Moving affects children as adults?
I've moved enough times to know that I hate moving. But most of my moves occurred when I was an adult.
The New York Times reports on a new study that found moves in childhood may cause harm into adulthood.
... serial movers tended to report fewer “quality” social relationships. The more times people moved as children, the more likely they were to report lower “well-being” and “life satisfaction” as adults (two standard measures used to quantify that ineffable thing called “happiness”). And adults who had moved a lot were more likely to have died when researchers did follow-ups 10 years later.
Before you freak out, the researchers found that "moving troubles only certain personality types. Introverts and those scored as “neurotic” (moody, nervous or high strung, according to a series of questions that determine such labels) were adversely affected, while extroverts remained blissfully unmoved."
I've always heard children are more resilient than adults and can adapt more easily to change.
What do you think? How much did you take into consideration the impact on your children when considering a move?
Comments
This is definitely one of those issues that I find so obvious that I hardly believe it needed to be studied. I mean, it's practically a trope - how many times, for instance, have we seen a fictional character deliver the "army brat" speech to explain their intimacy issues? On the other hand, I was an introverted child who never lived more than three years in one place, so I guess the effects *would* seem obvious to me!
In all seriousness, I've found that most people who had the privilege of growing up mostly in one place (particularly if they have extended family and/or close friends in that area) have a hard time understanding just the extent to which multiple moves can destroy a child's sense of stability and permanence, and can make it difficult for them to develop long-term friendships. I applaud the study if it encourages parents to take the effect that moving has on children a little more seriously.
Posted by: Erin | July 12, 2010 3:30 PM
i grew up in one place, but managed to befriend people whose families kept moving, or "leaving me" -- really, i had 4 best friends (each in succession) who moved away over a 7 year timespan, and yes, i would say it hurt my sense of confidence and ability to make friends...so for those who don't move, there's becoming disconnected from the people who do move....
Posted by: amy | July 16, 2010 4:51 PM
As a military brat who went to 7 different schools by the time she arrived to college and who kept in contact with many of her friends (even before email and Facebook) I couldn't disagree more with NYT mentioned study when I read it last week. It depends on the kid, the parent, and the family. My parents made moving seem like an adventure--making box tunnels, reinventing yourself at every new location and let's not forget always making sure we moved during the summer so we could start the year new like the other kids. We also moved near or on military bases where transient families were the norm. Perhaps a byproduct of my background but I see long term friendships as survival of the fittest--those meant to be will persevere--and many of mine have.
On another note--welcome to this blog Hanah Cho (followed your work for years) and congrats on motherhood! Isn't it great?
HC//Thanks for sharing your story Charm City Mama. And thanks for the warm welcome. And yes, motherhood is great.
Posted by: Charm City Mama | July 19, 2010 10:37 PM