Joint custody
and shared parenting have
been studied for more than
a quarter-century, with the
majority of studies indicating
significant benefits for children.
About a third of existing
studies show no difference
between joint and sole custody
for children's adjustment
to divorce. The critical
factor appears to be conflict
between parents. When
parents cooperate and minimize
conflict, children do much
better with shared parenting.
If there is significant conflict
between parents, however,
children may do no better
(but no worse) than they do
in sole custody. This
section summarizes some of
the research published in
the past two decades.
Contents
Joint Physical Custody
-the arrangement in which
a child spends at least one-third
of their time with each parent,
often 50/50 time division
between parents.
Joint Legal Custody -
situations in which both parents
have some legal decision-making
role, but the child's living
arrangement is the same as
sole custody (non-custodial
parent is permitted four days
a month with the child).
Extreme
Situations - cases of
high conflict, sometimes including
domestic violence.
Sole
Custody - the traditional
arrangement in which the child
lives with one parent and
visits the other parent every
other weekend, plus two weeks
in summer.
Joint
Physical Custody
Bauserman,
R., (2002) "Child
Adjustment in Joint-Custody
Versus Sole-Custody Arrangements:
A Meta-Analytic Review",
Journal of Family Psychology,
Vol. 16, No. 1, (2002) 91-102.
This is the most comprehensive
statistical analysis of joint
custody ever conducted (both
joint physical and joint legal).
Its findings were so noteworthy
that the American Psychological
Association published a news
release highlighting the study.
APA news release: "Children
Likely to be Better Adjusted
in Joint vs. Sole Custody
Arrangements, According to
Review of Research"
Full
report in PDF format
"Children in joint physical
or legal custody were better
adjusted than children in
sole-custody settings, but
no different from those in
intact families. More
positive adjustment of joint-custody
children held for separate
comparisons of general adjustment,
family relationships, self-esteem,
emotional and behavioral adjustment,
and divorce-specific adjustment.
Joint-custody parents reported
less current and past conflict
than did sole-custody parents,
but this did not explain the
better adjustment of joint-custody
children. The results are
consistent with the hypothesis
that joint custody can be
advantageous for children
in some cases, possibly by
facilitating ongoing positive
involvement with both parents."
Fabricius,
W.V. (2003) Listening to Children
of Divorce Family
Relations Volume
52 Issue 4 Page
385 - October 2003
"I review new findings
on (a) college students' perspectives
on their living arrangements
after their parents' divorces,
(b) their relations with their
parents as a function of their
living arrangements, (c) their
adjustment as a function of
their parents' relocation,
and (d) the amount of college
support they received. Students
endorsed living arrangements
that gave them equal time
with their fathers, they had
better outcomes when they
had such arrangements and
when their parents supported
their time with the other
parent, they experienced disagreement
between mothers and fathers
over living arrangements,
and they gave evidence of
their fathers' continuing
commitment to them into their
young adult years."
Kelly, J. B. (2000). Children’s
adjustment in conflicted marriage
and divorce: A decade review
of research. Journal
of the American Academy of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
39, 963-973.
"Joint custody led to
better child outcomes overall.
" from
abstract
See also
Kelly, J., Current research
on children's postdivorce
adjustment. Family and Conciliation
Courts Review, 31.29-49, 1993
Full
report text in PDF format
On child
satisfaction: "Children
have expressed higher levels
of satisfaction with joint
physical custody than with
sole custody arrangements;
citing the benefit of remaining
close to both parents. Joint
custody does not create confusion
for the majority of youngsters
about their living arrangements
or about the finality of the
divorce, nor does increase
loyalty conflicts (Leupnitz,
1982; Shiller, 1986a, 1986b;
Steinman, 1981)."
On parent
satisfaction: "A
surprising finding in one
study was that mothers who
share custody are more satisfied
than those having sole custody
and whose children see their
father periodically. However,
both groups expressed more
satisfaction with their residential
arrangement than did sole-custody
mothers whose children had
no paternal contact."
On conflict
situations: "Dual-residence
(joint physical custody) parents
had the highest co-operative-communication
scores but did not differ
from mother custody or father
custody parents in the amount
of discord. Shared residence
did not exacerbate or diminish
conflict but did appear to
lead to more co-operative
communication."
On child
adjustment: "The
adjustment of 517 adolescents
(aged 10 years, 6 months to
18 years) in three residential
arrangements was compared
4.5 years after separation
by Buchanan, Maccoby, and
Dornbusch (in press). Looking
at both family process and
status variables, these researchers
assessed adolescent adjustment
in terms of depression, deviance,
school effort, and school
grades. Statistically, more
boys were in dual-residence
and father-residence arrangements,
whereas more girls were in
mother-residence arrangements.
Overall, dual-residence adolescents
were better adjusted than
were mother-residence adolescents."
Fabricius,
W.V. and J. Hall, (2000)
"Young Adults Perspective
on Divorce", Family and
Conciliation Courts Review,
Vol. 38, 446-461.
"Our
participants, who have lived
through their parents' divorces
and have now entered young
adulthood (and college) have
given us their 'expert' advice.
Seventy percent of them, men
and women alike, believe that
living equal amounts of time
with each parent is the best
arrangement for children."
Full text in PDF
Amato, P. R. (2000). The consequences
of divorce for adults and
children. Journal of Marriage
and the Family, 62(4), 1269-1287.
"Divorce
also has significant impacts
on children, according to
the research. Many of these
impacts tend to be negative.
Children are more likely to
be poor after divorce, and
more likely to experience
instability. However, moderating
factors include children’s
coping skills, and the presence
of joint custody. "
from
abstract
Christoffersen, M. N. (1998).
Growing up with dad: A comparison
of children aged 3-5 years
old living with their
mothers or their fathers.
Childhood, 5(1), 41-54.
This Danish
study used a scientific sample,
drawn from national birth
records, of 478 single fathers
and 532 single mothers, including
situations that can be classified
as joint physical custody.
Results indicated that children
fared better with single fathers,
possibly as a result of greater
contact with the other parent
(i.e. joint physical custody
with mother), economic stability
of fathers, and more social
support, including greater
contact with grandparents.
Ackerman,
M.J. and Ackerman, M.
"Custody Evaluation Practices:
A Survey of Experienced Professionals
(Revisited)", Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice,
Vol. 28, No. 2. (1997).
"Psychologists
Becoming More Sophisticated
In Their Custody Evaluation
Practices, Survey Finds"
More Inclined Toward Joint
Custody; Less Likely to Make
Judgments Based on a Single
Factor than 10 Years Ago
This report
shows that joint custody is
becoming the option of choice
among experts:
"While in 1986 more than
half of the situations on
the list prompted an endorsement
of one parent over the other,
by 1996, less than a quarter
of the items resulted in endorsement
of one parent over the other,
indicating a greater preference
for joint custody over sole-
or single-parent custody than
in 1986."
APA announcement:
http://mirror.apa.org/releases/custody.html
Adolescents After Divorce,
Buchanan, C., Maccoby, and
Dornbusch, Harvard University
Press,1996.
A study
of 517 families with children
ranging in age from 10.5 years
to 18 years, across a four
and a half year period. Measures
were: assessed depression,
deviance, school effort, and
school grades.
Children in shared parenting
arrangements were found to
have better adjustment on
these measures than those
in sole custody.
Joan B.
Kelly, one of the most respected
experts in the field of children
and divorce, summarized the
Buchanan, Maccoby and Dornbusch
study as follows:
"The adjustment of 517
adolescents (aged 10 years,
6 months to 18 years) in three
residential arrangements was
compared 4.5 years after separation
by Buchanan, Maccoby, and
Dornbusch (in press). Looking
at both family process and
status variables, these researchers
assessed adolescent adjustment
in terms of depression, deviance,
school effort, and school
grades. Statistically, more
boys were in dual-residence
and father-residence arrangements,
whereas more girls were in
mother-residence arrangements.
Overall, dual-residence adolescents
were better adjusted than
were mother-residence adolescents."
(Current research on children's
postdivorce adjustment. Family
and Conciliation Courts Review,
31.29-49, 1993)
Clarke, S.C., Advance Report
of Final Divorce Statistics,
1989 and 1990. Monthly Vital
Statistics Report, Vol.
43, No. 9, 1995. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention/National
Center for Health Statistics.
Full report text in PDF format
This US
Government report reviewed
physical custody of children
following divorce. Although
it did not study children's
adjustment, it is significant
because it demonstrates that
shared parenting (joint physical
custody) is becoming commonplace,
especially where statutes
or courts are supportive.
In four of 19 states surveyed,
joint physical custody exceeded
30%.
Findings
regarding physical custody
were summarized by the authors:
"In 1990 the wife was
awarded custody of the children
almost three-fourths (72 percent)
of the time in those divorces
in which custody was awarded.
Joint custody was the second
most common arrangement (16
percent) while husbands were
awarded custody in 9 percent
of these divorces."
Division 16, School Psychology,
American Psychological Association,
Report to the U.S. Commission
on Child and Family Welfare,
June 14, 1995.
This report
"summarizes and evaluates
the major research concerning
joint custody and its impact
on children's welfare."
The report concludes that
"The research reviewed
supports the conclusion that
joint custody is associated
with certain favorable outcomes
for children including father
involvement, best interest
of the child for adjustment
outcomes, child support, reduced
relitigation costs, and sometimes
reduced parental conflict."
The APA also noted that "The
need for improved policy to
reduce the present adversarial
approach that has resulted
in primarily sole maternal
custody, limited father involvement
and maladjustment of both
children and parents is critical.
Increased mediation, joint
custody, and parent education
are supported for this policy."
Full
report text in PDF format
Bender, W.N. 1994. Joint custody:
The option of choice. Journal
of Divorce & Remarriage
21 (3/4): 115-131.
"Joint
custody is also the preferred
option in high conflict situations
because it helps reduce the
conflict over time - and that
is in the best interests of
the children."
Bender
reviews current and historical
research on the 'myths' of
joint custody, i.e. - that
joint custody should not be
awarded when the mother objects
or in high conflict matters.
The article describes the
benefits of joint custody
including that children adjust
better post-divorce in joint
custody as compared to sole
custody awards, children's
attachment to both parents
post-divorce is essential
for healthy child development,
joint custody leads to higher
levels of financial compliance,
relitigation is lower as compared
to sole custody, and joint
custody leads to the best
outcome for children even
in high conflict situations
because it forces resolution
and best leads to reduction
of child stress in the long
term.
Levy, David L. (ed.) 1993.
The best parent is both parents:
A guide to shared parenting
in the 21st century. Norfolk,
Va.: Hampton Roads Publ. Co.
Wilkinson, Ronald Richard,
"A Comparison of Children's
Post-divorce Adjustment in
Sole and Joint Physical Custody
Arrangements Matched for Types
of Parental Conflict"
Doctoral dissertation, 1992;
Texas Woman's University
This study
included "forty boys
and girls, ages 8 to 12, in
attendance at selected private
secular and parochial schools
in a large Southwestern metropolitan
area participated, along with
their middle to upper-class
parents." The study compared
adjustment of children in
joint and sole physical custody,
controlling for level of conflict
between parents, to determine
if parental conflict would
be more detrimental to children
in joint or sole custody.
The author summarized findings
as follows: "Overall,
no significant difference
between joint and sole physical
custody groups was found."
Rockwell-Evans, Kim Evonne,
"Parental and Children's
Experiences and Adjustment
in Maternal Versus Joint Custody
Families " Doctoral dissertation,
1991. North Texas State U.
This study
compared 21 joint custody
and 21 maternal custody families,
with children between the
ages of 4-15.
Results
showed that misbehavior and
"acting out" were
more common among sole custody
children: "A multiple
regression analysis of these
data found children in joint
custody families had fewer
behavioral adjustment problems
with externalizing behavior
than children in mother custody
families." "Regardless
of custody arrangement, parents
with low self esteem were
more likely to have children
with behavioral adjustment
problems when predicting the
child's overall behavioral
adjustment and internalized
behavior."
J.
Pearson and N. Thoennes,"Custody
After Divorce: Demographic
and Attitudinal Patterns",
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry,
Vol. 60, 1990.
"Consistent
with other studies of joint
and sole custody [citations],
our joint legal and residential
noncustodians were decidedly
more involved with their children
following divorce than were
noncustodians in sole custody
arrangements. . . . Lastly,
respondants in joint custody
arrangements wre more apt
to perceive their exsopuse
as having a good relationship
with the children and to report
satisfaction with that person's
performance as a parent."
" .
. . conflict between divorcing
parents in our sample did
not appear to worsen as a
result of the increased demand
for interparental cooperation
and communication in joint
legal or joint residential
custody arrangements. To the
contrary, parents with sole
maternal custody reported
the greatest deterioration
in the relationships over
time."
Glover, R. and C. Steele,
"Comparing the Effects
on the Child of Post-divorce
Parenting Arrangements,"
Journal of Divorce, Vol. 12,
No. 2-3 (1989).
This study
evaluated children aged 6
to 15 in the areas of locus
of control, self-concept,
and family relationships.
The children were divided
into three groups: shared
custody, maternal custody,
and intact families.
Intact family children had
averaged higher than divorced
family children on self-concept
and father relationships,
and shared custody children
averaged higher the sole custody
children in these areas.
Intact family children had
fewer least-positive responses
in all areas than divorced
family children, and shared
custody children had fewer
least-positive responses than
sole custody children in all
areas except mother relationship.
This study indicates that,
on average, a two parent intact
family is the best arrangement
for children, and a shared
parenting arrangement is better
than a sole custody arrangement,
i.e., a two-parent family
is better even if parents
are divorced.
Ilfeld, Holly Zingale "Children's
perceptions of their relationship
with their fathers in three
family constellations: mother
sole custody, joint custody
and intact families"
Doctoral dissertation, U.
of California, Davis 1989
This study
evaluated children's perceptions
of their fathers at least
four years post-divorce, comparing
joint custody, sole custody
and intact families. The subjects
were 43 latency-age children:
11 from maternal custody families,
14 from joint custody families
and 18 controls from intact
homes.
Results:
"There was a significant
difference in the perceptions
of children in sole and joint
custody. Joint custody children
reported spending more time
with their fathers in childcentered
activities, activities which
were considered pleasurable
and important to children.
" And: "No differences
were found as a function of
custody arrangements in children's
perceptions of emotional closeness
to the father, acceptance
by the father, or fathers's
potency or activity. "
Lerman, Isabel A. "Adjustment
of latency age children in
joint and single custody arrangements"
California School of Professional
Psychology, San Diego, 1989
This study
evaluated 90 children, aged
7 to 12, divided equally among
maternal, joint legal, and
joint physical custody groups.
Results
showed negative effects for
sole custody: "Single
custody subjects evidenced
greater self-hate and perceived
more rejection from their
fathers than joint physical
custody subjects." Conflict
between parents was found
to be a significant factor,
which may explain the better
adjustment for joint physical
custody children: "Degree
of interparental conflict
was a significant predictor
of child self-hate. Higher
conflict was associated with
greater self-hate; lower conflict
was associated with lower
self-hate." "Higher
father-child contact was associated
with better adjustment, lower
self-hate, and lower perceived
rejection from father; lower
father-child contact was associated
with poorer adjustment, higher
self-hate, and higher perceived
rejection from father. "
Joint Legal
Custody
Although
not as beneficial to children
as equal shared parenting
(joint physical custody),
joint legal custody helps
to some extent. The main benefits
of joint legal custody are
in reducing visitation interference
and improving child support
compliance.
Joint legal
custody has been consistently
linked with more parental
involvement, higher child
support compliance, and less
conflict between parents.
Until recently, however, it
was not clear whether these
benefits occurred as a result
of joint legal custody, or
simply because more cooperative
parents chose joint custody
in the first place.
The 1997 study by Seltzer
provides strong evidence for
a cause and effect relationship
between joint legal custody
and the benefits associated
with it.
Gunnoe, M. L., & Braver,
S. L. (in press, 2002). The
effects of joint legal custody
on family functioning, controlling
for factors that predispose
a joing award. Washington,
DC: National Institute of
Mental Health.
Gunnoe
and Braver found that joint
legal custody was associated
with more father-child contact,
and may reduce mothers' objections
to visitation. Custody
type did not predict
parental conflict or parental
adjustment to divorce.
Grall, T.. Child support for
custodial mothers and fathers:
1997, Current Population Reports,
Consumer Income Series P60-212
(2000). Washington, DC: Bureau
of the Census, U.S. Department
of Commerce.
Full
report text in PDF format
This US
Government research confirmed
earlier findings that joint
custody and visitation are
significant in increasing
child support compliance:
"Child support compliance
was highly related to joint
custody and visitation."
Amato, P. R. (2000). The consequences
of divorce for adults and
children. Journal of Marriage
and the Family, 62(4), 1269-1287.
Another
study which showed the negative
effects of divorce on children
and adults. Moderating
factors for adults were education
and support of familiy and
friends. For children,
moderating factors were children's
coping skills and the presence
of joint custody.
Scoon-Rogers, L. (1999). Child
support for custodial mothers
and fathers: 1995 (Current
Population Reports, Consumer
Income Series P60-196). Washington,
DC: Bureau of the Census,
U.S. Department of Commerce.
Full
report text in PDF format
This US
Government study found that
visitation and joint custody
increased child support payment
rates.
Seltzer, J. A. (1998). Father
by law: Effects of joint legal
custody on nonresident fathers’
involvement with children.
Demography, 35(2),135-146.
(journal publication of report
described below).
Seltzer,
J. "Father by Law: Effects
of Joint Legal Custody on
Non-residential Fathers Involvement
with Children," NSFH
Paper No. 75, Feb., 1997,
U. of Wisconsin-Madison, http://ssc.wisc.edu/cde/nsfhwp/home.htm
Seltzer
used data from the National
Survey of Families and Households,
a survey of over 13,000 families
that collected data in two
waves, 1987-88 and 1992-94.
Because the study included
data on the quality of family
relationships, it was possible
to study the effects of joint
legal custody while controlling
from pre-separation family
relationships by analyzing
data on families that had
separated between the survey
waves.
Seltzer
concluded that "Controlling
for the quality of family
relationships before separation
and socioeconomic status,
fathers with joint legal custody
see their children more frequently,
have more overnight visits,
and pay more child support
than fathers in families in
which mothers have sole legal
custody." She suggests
that joint legal custody helps
reduce visitation denial:
"By clarifying that divorced
fathers are 'by law' still
fathers, parents' negotiations
about fathers' participation
in child rearing after divorce
may shift from trying to resolve
whether fathers will be involved
in child rearing to the matter
of how fathers will be involved."
[emphasis in original]
Gunnoe, M.L., and S.L. Braver,
"The Effects of Joint
Legal Custody on Family Functioning,
Controlling for Factors that
Predispose a joint award,"
Child Development.
This study
evaluated 273 families, controlling
for 28 variables that influence
a predisposition to agree
on joint legal custody.
Controlling for these factors,
children in joint legal custody
families had more time with
their fathers and fewer adjustment
an behavior problems.
The custody type, however,
did not affect the adjustment
of fathers or mothers post-divorce,
conflict between ex-spouses,
or child support compliance.
Sanford Braver,"Determining
the Impact of Joint Custody
on Divorcing Families",
Study consisted
of 378 families; some with
unmatched partners, in various
custody arrangements.
".
. .Sharlene Wolchik, Iwrin
Sandler and I found in 1985
that children in joint custody
had higher feelings of self-worth
than children in sole maternal
custody."
"Our
results showed considerable
benefits for joint custody,
even when equating predisposing
factors. After this adjustment,
children in joint custody
were found to be significantly
better adjusted, and to exhibit
less antisocial and implulsive
behavior than sole custody
families. Fathers also visited
more, and were more involved
in child care, as well as
more satisfied with the divorce
settlement. Mothers, however,
were significantly less sataisfied
with the custody arrangements
in joint custody families."
"When
the couple disagrees initially,
which is better for the family,
for the father to get his
preference (joint [custody])
or for the mother to get her
preference (sole [custody])?
We found that the groups differed
significantly in terms of
how much financial child support
was paid: when sole custody
was that arrangement despite
the fathers' wishes, 80% was
paid (according to what the
father reported; the figure
was 64% by mothers' report),
while when joint custody was
awarded despite the mothers'
preference, it zoomed to almost
perfect comliance (97% by
fathers' report; 94% by mothers'
report) . . . A similar relationship
was found for fathers' contact
with the child. It was significantly
highest for the group in which
joint custody was awarded
despite the mothers' preference."
"Joint custody, even
when awarded despite the contrary
preference of the mother,
leads to more involved fathers,
and almost perfect of financial
child support; controlling
for predisposing factors,
it leads to better adjusted
children. . . We belive these
findings call for policy makers,
in the best interest of the
children, to adopt a presumption
that is rebuttable for joint
legal custody, that is, a
judicial preference that both
parents retain their right
and responsibilities toward
their children post divorce."
Extreme
Situations In situations with
high levels of conflict, mental
illness, or domestic violence,
joint physical custody is
no better (and no worse) than
sole custody.
Kelly,
J. B.. Children’s adjustment
in conflicted marriage and
divorce: A decade review of
research. Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, 39, 963-973 (2000).
This
study re-confirmed the negative
effects of divorce and high
conflict between parents (in
divorce or marriage), particularly
in risk of drug use, lower
academic achievement and behavior
problems. However, some
factors reduced problems:
1) children whose fathers
remain involved with their
school activities have better
outcomes, 2) divorce and custody
mediation results in lower
conflict between parents,
3) joint custody leads to
better outcomes for children.
Surviving
the Breakup, J. Wallerstein
and J. Kelly;
Second Chances, J. Wallerstein
and S. Blakeslee; and other
publications.
Judith
Wallerstein and colleagues
have produced many publications
on a 20+ year study of 184
families that had been referred
to her clinic for therapy.
The parents were predominantly
mentally ill, with approximately
half the men and half the
women "moderately disturbed
or frequently incapacitated
by disabling neuroses and
addictions," including
some who were "sometimes
suicidal." An additional
20% of the women and 15% of
the men were categorized as
"severely disturbed."
Approximately one third of
the sample were considered
to have "adequate psychological
functioning" before divorce.
Although there was a significant
level of attrition, with families
dropping out of the study
when problems were resolved,
some conclusions emerged from
the remaining families. Children
in joint custody situations
did no better than those in
sole custody, indicating that
parents must be reasonably
psychologically healthy for
shared parenting to benefit
children.
Johnston,
Janet R., Marsha Kline, and
Jeanne M. Tschann,
"Ongoing Postdivorce
Conflict: Effects on Children
of Joint Custody and Frequent
Access," American Journal
of Orthopsychiatry, Vol. 59,
No. 4 (Oct. 1989).
Johnston
et al. studied 100 low income
families involved in ongoing
custody disputes that included
frequent verbal and physical
aggression. Approximately
one third of the children
were in joint physical custody
arrangements averaging 12
days per month with the less-seen
parent, with the others in
either mother or father sole
physical custody averaging
4 days a month with the less-seen
parent. The study found that
"there was no clear evidence
that children are better adjusted
in either custody type",
and that "mean scores
for the Child Behavior Checklist
lie within the normal range
for all custody types."
Also, "there was no evidence
that the clinically disturbed
children were more likely
to be in joint than in sole
custody." However, the
study did find that more frequent
contact between parents in
either joint or sole custody
arrangements was "associated
with more emotional and behavioral
problems in the children."
Johnston's
study indicates that shared
parenting may not reduce disputes
between parents in extreme
high-conflict situations,
but also shows that sole custody
does not protect children
from the effects of conflict
between parents. In high conflict
situations, it is probably
better to reduce interaction
between parents. For example,
parents can pick up children
from school instead of from
the other parent's house.
The
study did find one significant
benefit from shared parenting
even in these cases: "Only
one parent with joint custody
ceased contact with her child,
whereas 12 parents of sole
custody children 'dropped
out'." Thus joint custody
does appear to protect children
from the complete loss of
a parent, even in high conflict
situations.
Sole
Custody
Children raised in sole custody,
single parent situations are
at an extremely high risk
of serious trouble in school,
teen pregnancy, drug use,
and countless other problems.
The US Department of Health
and Human Services summarizes
the risks of sole custody,
single parent families:
"More
than a quarter of American
children—nearly 17 million—do
not live with their father.
Girls without a father in
their life are two and a half
times as likely to get pregnant
and 53 percent more likely
to commit suicide.
Boys without a father in their
life are 63 percent more likely
to run away and 37
percent more likely to abuse
drugs. Both
girls and boys are twice as
likely to drop out of high
school, twice as likely to
end up in jail and
nearly four times as likely
to need help for emotional
or behavioral problems."
The risks of sole custody
have been documented extensively.
Below are some of the more
recent studies. Joint
custody helps to minimize
these risks because both parents
continue to be involved.
K. Crowder and J. Teachman,(2004)
“Do Residential Conditions
Explain the Relationship Between
Living Arrangements and Adolescent
Behavior?” Journal of Marriage
and Family 66 [2004]: 721-738.
- “the odds of experiencing
a premarital pregnancy
are two times higher for
those from solo single-parent
families than for those
from other family types.”
- “a 25-point increase
in the percentage of time
spent with a solo single
parent during childhood
increases the odds of
dropping out by
about 32%.”
B.J. Ellis et al., “Does
Father Absence Place Daughters
at Special Risk for Early
Sexual Activity and Teenage
Pregnancy?” Child Development
74[2003]: 801-821
- there is “a dose-response
relationship between timing
of onset of father absence
and early sexual outcomes”
- “early father-absent
girls had the highest
rates of both early sexual
activity and adolescent
pregnancy, followed
by late father-absent
girls, followed by father-present
girls.”
- “rates of teenage pregnancy...were
7 to 8 times higher among
early father-absent girls,
but only 2 to 3 times
higher among late father-absent
girls, than among father-present
girls.”
Gunilla Ringbäck Weitoft,
Anders Hjern, Bengt Haglund,
and Måns Rosén, “Mortality,
severe morbidity, and injury
in children living with single
parents in Sweden: A population-based
study,” The Lancet, Vol. 361,
No. 9354 [25 January 2003]:
289-295
- “...girls with single
parents were more than
twice as likely to commit
suicide and more
than three times as likely
to die from an addiction
to drugs or alcohol than
were girls with two parents.
Boys of single parents
were more than five times
more likely to die from
an addiction to drugs
or alcohol, more
than three times as likely
to die from a fall or
poisoning, and
four times more likely
to die from external violence”
- “After adjustment for
age, the risk of dying
was more than 50% greater
in boys in single-parent
families than in those
boys living with both
parents.”
Marielle Kroes et al., “A
Longitudinal Community Study:
Do Psychosocial Risk Factors
and Child Behavior Checklist
Scores at 5 Years of Age Predict
Psychiatric Diagnoses at a
Later Age?” Journal of the
American Academy of Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry
41[2002]: 955-963,
- “living in a single-parent
family and having a life
event [such as a serious
illness, a parental divorce,
or the death of a family
member] were the most
important predictors of
mood and anxiety disorders.”
J. M. Hilton and E. L. Devall,
“Comparison of Parenting and
Children’s Behavior in Single-Mother,
Single-Father, and Intact
Families,” Journal of Divorce
& Remarriage, Vol. 29,
Nos. 3/4 [1998], pp. 23-50.)
- 6- to 10-year-old children
raised in divorced-mother
households showed a significantly
increased likelihood “to
lie, destroy property,
and associate with children
who got into trouble.”
- findings “particularly
disturbing given that
the children in the sample
were pre-adolescent.”
B. J. Ellis et al., “Quality
of Early Family Relationships
and Individual Differences
in the Timing of Pubertal
Maturation in Girls:
A Longitudinal Test of an
Evolutionary Model,” Journal
of Personality and Social
Psychology" 77 [1999]:
387-401
- “girls who were in single-mother
homes at age 5 tend[ing]
to experience earlier
puberty.”
- “early onset of puberty
in girls is associated
with negative health and
psychosocial outcomes,”
including “more emotional
problems, such as depression
and anxiety” and
“alcohol consumption
and sexual promiscuity.”
Updated
5 June 2005 |