Krista Nash welcomes back Dr. Karey O’Hara for this episode, following up on research first introduced on an earlier visit to the podcast. Parents going through separation or divorce are often told that conflict is bad for their kids, but Karey, a psychologist and researcher at Arizona State University, explains why that message misses the point.
Karey and her team spent years studying children ages nine to twelve living through high conflict divorce, testing which coping strategies actually help and whether combining several works better than relying on one alone. The results surprised even the research team. One simple strategy, relaxation, outperformed the rest. Karey walks through what happens in a child’s body during parental conflict, what parents should avoid doing in those moments, and how a free program from her lab lets families put the findings into practice right away.
It’s a hopeful, practical conversation for any parent trying to protect their kids amid conflict they can’t control.
In this episode, you will hear:
- Why the “conflict is bad for kids” message actually sets parents up to fail
- What Dr. Karey O’Hara’s research found about kids coping with high conflict divorce
- The one strategy that outperformed every other coping tool tested
- What actually happens in a child’s brain and body during parental conflict
- Simple moves parents can make in the moment to help kids reset
- How destructive conflict differs from conflict kids can learn from
- A free program families can start using today, straight from the research
Resources from this Episode
Sign up to take/use the resources discussed on the podcast:
www.asuyfacslab.org/brainteam
https://search.asu.edu/profile/3192762
www.childrenfirstfamilylaw.com
All states have different laws; be sure you are checking out your state laws specifically surrounding divorce. Krista is a licensed attorney in Colorado and Wyoming, but is not providing through this podcast legal advice. Please be sure to seek independent legal counsel in your area for your specific situation.
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