Involved Fathers, Liberated Mothers? Joint Physical Custody and the Subjective Well-being of Divorced Parents

Sodermans, An Katrien; Botterman, Sarah; Havermans, Nele; Matthijs, Koenraad

doi:10.1007/s11205-014-0676-9

Cited by 42 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Several studies from different countries found evidence that joint physical custody is associated with stronger and more enduring bonds between fathers and children (Cashmore et al., ; Melli & Brown, ; Sodermans, Botterman, Havermans, & Matthijs, ; Spruijt & Duindam, ). The strength of the bonding was measured by, for example, paternal involvement in child rearing, joint leisure time, and emotional closeness.…”

Section: Joint Physical Custody: Effects On Children's and Parents’ Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides being favorable for the work–family balance of mothers after a separation or divorce, Botterman et al. () found in a study of divorced parents in Belgium, using data from the Divorce in Flanders survey ( n = 1,506), that joint physical custody arrangements are also of advantage for mothers regarding their options to participate in outdoor home leisure activities and to maintain social contacts (see also Sodermans et al., ). Another study from the Netherlands, drawing on 18 in‐depth interviews conducted in 2008 and 2009 with separated parents sampled through the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS), came to the same result, showing that mothers in joint physical custody arrangements experience less constraints in combining work, care, and leisure in daily life than single mothers do (Bakker & Karsten, ).…”

Section: Joint Physical Custody: Effects On Children's and Parents’ Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Children's and Parents’ Well‐Being in Joint Physical Custody: A Literature Review

2018

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Joint physical custody (JPC), a parental care arrangement in which a child lives with each parent for at least 25-50% of the time after separation or divorce, is increasingly common in many Western societies. This is a major shift from the standard of sole physical custody, with mostly mothers providing primary childcare after a parental separation or divorce. The increasing share of separated or divorced parents who practice JPC, which in some countries, US states, and regions reaches 30% and more, results from increasing gender equality due to mothers participating considerably in the labor force and fathers being actively involved in their children's daily lives. This review focuses on the effects of JPC on children's and parents' well-being, based on 40 studies from North America, Australia, and Europe published between 2007 and 2018. In sum, there is empirical evidence from different countries that suggests that JPC arrangements can have positive effects on the well-being of children and of parents. However, the existing studies are conceptually, methodologically, and contextually very heterogeneous. In addition, self-selected highly educated parents with a high socio-economic status, a low conflict level, and children between the ages of 6-15 practicing JPC dominate the samples. Thus, the risks and benefits of JPC are not clear yet and are heavily debated by advocates and academics. The review concludes with suggestions for future research.

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Section: Joint Physical Custody: Effects On Children's and Parents’ Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Joint Physical Custody: Effects On Children's and Parents’ Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children's and Parents’ Well‐Being in Joint Physical Custody: A Literature Review

2018

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“…Parenting schedules after divorce have also been shown to impact parents’ social lives. Sole custody, especially single parenthood, has been found to constrain the social life of parents (Botterman, Sodermans, & Matthijs, ; Sodermans, Botterman, Havermans, & Matthijs, ; Vanassche, Corijn, Matthijs, & Swicegood, ). Mothers with children in alternating residences tend to engage more in outdoor home activities (including sports, cultural activities, and social events) and maintain their contacts with friends, neighbors, and family members than mothers with children in sole custody (Botterman et al, ).…”

Section: Key Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternating Residence for Children After Parental Separation: Recent Findings from Belgium

Vanassche

Sodermans²,

Declerck³

et al. 2017

Family Court Review

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In recent decades there have been two significant legislative amendments to shared parenting in Belgium. In 1995, joint exercise of parental responsibilities was introduced as the default legal position. In 2006, the legislation required that in all cases of joint parenthood in which parents could not agree on children's living arrangements, equally divided alternating residence must first be considered by the judge. In this article, we summarize recent research findings from Belgium about alternating residence for children. There has been a fourfold increase in alternating residence, and families in these arrangements became increasingly diverse. Compared to children living exclusively with their mothers, children in alternating residences report a better relationship with their father, while mothers report a more active personal social life. For children, alternating residence is found to be more challenging under certain conditions (e.g. no communication between parents).

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“…These findings suggest that mothers face more time pressure because they have more demands; they also suggest that similar family demands lead to more time pressure for women than for men. Moreover, the few studies that have focused on the consequences of residence arrangements for parents have shown that residence arrangements matter more for mothers' subjective well‐being, social contacts, and leisure activities (Botterman, Sodermans, & Matthijs, ; Sodermans, Botterman, Havermans, & Matthijs, ; Van der Heijden, Poortman, & Van der Lippe, ). Thus, we expect that the differences in time pressure across main residence and visitation will be greater for mothers than for fathers.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surprisingly, the debate on the pros and cons of shared residence disregards the consequences for parents, although similar arguments may apply (for exceptions, see Botterman, Sodermans, & Matthijs, ; Sodermans, Botterman, Havermans, & Matthijs, ). Parents are likely to be affected by their children's residence arrangements because child‐care responsibilities vary considerably.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Children's Postdivorce Residence Arrangements and Parental Experienced Time Pressure

Heijden

Poortman

Lippe

2016

J of Marriage and Family

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Involved Fathers, Liberated Mothers? Joint Physical Custody and the Subjective Well-being of Divorced Parents

Cited by 42 publications

References 69 publications

Children's and Parents’ Well‐Being in Joint Physical Custody: A Literature Review

Children's and Parents’ Well‐Being in Joint Physical Custody: A Literature Review

Alternating Residence for Children After Parental Separation: Recent Findings from Belgium

Children's Postdivorce Residence Arrangements and Parental Experienced Time Pressure

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