New Study Reveals Children of Overprotective Parents Have Shortened Lifespans

Overprotective fathers may want to pay attention to this study.

Researchers in Brazil have revealed that children of protective parents—fathers in particular—have an increased risk of dying before the age of 80.

The findings came from data collected from 941 participants part of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA). Officials analyzed information from 445 women and 496 men born between 1950 and 1960 and who died between 2007 and 2018.

Despite the subjects of the study belonging to the “Baby Boomer” generation, researchers believe the data can apply to younger generations as well.

“In this case, cultural and social factors may have had a more significant effect than they do now. Having separated parents was seen differently in the past and could be particularly difficult for male children. We can’t know how this would work out now, given the society we have, but it was very heavy for males born in the 1950s and 1960s, the study shows,” study co-author Tiago da Silva Alexandre, a professor of gerontology at the Federal University of São Carlos, said in a statement.

Researchers found that overall, children who are given more freedom and autonomy have a greater chance of living longer. The study revealed men who had an overprotective father, and less autonomy while growing up, are at a 12% higher risk of dying before the age of 80. For women with an overprotective father, dying before the age of 80 is a 22% increased risk.

“The most interesting thing about our study is that we were able to show in numbers what has been discussed about parenting for many years,” said Alexandre.

“Caring and loving relationships with your father and mother during childhood have repercussions for the rest of your life. In particular, our findings show how they affect longevity.”

Shockingly, the study also found that men who only lived with one parent during childhood had a 179% risk of dying before the age of 80. They also found that for women who received great care from their mothers as children, the chance of dying before the age of 80 decreased by 14%. The correlation being that those who were well cared for by their mother, will exhibit lower levels of stress later in life and will be at a lower risk for disease.

“Children need parental care and support, but not intrusion, which deprives the child of autonomy,” said Aline Fernanda de Souza Canelada, the study’s co-author.

“Research in psychology shows that this kind of relationship is also weak, because the child is afraid of the parent, and leads to various problems, including unhealthy habits, with some studies showing an increased risk of alcohol and drug abuse, as well as mental health difficulties such as stress, which correlates closely with reduced longevity.”

Researchers involved in the study hailed from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in Brazil and University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom. Their findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.