Dispute over contact with a child as the result of unresolved divorce-related conflicts

Abstract

Parting and divorce are situations that are not only the result of conflicts, but also their causes, especially if they concern parents of minor children. A problem then arises regarding the establishment of contact between the secondary parent and the child, which may be difficult if the disputes that led to the separation remain unresolved or other court cases are pending at the same time. The parties, during or after divorce, often submit a request to the court to regulate the frequency and form of meetings between the secondary parent and the child, which seems to be the main issue of misunderstandings. After a deeper analysis of the relationship between former partners, it turns out, that the lack of ability to establish contact with the child is the result of the accumulation of other disputes and unresolved misunderstandings. The presented fragments of qualitative analyzes of psychological and pedagogical opinions prepared by the Opinion Team of Forensic Specialists, illustrating the assumption that the dispute over contact may be related to other conflicts between former spouses, are part of a qualitative project focused around divorce-related conflicts. The aim of the research is to identify the effects of strong conflict between parents and the lack of communication between them after divorce for family relationships and the child functioning.