 Average facial images of young women: separated parents; poor relationship; good relationship |
The secrets of a parents' relationship may be illustrated in their child's face, particularly if they stay together despite their marital strife. Daughters whose parents rowed when they were growing up look less healthy than their counterparts whose parents separated, research has found.
Studying the faces of 90 women, experts found parental difficulties related to more masculine faces and more body fat.
The three-year-study was conducted at St Andrews University from 2001.
The students taking part in the study were made up of 30 women who had parents who had split up before they were 12-years-old, 30 whose parents stayed together despite having difficulties and a final third who viewed their parents as having a positive relationship.
The study found daughters whose rowing parents stayed together appeared less healthy than other girls, possibly due to long term stress.
But women with separated parents, however, did not show reduced facial healthiness.
Women whose parents had a positive relationship and were still together were deemed the healthiest-looking.
Dr Lynda Boothroyd, who carried out the study between 2001 and 2004, said the reasons for evidence were still unknown.
She said: "They may be genetic, or due to effects of stress or some other factor, however this opens up a new and interesting area of study with implications for future developmental research."
"These results show that we should be looking at more of the biological systems that relate to both relationship behaviours in parents, and development in children.
"Since these results can't be explained by more social theories, it really strengthens the idea that there's some kind of hormonal or other biological process going on".
Bone structure
The new study builds on previous research suggesting that aspects of family background, such as parental separation, may be linked to how quickly daughters reach puberty.
The research is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.
About 250 students with an average age of 21 volunteered before 90 were chosen as most suitable for the study.
Each of the 90 Caucasian students filled in a questionnaire about their parents' relationships before having their photographs taken.
The photographs were fed into a special computer at a perception laboratory, which produced an average face of each group including colour tone and bone structure.
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Since these results can't be explained by more social theories, it really strengthens the idea that there's some kind of hormonal or other biological process going on
