Research published in 2011 by prominent Brisbane-based suicide
researchers1 showed what many family law clients and
practitioners have suspected for a long time - those going through
separation run a higher risk of mental illness and suicide.
Eminent Brisbane psychiatrist Associate Professor Frank Varghese
says "the distinction between delusional ideas and
non-delusional ideas, and indeed between hallucinations, illusions
and normal perception begin to disintegrate in the face of the
powerful psychodynamic forces unleashed when a relationship breaks
up and particularly when children are
involved".2
Research into mental health following marital breakdown in
Australia
The research conducted in 2011 focused on determining whether
there is a direct link between marital breakdown, shame and
suicidally in men. The researchers chose to focus on men, as the
rates of suicide are four times higher for men than women in
Australia.3 The study surveyed men and women who
