredulous that more than a third of schoolchildren live with just one of their natural parents and believe more research is crucial to establish if this is indeed the case.

The Times caught up with Cana Movement director Fr Joseph Mizzi, Fr Anton Gouder, the Curia's general pro-vicar and with psychiatrist Anton Grech, from the Family Commission, in the light of the findings of the Health Behaviour of School-Aged Children Study.

All three, who were interviewed separately, found it difficult to accept that there could be such a drastic jump in figures in a matter of a few years.

The World Health Organisation's cross-national study, carried out in 41 countries, established that 37.6 per cent of schoolchildren aged 11, 13 and 15 live with a single parent; a figure that shatters the perception that Malta has a strong family core.

The study, which targeted 4,500 schoolchildren from each age group, showed a drastic shift in the traditional family model over a four-year span - in 2002, the majority (92 per cent) of children lived with both natural parents, as opposed to 61.5 per cent in 2006.

Marianne Massa, the principal investigator of the HBSC survey in Malta, has defended the study, adding that the figure was checked and re-checked because she too had been startled by the results.

"The same thing happened when the results on obese children emerged and people found it hard to stomach the figures. The children have always been truthful in their replies and this is a scientific study that has always been proved right," she said.

Ms Massa added that the sample was very representative. The only bias was that Church schools, with the exception of two that had already completed the questionnaire, had pulled out completely over the sexual health questions.

"I don't believe Church schools are that different from state schools these days to present such a fluctuation in figures," Ms Massa said, although she agreed the matter had to be studied further. Fr Mizzi said he was shocked when he first saw the article in The Times last month: "Is it possible that we have this reality in Malta? Is it realistic to have such discrepancies between the census and the HBSC survey?"

Fr Mizzi said that through his work he saw several cases of separated families but he could not accept the conclusion that 11 out of every 30 children in a classroom live with one parent.

"We need to look deeper into this and conduct further research," he stressed.

This was echoed by Dr Grech who felt there was too drastic a jump in a matter of four years, which was difficult to witness in society.

"There's something not quite right. Then again, could it be that we're only seeing the actual picture now because it's become more acceptable for children to admit they live with one parent," he wondered.

Dr Grech said that beyond questioning the HBSC survey, the matter of children living with one parent had to be studied and researched carefully.

"The government needs to assess the situation and if this trend is confirmed we need to see how it's affecting individuals and what can be done to support them," Dr Grech said.

Fr Gouder, who was the most cynical of the three, believes there was something wrong somewhere because it was impossible to have such "enormous differences" between the 2005 census, figures from the National Statistics Office and the HBSC.

The NSO 2003 Lifestyle Report established that there were 1,300 divorced/annulled/separated, 4,340 singles and 350 widowed persons were cohabiting.

"The figures are what they are. However, we're in real trouble if the census is wrong because the government builds its policies on its results," he said, referring to census results that 2,538 persons were living with an unmarried partner.

"Is the HBSC survey real, close or far removed from reality? I conclude that, as far as I can see, it is far removed," Fr Gouder said.