A Meta-analysis of Parental Satisfaction,Adjustment, and Conflict in Joint Custody and Sole Custody Following Divorce

The literature on parental satisfaction, adjustment, and relitigation in joint custody (JC) versus sole custody (SC) following divorce is reviewed. Findings are summarized for custody differences in parental demographics; time spent with father; the father–child relationship; parental satisfaction with custody; parental adjustment, including self-esteem and parenting stress or burden; conflict between ex-spouses; and relitigation. JC was associated with equivalent or better outcomes than SC in the father–child relationship, parenting stress, parental conflict and relitigation, and overall adjustment. Satisfaction with custody is greatest for both mothers and fathers when they have SC, less in JC, and least for noncustodial parents. Future researchers need larger, more representative samples followed over time.     

Sex Differences in Initiation of and Adjustment to Divorce

Men and women for this study were randomly chosen from courthouse divorce files. After initial contact by mail and by phone, those who agreed to participate were mailed questionnaires developed to assess adjustment to divorce and to obtain information about the nature of the divorce. Forty-four percent of those who received questionnaires completed and returned the assessment; the total sample consisted of 133 subjects. A sex difference in decision to separate was found, with both men and women reporting that the decision had been the woman's. Women showed better adjustment than men on a divorce adjustment scale. In addition, women reported significantly fewer suicidal feelings than males. However, males had significantly lower factor scores on the Profile of Mood States for tension and on the Semantic Differential for stability. Other Profile of Mood States and Semantic Differential measures did not reveal significant sex differences.     

Locus of Control and Marital Termination:

Abstract

This is a pilot study which compares the effects of two divorce laws on the functioning of parents and children immediately after the separation and two years later. The Parenting Act of 1987 in Washington state is a novel approach to divorce, which was intended to reduce parental conflict by focusing on parenting functions and responsibilities rather than on custody. Parents divorcing under the previous law (a no-fault, joint custody permissible approach) and their children were used for comparison. Two hundred consecutively divorcing couples, for each law, divided equally between a heavily urban county and a rural county were invited to participate. Both parents were asked to rate their own adjustment and the adjustment of each of their children. Respondents were surveyed again two years later. Proponents of the Parenting Act expected that the new law would reduce interparental conflict, help fathers stay more involved with their children, improve the reliability of support payments, and reduce the impact of divorce on children. The expected benefits of the Parenting Act were not demonstrated in this study, although children were somewhat more likely to reside with their fathers than children whose parents divorced under the “no-fault” law. Furthermore, the Parenting Act appeared to have an adverse effect on parents' post-divorce adjustment. However, the low response rate limits the reliability of these conclusions.     

Divorce Grief and Personal Adjustment in Divorced Persons Who Remarry or Remain Single

Remarriage has been associated with divorce adjustment, though indications are that other factors such as gender, time since divorce and the presence of children may serve a role in mitigating this effect. This study hypothesized that there would be no significant differences on measures of grief or adjustment between those who have remarried and those who have remained single. The 114 subjects between the ages of 25-35 included males without live-in children, females with children, and females without children. They had been divorced either 6-18 months or 19-36 months. The Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale and the Personal Orientation Inventory were used as dependent measures. Results indicated no significant differences among any of the 12 groups. Current trends in divorce and remarriage within the groups studied are discussed in light of these results.     

Divorce Grief and Personal Adjustment in Divorced Persons Who Remarry or Remain Single

Remarriage has been associated with divorce adjustment, though indications are that other factors such as gender, time since divorce and the presence of children may serve a role in mitigating this effect. This study hypothesized that there would be no significant differences on measures of grief or adjustment between those who have remarried and those who have remained single. The 114 subjects between the ages of 25-35 included males without live-in children, females with children, and females without children. They had been divorced either 6-18 months or 19-36 months. The Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale and the Personal Orientation Inventory were used as dependent measures. Results indicated no significant differences among any of the 12 groups. Current trends in divorce and remarriage within the groups studied are discussed in light of these results.     

Joint Physical Custody in The Netherlands and the Well-Being of Children

The frequency of contact with fathers and mothers and the amount of parental support for boys and girls is an important issue after divorce, from emotional, legal, and empirical points of view. In the Netherlands between 1998 and 2008, joint physical custody after divorce (when children actually have shared residences) has increased from 5% to 16%. It is therefore interesting to compare the effects growing up in the following different kinds of families actually has on children: (a) mother families with low contact frequency with the father; (b) mother families with high contact frequency with the father; (c) co-parenting families (joint physical custody); and (d) father families. The main conclusion is that, on average, the effects of joint physical custody for children, mothers, and especially for fathers, are slightly positive.     

The impact of childcare responsibilities on part-time or single fathers

The study described in this article was designed to determine the effects of childcare involvement on the lifestyles of fathers with young children. One hundred and twenty-seven separated or divorced men were interviewed. Their parental responsibilities ranged from full custody or joint custody to weekends or monthly visits. For the most part these men represented a middle class, highly educated, urban population. The primacy of work and occupational roles in the lives of the fathers was challenged by the contractual obligations of parenting. Fathers who spent time with their children had the opportunity to work out some crisis issues of divorce such as control, interdependence, and self-image. It was found that postdivorce parenting is an important source of resocialization for men in areas of work orientation and personal relationships. It is expected that this new functioning will have positive effects on the structure of reconstituted (i.e., second marriage) families.     

Exploring Ways to Get Divorced Fathers to Comply Willingly with Child Support Agreements

Most public policy attention given to the child support issue has focused on the impact of involuntaly measures rather than the factors that may encourage fathers to comply willingly with their child support agreements. In this study of 255 divorced fathers, the researcher examines several possible predictor variables of child support compliance, including the divorce proceedings, type of child support agreement, custody arrangements, and frequency of the father's contact with his children. Fathers with shared physical and shared legal custody, and fathers having more frequent contact with their children, were more likely to be in compliance. The results strongly suggest that more attention should be given in divorce agreements to provisions that will enhance the father's involvement in the physical and decision-making aspects of his children's lives so as to increase the likelihood of his involvement in the financial aspects.     

Relation Between Parental Divorce and Adjustment in College Students

The role of parental divorce on the adjustment of emerging adults has been understudied and mostly limited to first-year college students. This study sought to examine the relation between parental divorce and adjustment in college students to identify differences in students from intact and divorced families while also examining gender and age differences. Results indicated no adjustment differences as a whole or by gender for intact and divorced families. However, students who were older when their parents divorced had higher levels of self-esteem than those whose parents divorced when they were younger. Implications of the study are discussed.     

A Comparison of Children Living in Single-Mother and Single-Father Families

Research comparing children living in single-mother and single-father families has become important due to the increase in the number of parents contesting custody in divorce cases and as the number of single custodial fathers increases. The present study was designed to investigate a number of characteristics relating to children living in single-father families (SFFs) and in single-mother families (SMFs). Previous research has suggested that in the case of separation and/or divorce the mother is the more competent parent to raise the children. However, recent studies have provided some support for the idea that single fathers can be effective single parents. The subject sample included 42 single divorced custodial parents (21 single mothers and 21 single fathers) and their 62 (6- to 16-year-old) children. The measures employed were The Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC; Harter, 1985) and The Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983). One-way MANCOVA and ANCOVA procedures were performed and it was found that the overall scores of children from single-father families (SFFs) did not differ significantly from children in single-mother families (SMFs) on the SPPC and the CBCL. The implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

The Effects of Divorce on Children: Married and Divorced Parents' Perspectives

Three hypotheses, derived from the social psychology literature, regarding the impact of marital status history on parents' attitudes toward the impact of divorce on children were examined. Married parents (n = 118) were expected to report more negative effects of divorce on children than divorced parents (n = 114); mothers and fathers whose own parents remained married were expected to rate the impact of divorce more negatively than mothers and fathers whose parents had divorced; and, divorced parents who initiated their own divorce were expected to report fewer negative effects of divorce on children than parents who did not initiate divorce. All three hypotheses were supported, extending the self- and vested-interest research to the divorce literature.     

Noncustodial Fathers Following Divorce

Noncustodial fathers are men whose parental rights and obligations have been altered through judicial action, usually accompanying marital separation and divorce. In the majority of divorces, physical and legal custody of children is taken from fathers and reassigned to mothers only. Despite the curtailment of their decision-making authority and despite the limitations imposed on their day-to-day presence in their children’s lives, in the majority of divorces fathers retain the duty to provide economic support for their minor children. The bulk of quantitative research on the post-divorce involvement of men as noncustodial fathers is structured by explora- tion of the interrelationships among these parameters: child custody awards, visitation privileges and performance, child support awards and compliance, and child well-being. The documentation of important linkages between child support compliance and child outcome have focused both social science and legislative attention on means to foster greater paternal acceptance of responsibility for children. Research using open-ended interviews and smaller surveys of limited samples have been of great importance in providing a richer understanding of the noncustodial father-child relationship. To retain(or for some, to build for the first time) a meaningful paternal relationship, men are challenged to find new ways to confront issues of autonomy, connectedness and power. However, societal supports for moving beyond the traditional polarization of genders and roles through which families have been organized are sorely lacking. The ways in which men respond to the changes precipitated by divorce are influenced by a number of factors related to their own self-definition as well as to the broader social context in which they operate. In order to design psychoeducational or therapeutic interventions that allow noncustodial fathers to adapt in ways that are beneficial to themselves and ultimately to their children, an awareness of these factors is imperative.     

Correlates of Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescents From Divorced Families

The study was designed to identify the factors which predict psychological adjustment among 15 to 18-year-old adolescents whose parents have divorced. Psychosocial adjustment was assessed by the Youth Self Report (Achenbach, 1978, 1991). Predictors included the type of custody arrangement, the psychological adjustment of the custodial parent, factors affecting the adolescent's relationship with the non-custodial parent, demographic characteristics, stressful life events during the two years following the divorce, availability of social support, and family adaptability and cohesion. New York City high school students from divorced (n = 221) and intact (n = 215) families completed the survey instrument. Results indicated that the adjustment of adolescents from divorced families was related positively to the psychological adjustment of the custodial parent, the availability of social support, and family adaptability and cohesion. Adolescent adjustment was related negatively to the degree to which the parents displayed anger or physical abuse before and after the separation, and to the number of stressful life changes following the divorce. The factors predicting the adjustment of adolescents from intact families were similar.     

Marital Outcomes and Consideration of Divorce Among Orthodox Jews After Signing a Religious Prenuptial Agreement to Facilitate Future Divorce

This study examined marital satisfaction, marital adjustment, and consideration of divorce among Orthodox Jews in North America (N = 2,652). These marital outcomes were compared for individuals who signed or did not sign a religious prenuptial agreement that facilitates a woman’s future ability to receive a religious divorce from her husband. Results indicated a higher level of marital satisfaction among those who signed the religious prenuptial agreement, and no significant difference in marital adjustment or tendency to consider divorce between groups of individuals who signed or did not sign the religious prenuptial agreement.     

A Therapist’s Mandate?: Integrating an Ethics of Care into Custody Law by Recognising and Responding to Post‐separation Parental Loss of Connection with Children

In 1999 Smart and Neale published their seminal book Family Fragments, arguing for the replacement of the ethics of justice that currently informs custody law and practice with an ethics of care. Recognising loss is one of four principles they identify as being key to care‐based processes for managing post‐separation parenting arrangements. Here they had in mind the non‐resident fathers in their study, who were often anxious, angry, and resentful about their diminished fatherhood. Yet gender‐neutral custody laws and the greater prominence given to shared care across the West means that increasing numbers of separated mothers are also experiencing diminished connections to their children, either by becoming non‐resident parents or through shared care arrangements. Research into post‐separation fathers’ and mothers’ experiences of loss and grief in relation to their children is sparse and largely consists of small‐scale qualitative studies focusing either on fathers or mothers. Nonetheless, these studies show that the grief talk of post‐separated parents is strikingly similar, except that mothers who become non‐resident parents commonly talk about a sense of stigma and shame, while fathers are more likely than mothers to resort to the language of anger and rights. Despite Smart and Neale's call roughly 20 years ago, custody law systems across the West continue to neglect parents’ need for recognition and support. This paper seeks to rectify this social neglect through describing a dual program of therapeutically informed interventions with separated mothers and fathers. This is designed to recognise and respond to parental loss and grief experiences, whilst simultaneously fostering personal self‐reflexivity and transformation. The latter is no easy task but is frequently an essential basis for workable co‐parenting post‐separation.     

The Stability of Child Physical Placements Following Divorce: Descriptive Evidence From Wisconsin

This study uses administrative data from the Wisconsin Court Record Database, linked with survey data collected from mothers (n= 789) and fathers (n= 690), to describe the living arrangements of children with sole mother and shared child physical placement following parental divorce. Contrary to prior research, results provide little evidence that children with shared placement progressively spend less time in their father’s care. We find that, over (approximately) 3 years following a divorce, their living arrangements are as stable as those of children with sole mother placement or more so. To the extent that shared physical placement is associated with increased father involvement and positive developmental outcomes, recent increases in shared physical custody following divorce may benefit children.     

Factors Related to Custody,Visitation, and Child Support for Divorced Fathers

This study explores factors associated with variables related to custody, visitation, and child support for divorced fathers. One hundred twenty-five divorced fathers were randomly selected from court records in Roanoke County, Va. The majority of these men were noncustodial parents. Survey questions fell into one of five categories: ( 1 ) children, (2) circumstances surrounding the divorce, (3) relationship with the former spouse, (4) economic variables and, (5) background variables. In an exploratory analysis, stepwise multiple regression was utilized in order to develop a subset of independent variables that were useful in predicting the following dependent variables: custody satisfaction, visitation frequency, visitation quality, child support paid, and satisfaction with child support. Results and implications are discussed.     

Siblings' Reactions to Parental Divorce

Because previous studies of children and divorce have typically included only one child per family, little is known about how siblings in the same family experience their parents' divorce. Three samples, totalling 49 pairs of white middle-class adolescent and preadolescent first-born and second-born siblings whose parents were separated no more than 24 months, were studied to assess the relation between siblings' divorce adjustment and the relation between siblings' general behavioral adjustment. Siblings' self-reports and custodial mothers' ratings of each sibling were obtained. For both sets of data, siblings' scores were positively related; when differences were found, older siblings were better adjusted than younger siblings. Based on siblings' self-report scores, relative to younger siblings, older siblings had a better understanding of the divorce, fewer problematic beliefs regarding the divorce, a better understanding of conflict resolution, and a more internal locus of control. Relative to boy/boy dyads, girl/girl dyads had a better understanding of both the divorce and conflict resolution. Based on mothers' ratings, older siblings had more positive reactions to the divorce and were less dependent on adults than younger siblings. There was no support for the position that second-born children with older brothers would show enhanced adjustment.     

Factors Linked with Coparenting Support and Conflict After Divorce

We examined the relationship between personal and interpersonal indicators of postdivorce adjustment and dimensions of coparenting (support, overt conflict, covert conflict) using data from 176 recently divorced mothers. Mothers’ satisfaction with the divorce decree, perceptions of fathers as important for child development, and being satisfied with fathers’ parenting were associated with more supportive coparenting. Mothers’ satisfaction with the divorce decree and fathers’ parenting were associated with less overt conflict. Factors differed for mothers’ reports of their own and their former spouses’ use of covert conflict behaviors, with these factors linked to satisfaction with the divorce decree and perceived stress, respectively.