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Benefits of Joint CustodyStatistics, Analyses, Data, And
Anecdotal This collection of citations and statistics demonstrates the benefits that joint custody provides to children. Most of these excerpts come from longer, more detailed articles, many of which can be found on the FRTC web site. Benefits of Joint Custody:
"This research discovers that children--especially daughters--benefit considerably when the parent they are not living with nevertheless does everyday things with the child, from 'shopping, reading, visiting, doing homework, watching TV together,' to 'spending holidays together.' The authors conclude that, for a school-age daughter, this 'doing everyday-type things together' with the parent she is not living with is the only predictor of psychological well-being. (K. Alison Clarke-Stewart and Craig Hayward, "Advantages of Father Custody and Contact for the Psychological Well-Being of School-Age Children," Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Vol. 17, No. 2, April-June 1996, p. 239.) "States with high levels of joint physical custody awards (over 30%) in 1989 and 1990 have shown significantly greater declines in divorce rates in following years through 1995, compared with other states. Divorce rates declined nearly four times faster in high joint custody states, compared with states where joint physical custody is rare. As a result, the states with high levels of joint custody now have significantly lower divorce rates on average than other states. States that favored sole custody also had more divorces involving children. These findings indicate that public policies promoting sole custody may be contributing to the high divorce rate." (John Guibaldi, D.Ed., "Child Custody Policies and Divorce Rates in the US", 11th Annual Conference of the Children's Rights Council, OCT 23-26, 1997, Washington, D.C.). "…children raised by a divorced single parent are significantly more likely than average to have problems in school, run away from home, develop drug dependency, or experience other serious problems…" (Ibid). "…the states with high levels of joint custody had significantly lower divorce rates four years later. States with higher levels of joint custody had an average four-year decline in the divorce rate approximately double that for states with medium levels of joint custody. On a percentage basis, between 1989 and 1994 the rate in the High joint custody group declined by 8%, in the Medium group by 4%, and in the Low group by less than 1%. (Ibid).
Does joint custody help to reduce conflict between parents or is it simply that more cooperative parents are more likely to agree to joint custody arrangements in the first place? Many studies have demonstrated that joint custody arrangements lead to much better compliance in financial child support and greater parental involvement. But opponents of joint custody have claimed that these benefits occur only because the more cooperative parents were the ones that chose joint custody. A new study by Judith Seltzer, University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides strong evidence to refute this claim. Seltzer used data from the National Survey of Families and Households, a survey of over 13,000 families that collected data in two waves, 1987-1988 and 1992-1994. Because the NSFH included data on the quality of family relationships, it was possible to study the effects of joint legal custody while controlling for pre-separation family relationships. Seltzer identified data on families that had separated or divorced between the first and second survey periods. The results clearly indicated positive effects for joint legal custody: "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 the mothers have sole legal custody." Remarkably, Seltzer found that the level of conflict before separation had no impact on the prospects of parents obtaining joint legal custody at divorce. She says, "My findings show that neither conflict nor marital happiness before separation affect the likelihood that parents will acquire joint legal custody at divorce." The fact that children benefited from joint legal custody even after taking account of the quality of family relationships and economic resources before separation provides further evidence that these positive effects are not simply the result of more cooperative parents choosing joint custody. Seltzer proposes a "role oriented" explanation for the benefits of joint legal custody. She says that "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] Seltzer concludes that children's advocates appear to be right: "At least on the dimensions of increased contact between nonresident fathers and children, joint legal custody may, as advocates claim, make the lives of children after divorce more similar to their lives before divorce or to the lives of their peers in two-parent households." Seltzer's report is entitled "Father by Law: Effects of Joint Legal Custody on Nonresident Fathers' Involvement with Children." The report can be obtained through the internet at http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/nsfhwp/home.htm or from the Center for Demography and Ecology, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, 4412 Social Science Bldg., 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706-1393. "Indeed, a large body of research overwhelmingly suggests children do best when they have both a mother and a father in their lives. Specifically, children whose fathers are involved in raising them do better in school, are less likely to get into trouble with the law, and are more likely to be better parents themselves." (Jayne Keedle, "Fathers Matter", The Hartford Advocate - http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/articles/fathersmatter.html). "There's an important link between the amount of contact a non-custodial parent has with a child and the willingness of that person to pay child support. In 1991, about 4.4 million non-custodial parents with visitation privileges and/or joint custody owed child support. Of that number, 79 percent paid all or part of it. By comparison, only 56 percent of the 900,000 people with no visitation or joint custody rights paid all or part of what they owed." (Ibid). "Without a lot of support, separating couples can't be relied upon to play fair. At the moment, however, many men feel shut out of a system that is more supportive of mothers than it is of fathers." (Ibid). "Father-deprivation is a more reliable predictor of criminal activity than race, environment or poverty. Father-deprived children are:
Sources: National Fatherhood Initiative, US Bureau of Census, FBI "Father-deprivation is a serious form of child abuse that is institutionalized and entrenched within our legal system. Powerful sexist people in Canada have a vested interest in diminishing the role of men, especially their role as fathers. Research proves that children thrive with the active and meaningful participation of both biological parents, and is true even for post-divorce families." (Dick Feeman, Joseph Maiello, Mike Jebbet, "Child Custody or Child Abuse", Victoria Times-Colonist, Jan 8, 1998). Additional Statistics: "Fatherless children are at a dramatically greater
risk of drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, suicide, poor
educational performance, teen pregnancy, and criminality." "Teenagers living in single-parent households are more
likely to abuse alcohol and at an earlier age compared to children
reared in two-parent households." "...the absence of the father in the home affects
significantly the behavior of adolescents and results in the greater
use of alcohol and marijuana." A study of 156 victims of child sexual abuse found
that the majority of the children came from disrupted or single-parent
homes; only 31 percent of the children lived with both biological
parents. Although stepfamilies make up only about 10 percent of all
families, 27 percent of the abused children lived with either a
stepfather or the mother's boyfriend. Researchers in Michigan determined that "49 percent of
all child abuse cases are committed by single mothers." "A family structure index -- a composite index based
on the annual rate of children involved in divorce and the percentage
of families with children present that are female-headed -- is a
strong predictor of suicide among young adult and adolescent white
males." " Fatherless children are at dramatically greater risk
of suicide." In a study of 146 adolescent friends of 26 adolescent
suicide victims, teens living in single-parent families are not only
more likely to commit suicide but also more likely to suffer from
psychological disorders, when compared to teens living in intact
families. "Boys who grow up in father-absent homes are more
likely that those in father-present homes to have trouble establishing
appropriate sex roles and gender identity." "In 1988, a study of preschool children admitted to
New Orleans hospitals as psychiatric patients over a 34-month period
found that nearly 80 percent came from fatherless homes." Kelly, Joan, Ph.D. : Further Observations on Joint
Custody
Potash, Marlin S., Ph.D. : Psychological Support for a Rebuttable Presumption of Joint Custody : Probate Law Journal, Vol. 4, 17, 1982
Simring, A. Sue Klavans, Doctoral Candidate, Columbia University : Fathering in Joint Custody Families : A Study of Divorced and Remarried Fathers : Dissertation, 1984
Alexander, Shanon J., M.A., Family Relations division of Home Economics, Florida State University : Protecting the Child's Rights in Custody Cases : The Family Coordinator - Oct. 1977
Jacobson, Doris S., Ph.D., Professor of School of Social Welfare, University of California @ L.A. : The Impact of Marital Separation/Divorce on Children - Parent and Child Separation and Child Adjustment : Journal of Divorce - Summer 1978 {30 families - 51 children}
Clingempeel, W. Glenn, Department of Psychology, Temple University & N. Dickon Reppucci, University of Virginia : Joint Custody After Divorce : Major Issues and Goals for Research : Psychological Bulletin - Vol. 91, # 1 - 1982
Additionally, other studies have found:
Need for Friendly Parent requirement: "The decision to keep the child with the mother is theoretically made in the best interests of the child; however, when children were surveyed later in life, fewer than half felt their mother's motives had anything to do with their best interests. Only a quarter felt it was because their mother loved them." (Glynnis Walker, Solomon's Children, NY: Arbor House, 1986, p. 89). "Almost 40 percent of the custodial wives reported that they had refused at least once to let their ex-husbands see the children, and admitted that their reasons had nothing to do with the children's wishes or the children's safety, but were somehow punitive in nature." (Julie A. Fulton, "Parental Reports of Children's Post-Divorce Adjustment, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 35, 1979, p. 133. Fulton reported that 53% of the non-custodial fathers claimed their ex-wives had refused to let them see their children). "Research by Drs. Judith Wallerstein and Joan Berlin
Kelly revealed that approximately 50 percent of mothers either saw no
value in the father's contact with his children and actively tried to
sabotage it, or resented the father's contact." (Wallerstein,
Surviving the Breakup, HarperCollins , 1996, p.125). Copyright
FRTC 2001. All Rights
Reserved.
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