Tensions between in-laws and men’s wives are a major cause of long-term family rows - with rifts usually lasting a third longer than with daughters, according to a study.

The research from Cambridge University also suggests parents are more likely to lose touch with their sons than their daughters after they get married.

A charity found Christmas was the hardest time for those estranged from their families, with the majority believing they could never have a functional relationship with their parents.

Family rows: A charity found Christmas was the hardest time for those estranged from their families, with the majority believing they could never have a functional relationship with their parents (file picture)

The organisation, called Stand Alone, and Cambridge academics questioned more than 800 people who were estranged from a parent.

Some 455 of the 807 respondents were estranged from their mother, while 361 were estranged from a father. The study also raised issues of sexual abuse in children.

One woman said: ‘My mother was never interested in me. She was emotionally absent throughout my life. She knew my father (her husband) was sexually abusing me and turned her head.

‘She never was there to protect me or teach me.’

More than seven in 10 respondents said they were estranged from their mothers due to emotional abuse. Parents were also asked for their opinions.

Wedding day: The research from Cambridge University also suggests parents are more likely to lose touch with their sons than their daughters after they get married (file picture)

One explained: ‘My son and I had a very strong loving relationship for 25 years. He met his soon-to-be wife and our relationship and his relationships with everyone on his side slowly went away.

‘Everyone that knew him including friends and family saw this and felt this. He disowned anyone that does not like his wife.’

My son and I had a very strong loving relationship for 25 years. He met his soon-to-be wife and our relationship and his relationships with everyone on his side slowly went away Parent

Working with Dr Lucy Blake and Professor Susan Golombok from Cambridge University’s Centre for Family Research, Stand Alone found 54 per cent of those surveyed said ‘estrangement or relationship breakdowns’ were common in their family.

Becca Bland, the charity’s chief executive, said: ‘I founded the charity after I wrote about my own experience of family estrangement in the national press, detailing the moments where my lack of family network made me feel isolated.

‘After reading these unexpected and often very thankful communications, I began to see how cathartic it had been for people to read an account of the struggles associated with adult family breakdown.