Implying that most children from divorced families are harmed by the experience is “inaccurate” and “potentially harmful in creating stigma”, according to the conclusions of an American scientific paper cited in other parts by the Children’s Commissioner on Monday.

“Although children are harmed by parental divorce, the majority of findings (from various research) show that most children do well,” according to the paper, a major 2003 study published in the journal Family Relations.

The authors, American psychologists Joan Kelly and Robert Emery, looked at several studies on the impact of marital breakdown on children to condense the vast literature in the field and reach their own conclusions.

On Monday, Children’s Commissioner Helen D’Amato, while speaking during a meeting with members of the anti-divorce movement, said divorce could offer a solution for adults in an unhappy marriage but might not be the best option for children who are best off in a stable family.

To back her argument she quoted the American paper as well as UN recommendations that stability was important for children. However, she used certain statistics from the paper – 25 per cent of children from divorced parents are at risk of mental health problems as opposed to 10 per cent from still-married parents – without drawing attention to its conclusions.

Asked about this yesterday, Ms D’Amato said she used the figures as one example of risk faced by children during divorce. Had she delved into the paper in detail and left out the conclusion, it would have been a different issue, she added.

She pointed out that the report concluded that children “did well”. “What do they mean by that? It does not say children don’t suffer. The truth is some are resilient and pull through... But the risks remain. Do we want to take those risks?”

The American study found that although on average children fared better in happy two-parent families rather than divorced ones, there were two caveats to this argument.

Firstly there were two-parent families that did not offer a happy environment for children. Secondly, “although there are differences in the average psychological wellbeing of children from happily married families and divorced families, it is also true that the majority of children from divorced families are emotionally well-adjusted.”

On Monday, Ms D’Amato said children from broken marriages ended up suffering irrespective of whether the cause is annulment, separation or divorce, adding that she was “annoyed” by the two extreme views that gave the impression that divorce would either save or destroy all children.

Asked for a clear opinion as to whether she thought divorce would be good or bad for children, she said yesterday: “I can’t be dogmatic and absolute but I can’t escape the fact that divorce brings risks. I don’t want to paint the picture all black, but cannot paint it all white because I meet these children.”

As a commissioner she also represented children born outside marriage, she said, insisting she did not want to be categorical.

This was echoed in the study which cautioned against taking extreme views when dealing with children and divorce. “Such misinterpretations of research are potentially harmful in creating stigma, helplessness, and negative expectations for children and parents from divorced families,” the report read.

The report stressed the need to back up the existence of divorce with public education designed to help families reduce any risks associated with divorce.