Living Situation
Not As Influential As
Time Spent With Parent
WASHINGTON - Children
from divorced families
who either live with
both parents at different
times or spend certain
amounts of time with
each parent are better
adjusted in most cases
than children who live
and interact with just
one parent, according
to new research on custody
arrangements and children's
adjustment.
Psychologist Robert
Bauserman, Ph.D.,
of AIDS Administration/Department
of Health and Mental
Hygiene in Baltimore,
Maryland conducted
a meta-analysis of
33 studies between
1982 to 1999 that
examined 1,846 sole-custody
and 814 joint-custody
children. The studies
compared child adjustment
in joint physical
or joint legal custody
with sole-custody
settings and 251 intact
families. Joint custody
was defined as either
physical custody -
where a child spends
equal or substantial
amounts of time with
both parents or shared
legal custody - where
a child lives with
primarily one parent
but both parents are
involved in all aspects
of the child's life.
This article will
appear in the March
issue of the Journal
of Family Psychology,
published by the American
Psychological Association
(APA).
Children in joint
custody arrangements
had less behavior
and emotional problems,
had higher self-esteem,
better family relations
and school performance
than children in sole
custody arrangements.
And these children
were as well-adjusted
as intact family children
on the same measures,
said Bauserman, "probably
because joint custody
provides the child
with an opportunity
to have ongoing contact
with both parents."
These findings indicate
that children do not
actually need to be
in a joint physical
custody to show better
adjustment but just
need to spend substantial
time with both parents,
especially with their
fathers, said Bauserman.
Also, joint custody
couples reported less
conflict, possibly
because both parents
could participate
in their children's
lives equally and
not spend the time
arguing over childcare
decisions. Unfortunately
a perception exists
that joint custody
is more harmful because
it exposes children
to ongoing parental
conflict. In fact,
the studies in this
review found that
sole-custody parents
reported higher levels
of conflict.
It is important to
recognize that the
results do not support
joint custody in all
situations. When one
parent is abusive
or neglectful or has
a serious mental or
physical health problem,
sole-custody with
the other parent would
clearly be preferable,
said Bauserman. The
judges, lawyers, social
workers, psychologists
and other professionals
involved in divorce
counseling and litigation
should be aware of
these findings to
make informed decisions
of what environment
is best for a child
in a custody situation.
Furthermore, to address
the question of how
much the parents'
emotional health compared
with the custody arrangement
influenced the children's
adjustment, Bauserman
explained that custody
arrangement seemed
to have more influence.
By statistically controlling
for past parental
conflict (which indicates
parental maladjustment),
the joint custody
children still were
significantly better
adjusted. This result
was also found in
other studies cited
in Bauserman's review.
More primary research
is needed, said Bauserman,
"on the past
and current adjustment
of joint custody and
sole custody parents
before this question
can be completely
answered." Article:
"Child Adjustment
in Joint-Custody Versus
Sole-Custody Arrangements:
A Meta-Analytic Review,"
Robert Bauserman, Ph.D.,
AIDS Administration/Department
of Health and Mental
Hygiene; Journal of
Family Psychology ,
Vol 16, No. 1.
Full text of the
article
is available from the
APA Public Affairs Office
or at
http://www.apaorg/journals/releases/fam16191.pdf
Robert
Bauserman, PhD
can be reached by telephone
at 410-767-4322
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