While marriage rates are relatively stable among better-educated men and women, they are rapidly declining among those with low educational attainment. This development has been recognized in the US as a new socioeconomic pattern of marriage. This article uses census data to show that socioeconomic marriage differentials are also increasing in Australia and New Zealand. These differentials have previously been noted independently of each other and of the international picture. In synthesizing the antipodean data, the article documents the new socioeconomic marriage pattern as an international phenomenon. This article further considers the extent to which the available explanations for the new marriage pattern fit the antipodean setting. In general, the factors identified as important in the North American setting are applicable to both Australia and New Zealand. In particular, the poor marriage prospects of men with low educational attainment appear to be common to these post-industrial economies with minimalist welfare states.
The rapid proliferation of smartphones has led to a bewildering array of post-separation parenting apps, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. These apps usually comprise a messaging tool, shared calendar, expense tracker, and a means to download messages and documents for courts. In Australia, as elsewhere, family law professionals are increasingly being asked about, or asked to recommend, smartphone apps to clients. There is also an emerging trend for courts to mandate the use of post-separation parenting apps in high conflict cases. The present study sought to explore the views and experiences of family law professionals on post-separation parenting smartphone apps (N = 344). Data were collected in Australia and New Zealand through an online survey, distributed to a diverse population of family law professionals. We found that (i) family law professionals generally reported little knowledge of co-parenting apps; (ii) around one third of family law professionals reported that their clients had experienced, or concerns about, coercive control through an app; (iii) around two thirds of family law professionals who had recommended an app had not tried it; and yet (iv) three quarters reported recommending apps to clients. Our central argument is that family law professionals and separated parents alike need a comprehensive and more nuanced understanding of the benefits and risks of post-separation parenting apps and their features.
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