Adjustment of children using supervised access services: Longitudinal outcomes, multiple perspectives, and correlates.

Abstract

Supervised access services (SAS) allow parents who represent a risk for their children or for the other parent to maintain contact with or exchange custody of their children in the presence of a third person. Even though these services have been designed in the children’s best interest, few studies have, until now, documented the evolution in the parents’ and children’s adjustment or in the quality of the relationships between the family members throughout the services. To better understand this evolution, a longitudinal study comprising 3 time measures was conducted with 96 parents who were beginning the services. Although the results revealed that the children’s evolution was stable all throughout the service trajectory, further analyses showed that the school-age children, and more particularly the boys, experienced a high level of difficulty. Furthermore, the study showed that the parents’ evaluation of their children’s adjustment differed according to whether or not the parent had to see the child in a supervised context. Finally, we observed that the evolution of the children’s adjustment was correlated with the parents’ psychological distress, the quality of the parent–child relationship, and conflict between the parents, all processes that did not have a tendency to improve throughout the service trajectory.

Supervised Visitation: State of the Research

“…Although some studies included staff and service provider perspectives on outcomes (e.g., Saini et al, 2017), we report only on parent or child perspectives and perceptions of outcomes (see Table 1). However, we did include parent reports on child outcomes from the study by Saint-Jacques and colleagues (2020). Finally, detailed outcome information was limited by the depth of data gathered in many cases.…”

“…In addition, while several studies report child perceptions of improved relationships with noncustodial parents, Bergman and Eriksson’s (2018) reveal that for some children, supervision seems to merely mask their parent’s violent capacity. Current practice should caution that neither Tutty et al (2010) nor Saint-Jacques et al (2020) observed significant changes in child outcomes over time. Continued research is needed to understand long- and short-term outcomes for children.…”

“…Supervised parent–child visitation programs offer space for children to visit with noncustodial parents using third-party monitoring and oversight (Babb et al, 2009; Kiely et al, 2019; Saint-Jacques et al, 2020). Most families enter these services because of unresolved custody, parenting, or visitation disputes, with the aim of reducing conflict and providing opportunities for contact between children and noncustodial parents (Babb et al, 2009; Birnbaum & Alaggia, 2006; Kiely et al, 2019; Saini et al, 2017; Saint-Jacques et al, 2020).…”

“…Supervised parent–child visitation programs offer space for children to visit with noncustodial parents using third-party monitoring and oversight (Babb et al, 2009; Kiely et al, 2019; Saint-Jacques et al, 2020). Most families enter these services because of unresolved custody, parenting, or visitation disputes, with the aim of reducing conflict and providing opportunities for contact between children and noncustodial parents (Babb et al, 2009; Birnbaum & Alaggia, 2006; Kiely et al, 2019; Saini et al, 2017; Saint-Jacques et al, 2020). In addition to difficulties peacefully co-parenting, families utilizing supervised visitation often experienced one or more challenging circumstances including domestic violence, child abuse and/or neglect, substance abuse, mental health problems, or threats of child kidnapping (Babb et al, 2009; Saini et al, 2017; Saint-Jacques et al, 2020).…”

“…Most families enter these services because of unresolved custody, parenting, or visitation disputes, with the aim of reducing conflict and providing opportunities for contact between children and noncustodial parents (Babb et al, 2009; Birnbaum & Alaggia, 2006; Kiely et al, 2019; Saini et al, 2017; Saint-Jacques et al, 2020). In addition to difficulties peacefully co-parenting, families utilizing supervised visitation often experienced one or more challenging circumstances including domestic violence, child abuse and/or neglect, substance abuse, mental health problems, or threats of child kidnapping (Babb et al, 2009; Saini et al, 2017; Saint-Jacques et al, 2020). While parents can volunteer for supervised visitations, they typically result from court orders during instances in which threats to the safety of a child or custodial parent are evident (Babb et al, 2009; Kiely et al, 2019; Saini et al, 2017).…”