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SCMP Reporter

About 60 per cent of women and 40 per cent of men are at risk of psychological breakdown during a divorce, according to a survey released yesterday.

 Their children also suffer, with about 40 per cent having emotional or behavioural problems.

 Social workers called for more information on legal matters, the provision of compassionate housing and better child-care support to help couples during an already difficult time.

 'Many more measures and services should be offered to help divorcing people and their children cope with the stresses,' said Dr Cheung Siu-kau of City University, who conducted the survey.

 'Sessions that provide legal information, for example, should be arranged to help divorcing people. Single parents with children should receive higher priority in granting compassionate housing.'  Dr Cheung, principal lecturer in the division of social studies, said the condition of women was particularly worrying as more than half suffered mental problems.

 These included stress and insomnia.

 Dr Cheung and his colleagues interviewed 260 people who had decided to divorce and approached the Legal Aid Department for help.

 More than 90 per cent of the respondents were female, on average aged 31 to 40. Some had been married for as little as two months and most had children.

 Results showed more than half of the respondents found the legal process complicated. Their second major concern was finding somewhere to live.

 About half of the women and 70 per cent of the men reported that divorce had an adverse impact on their performance at work.

 More than 30 per cent of respondents said they had disputes with their ex-spouses over maintenance, property, and child custody.

 Anita Chan Fok Yuk-lin, supervisor of the Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council, which commissioned the survey, said mediation services would be useful for couples.

 The council said the number of divorces had risen from about 2,000 in 1991 to over 10,400 in 1997.



Survey reveals high mental cost of divorce