Some social scientists have claimed that divorce harms children for the rest of their lives leading them to form marriages as happy as their parents'. (1)____But other recent studies say marital breakups have mixed long-term effects, foster growth in some children and the resolve to build happier marriages of their own. (2)____
In support of the second viewpoint, a recent Pew Research Center study suggests that when divorced parents remarry, (3)____ the kids' own marriages may benefit from the example of a parent's second, happier union. Indeed, some 60% of children who grow up in stepfamilies say their marriages are closer(4)____ than that of their own biological parents, says the Pew survey of 2,691 adults, (5)____ conduct last October. Also, some 70% of people with step-relatives say they are very satisfied with their family lives, the Pew study shows. The study indicates that (6)____ the step kids may be benefiting from a parent's positive bond with a stepparent.
Still, blood is thicker than water. The 42% of Americans who have at least one step-relative typically feel a strong (7)____sense of obligation to their biological parent, child or sibling (8)____ than their step-relatives, the Pew survey says. Significantly higher percentages of (9)____correspondents said they would feel obligated to provide financial help or care with a biological relative who was in trouble, compared with those who would help a step-relative who was in trouble. (10)____