Executive Summary
Large numbers of children are experiencing changes in their living arrangements due to their parents’ decision to end their marriage and/or common law partnership. A growing body of literature documents the many ways in which children are affected by, and in turn respond to, the disruption of their parents’ marriage. There is a consensus among social scientists that the transitions accompanying the breakup of parents are often replete with turmoil for the children. Researchers have found evidence that the divorce or separation of their parents is related to an increase in the incidence of emotional, psychological, behavioural, and physiological problems for the children involved, and that many of these negative outcomes have long-term and sometimes life-long effects.
This paper examines whether children living in post-divorce custody arrangements have more problems than children living with both parents (still married or common-law), and whether children in different types of custody arrangements differ in their odds of having one or more problems of an emotional or behavioural nature. The relative importance of other factors in the outcome of problems for children is also examined.
Findings indicate that overall, more than two-thirds of children living with both parents and living in post-divorce custody arrangements are reported as well-adjusted, exhibiting no problems at all. Importantly, and contrary to popular assumptions, children living in some form of post-divorce custody are only slightly more likely to exhibit one or more problems than children living with both parents. In terms of other factors, being male appears to be highly related to a child's risk for having problems, while the presence of siblings seems to have a protective effect. When we turn to the characteristics of the Person Most Knowledgeable about the child (PMK) we see that children whose PMK's were younger, had not graduated from high school, and had lower household incomes were at increased risk of having problems. Results also indicate that as time passes, children become more adjusted to the reality of their parents' separation.
The results of this analysis put into question the widely held myth that children living in sole post-divorce custody arrangements, especially with their mothers are "problem kids." Practitioners and policy makers must therefore be sensitive to meeting the needs of children of divorce as a group, rather than focusing their efforts on initiatives or programs for children of single, divorced mothers or fathers. There is a need to develop strategies for providing support for children immediately or soon after the breakup of their parents in order to alleviate the stress they may be facing and to assist them in dealing with the dramatic changes in their lives. Programs are also required to assist parents in developing healthy parenting skills.
Parenthood is one of the most important occupations in any society; yet, it is one of the few that has no formal training requirements. Educational initiatives encouraging and promoting healthy parenting techniques, and parenthood as an active and interactive process would likely go a long way in assisting families dealing with both divorce and everyday life issues.
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