Noncustodial Parents Research Articles

Effects of family interaction on the child's behavior in single-parent or reconstructed families.

The effects of the family interaction on children's behavior were studied in single-parent or reconstructed families (N = 63) in a white population in Finland. The focus was on the spousal and the parent-child interaction. Teachers assessed children's behavior and parents were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed qualitatively using the grounded-theory method. The boundary ambiguity theory developed by Pauline Boss was used to examine the interaction in the families. About two fifths of the parents reported that their spousal interaction was good, family boundaries were clear, and the children were taken care of together. Another two fifths interacted only because of the child and family boundaries were ambiguous. In 14 families the involvement of the noncustodial parent was both physically and psychologically low. The physically close but psychologically distant parent-child interaction seemed to affect the child's behavior detrimentally, whereas children with physically and psychologically close interaction with their parents showed less behavioral problems. The children with behavioral problems were more likely to have problems with both parents. They were also more likely to have a stepparent with whom they had conflicts. In conclusion, a good interaction between the parents and clarified family boundaries protect children's mental health after their parents' divorce or separation.

Gaining Access to One's Children: An Evaluation of a Visitation Program for Noncustodial Parents

Children born out of wedlock often suffer due to infrequent and limited interaction with the noncustodial parent. To address this issue, progams have been developed at the federal and state level that attempt to improve the access of noncustodial parents (primarily fathers) to their natural children. This article describes an access and visitation program and presents findings from a 6-month demonstration in two counties in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. The program assists noncustodial parents in establishing an access agreement with the custodial parent and in pursuing the establishment of their legal parental rights. In total, the demonstration involved over 100 noncustodial parents. This report documents the process of establishing and maintaining visitation agreements, and identifies the principle barriers to establishing visitation. The data on the program came from case files and administrative records and reflect status at 3–6 months after case opening and at case closure.

What Were They Thinking? The Development of Child Support Guidelines in Canada

RésuméAu début des années 1990, le Canada a débuté un exercice destiné à accroître les montants des pensions alimentaires pour enfants – pensions qui sont payées par le parent n'ayant pas la charge des enfants – afin de réduire les taux de pauvreté chez les enfants. En 1997, après plusieurs années d'étude et de coordination entre les gouvernements fédéral, provinciaux et territoriaux, le Parlement a adopté les lignes directrices qui lient les montants des pensions alimentaires au revenu du parent n'ayant pas la charge des enfants. Ce papier examine le développement historique des lignes directrices, et les hypothèses qui sont à leur base. Les buts initiaux des lignes directrices sont comparés aux résultats obtenus de façon à fournir des directions pour de prochains ajustements et réforme politique.

The Non-Custodial Parent and His Infant

Infants perceive divorce as a violation of the routines of everyday life. They are forced to cope with the collapse of their most familiar unit of caregiving frame, which is vital for proper growth and development, which may cause developmental arrest or regression in the infant. Although many factors, related to both parents and infant are involved, this paper aims to describe the special needs of infants and toddlers in relation to their non-custodial parent (usually the father). Despite the dearth in empirical research data, there has been a growing recognition among professionals of the vital role played by the non-custodial parent in the postdivorce adjustment of the infant. The paper refers to the empirical field research, mostly with older children. To promote a better adjustment of an infant caught in the midst of divorce, some guidelines for visitation arrangements are suggested in view of the normal developmental milestones. Parental conflict and other parental factors, which might influence the non-custodial parent-infant relationship and are potentially hazardous to a smooth and proper development, are also discussed briefly.

Testing privatization of "long arm" service of process.

The research addresses questions about the desirability of privatizing a key component of the child support enforcement process, namely, the serving of legal documents or "service of process" for cases in which the noncustodial parent is living in another state. Child support enforcement cases that require this type of "long arm" service of process were randomly assigned to a private vendor and to out-of-state sheriff offices using an experimental research design. The author finds that although there is no difference in the time it took the two groups to process cases, the private vendor was more successful, on average, at performing this function. Furthermore, he finds that the higher success rate of the private vendor is sufficient to produce a substantively important increase in collections in child support enforcement cases. Additional questions about the suitability of privatizing "service of process" and other like services are also discussed.

Long-run economic consequences of child support enforcement for the middle class

The purpose of this research is to examine the economic impact of child support transfers for middle-income custodial and noncustodial parent over a 15-year period. We have a substantial amount of research on low-income families, but little research about middle-income families. This research is based on computer simulations using income and expenditure data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) tables prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results of the simulations challenge the majority of research that proposes that women suffer far more than men after family dissolution. Instead, we conclude that it is the noncustodial parent, usually the father, who suffers the most. In every case and for every income, according to our analyses, the payer of child support is never able to cover household expenditures if paying child support at guideline levels. By reducing the standard of living to the next lowest income category, in some cases to a level below the custodial parent’s, the parent owing child support is able to make child support payments and cover consumer expenditures. We use exchange and choice theories to analyze the economic alternatives in making a decision to divorce and consequently propose that public support for strict child support enforcement may encourage middle-income women to seek divorce. Micro-level decisions, we argue, have macro-level economic and social consequences for the middle-income parents.

Individualization, Family Transitions and Children's Agency

Family transitions such as parental separation and divorce create the necessity for individual decisions, e.g. regarding parental custody and the children's residence arrangements or regarding visiting access with the non-custodial parent. The present longitudinal study of 62 children is based on interviews with members of divorced families, including the children, and on the analysis of child psychiatric custody reports and legal files. A second follow-up survey was also conducted. The study examined the child's attachment and relationship preferences and residence wishes as a custody decision criterion and the child's agency in custody decision-making and family transitions. The article argues in favour of constituting by law the child's attachments and residence wishes as custody criterion for children of any age and for establishing appropriate social and legal contexts to enable and promote the child's agency in custody decisions and residence changes.

Siblings' Perceptions of Their Parents' Divorce

Children' s perceptions of their parents' divorce and the quality of their sibling relationship were assessed with two questionnaires and an interview. The negative aspects of children' s divorce experiences were interrelated. Also, children placed most blame for the divorce on the father, who was the noncustodial parent in most of the families. Qualitative analyses focused on children' s understanding of the divorce, their perceptions of their parents, and on the quality of sibling relations. Problems encountered during the course of the study and implications for practitioners are discussed.

Impact of Parental Divorce on Willingness of Young Adults to Provide Care for Parents in the Future

While it is known that parental divorce disrupts feelings of attachment to noncustodial parents, less is known about the impacts of parental divorce on filial obligation to care for parents as they age. Young adults (89 women, 53 men) rated willingness to provide care if their mother or father were to experience a major disability in the future. Such willingness to care was higher among participants whose parents remained married than those whose parents had divorced or separated. Parental divorce/separation reduced willingness to care for fathers. This difference was fully explained by reduced attachment to fathers. The best predictors of willingness to care included both sex and adherence to the traditional female gender role. Attachment to the parent added to willingness to care for that parent. Results highlight the importance of encouraging, wherever possible, continued attachment to the noncustodial parent among children whose parents separate or divorce.

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SUPERVISED ACCESS AND CUSTODY EXCHANGE SERVICES

An exploratory outcome study to investigate the ability of a supervised access and custody exchange center to function as a safe visitation enforcement mechanism of the court was accomplished as part of a larger study investigating child well‐being. During a 6‐month period of program participation, frequency and consistency of noncustodial parents' access to children dramatically increased and interparental conflict significantly decreased, demonstrating that supervised visitation and custody exchange centers that function in partnership with family court during interim court processes can address the unmet needs of family court and high‐conflict domestic disputant as well.

The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25-Year Landmark Study • The Love They Lost: Living With the Legacy of Our Parents' Divorce

The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25-Year Landmark Study • The Love They Lost: Living With the Legacy of Our Parents' Divorce

Mother or Father: Who Received Custody? The Best Interests of the Child Standard and Judges' Custody Decisions in Taiwan

In 1996, Taiwan adopted the best interests of the child standard to substitute for the presumption of paternal custody. This thesis is an empirical and descriptive study of how Taiwan’s judges explain and apply the new law. The hypothesis is that cultural and social circumstances may significantly influence judges’ explanations of what is best for the child. Seventy cases of an urban district court and a rural district court were collected and analysed. The findings attest that Taiwan’s court decisions of child custody cases actually reflect many cultural ideas, such as stereotyped gender roles, a sense of ‘face’, and the tradition of parents’ long-term financial support for their children. Meanwhile, the varying socio-economic climate of Taiwan across districts and the lack of public welfare programmes also clearly affect judges’ custody decisions. Moreover, this study finds that since 1996, custody has been overwhelmingly awarded to mothers, whereas before 1996 fathers were favoured by the courts. This change of court preference was not only caused by the gender-neutral standard and the influence of the women’s movement, but it was also caused by the influence of traditional ideas and social customs on judges. Judges prefer the ‘all-or-none custody’ arrangement that imposes a double burden on single mothers. This decision pattern undermines both gender equality and the child’s best interests and further worsens the economic status of postdivorce single-mother families. This study argues that judges should stop using economic competence as a necessary factor in determining custody. Both public welfare programmes and private child support from the non-custodial parent should be implemented to assist the custodial parent if she or he is the more suitable but economically less competent parent. In addition, judges should give visitation orders more often and pay attention to the child’s psychological and emotional needs. * Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Email: markliu8@yahoo.com. This paper has been presented as part of the Stanford Program in International Legal Studies (SPILS) Thesis at the Stanford Law School. The development of the ideas and arguments contained herein benefited from the helpful comments of Professor Lawrence Friedman, Professor Rogelio Perez-Perdomo, and Professor Sophie Pirie. The author also thanks an anonymous referee for helpful suggestions.  Oxford University Press 2001

The Effect of Child-Support Policies on Visitations and Transfers

Recent research on child support issues has been concerned with normative problems involvingthe distribution of welfare between divorced parents and their children as well as with the assess-ment of the behavioral responses of parents to child support orders and custody arrangements( see, e.g., Del Boca and Flinn (1995), GarÞnkel and Klawitter (1990), Bartfeldt and GarÞnkel(1996), Del Boca (1996), Del Boca and Ribero (1998), and Flinn (2000)). While there is bynow an extensive literature analyzing the effects of child support policies on monetary transfersof noncustodial parents and the extent of compliance with child support orders, little researchhas been done on the relationship between monetary transfers between parents and the divisionof the child™s time. While income transfers to the custodial parent are no doubt importantfor the child™s consumption and general well-being, there exists considerable empirical evidencesuggesting that the division of the child™s time between the parents has important e ffects on thechild™s welfare ( Beller and Graham (1993)).There have been few analyses of this relationship.Weiss and Willis (1985) provide one theoretical motivation for the positive relationship betweenthe noncustodial parent™s contact time with the child and their level of transfers. They claimthat increased contact time allows better monitoring of the custodial parent™s expenditures onthe child, which induces higher levels of transfers to the custodial parent.We have developed a model (Del Boca and Ribero ( 1999)) in which visitations and childsupport are the outcomes of a negotiation process whereby the father exchanges income forvisitation time. Institutional agents, such as judges, state legislatures, etc, can impact thewelfareofthemembersofthenonintactfamilybyalteringtheendowmentsofeachofthe1

Child Access and Visitation Following Divorce: A Growth Area for Marriage and Family Therapy

Recent federal legislation encourages states to increase noncustodial parents' access and visitation with their children following separation or divorce. The State of Iowa Department of Human Services Bureau of Collections commissioned a pilot study to provide a beginning picture of how parents and professionals experience the child access and visitation process. Two midsized urban centers and a rural community were studied. A total of 14 divorced parents and 16 professionals who work with divorced individuals were interviewed using a 2-hour focus group format. Study findings identified problematic themes regarding child access and visitation, potential solutions, and suggested services to address these problems. The services suggested by the study all fall within the professional expertise of marriage and family therapists. A primary finding of the study was the need for therapy and mediation focused on relational issues.

Children at Risk: The Sexual Exploitation of Female Children After Divorce

The continuing growth of nontraditional families in the United States presents unique problems for family law courts. Concerns regarding the welfare of children in nontraditional families loom larger in light of considerable evidence demonstrating that a female child, after her parents' divorce, faces a significantly elevated of being sexually abused by either a parent, a parent's partner, or a person outside of the home. In this Article, Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson addresses whether the law can effectively mitigate the of child sexual abuse by considering it in custody determinations. After dispelling common misconceptions about the nature of sexual abuse, the Author marshals overwhelming empirical evidence-more than seventy social science studies-showing a connection between family disruption and child sexual abuse of girls. The Author argues that family law deals inadequately with this disturbing phenomenon because courts in custody proceedings generally neglect to address the increased statistical probability of sexual abuse after divorce. While acknowledging the various reasons why courts may resist considering the increased of child sexual abuse in custody proceedings, the Author contends that proactively addressing the problem is the proper solution. A bedrock strategy for curbing threats to public health, such as child sexual abuse, is to identify high risk groups and tailor prevention efforts accordingly. Building on this public health model, she maps out three possible routes to prevention through increased parental awareness. These routes include considering the willingness of a custodial parent to shield a daughter from abuse, mobilizing the noncustodial parent as a monitor, and conditioning custody awards upon the completion of actions designed to mitigate the increased of abuse, such as a parent participating in parenting classes or enrolling the child in school-based prevention programs. The Author contends that, while these methods are arguably invasive, they are consistent with the essential character of custody determinations, which fundamentally are exercises in predicting the future. To further institutionalize consideration of a girl's sexual vulnerability after divorce, the Author recommends that legislatures require courts to consider it as a criterion in custody hearings. The Author recognizes that acting in anticipation of risks-rather than after demonstrated conduct-is not without controversy. She examines, therefore, whether tailoring prevention efforts to children at divorce will stigmatize single parents, discourage remarriage or encourage non-custodial parents to later fabricate charges of abuse. She concludes that including consideration of the increased of child sexual abuse in custody proceedings is ultimately a common sense way to address a pervasive problem. More broadly, the Author contends that continuing to act as if nontraditional families function as nuclear families is unrealistic-especially in light of the overwhelming empirical evidence to the contrary. She concludes that judicial decisionmakers can intelligently address the challenges facing fractured families only if guided by substantial evidence of how these families function.

Split Custody as a Viable Post-Divorce Option

Split custody is an unpopular post-divorce family arrangement because of predictions that it deprives children of sibling support and impedes their adjustment to parents' divorce. The present study collected demographic details of two hundred split-custody families. Fifty-four parents and thirty children completed questionnaires. Thirty-nine of these parents and nineteen children were interviewed. Children's wishes contributed to the adoption of the arrangement in most families. Parents' unhappiness with split custody stemmed from their separation from a child. Children exercised frequent access to noncustodial parents and separated siblings. Split custody did not weaken sibling or parent/child relationships nor lead to parent/child alliances. It appeared to work well in many families for both parents and children.

Being There: The Importance of the Present Father in the Design of Child Support Obligations

The article examines the extent to which child support payments should be adjusted (either upward or downward) to reflect the frequency of visitation by noncustodial parents. The article argues in favor of California's rule, which automatically adjusts support obligations to reflect the amount of time spent with both parents. The California approach gives noncustodial parents (usually fathers) an incentive to remain involved in the lives of their children, and penalizes parents for opting out. The California rule thus works to deter paternal absence and the associated bad effects on children: depression, insecurity, substance abuse, impoverishment, crime, delinquency, premature sexuality, teen pregnancy, unemployment, underemployment, and poor educational performance. California's approach is also more equitable and better grounded in moral principles. It is likely to benefit custodial parents by providing them with economic help when the noncustodial parent opts out, and relieving them of financial and physical burdens of caretaking when the noncustodial parent remains involved. It may benefit women by enhancing their financial situation and by contributing to a cultural climate that is respectful of women's roles. It is likely to enhance satisfaction with the law and to increase compliance with child support orders.

A student nurse intervenes to foster grandfather/grandchild bonding.

This article describes the important role played by a student nurse in assisting a new grandparent bond with his granddaughter. This grandfather had been a noncustodial parent to his daughter, and as such, was anxious about his new role. The increasing numbers of noncustodial parents becoming grandparents presents a new problem facing nurses in helping a family meet their new members. The opportunity for grandparent/grandchild bonding may be enhanced by nurses who are sensitive to the less-than-perfect relationship that might exist between a noncustodial parent and the adult child. These grandparents may need encouragement to find their place in the life of the new child.

Explaining the Higher Incidence of Adjustment Problems among Children of Divorce Compared with Those in Two-Parent Families

We examined the extent to which differences in adolescent adjustment problems between divorced and intact families can be explained by loss of family income, parental conflict, the psychological adjustment and parenting practices of the custodial parent, and level of involvement of the noncustodial parent. The importance of these factors was assessed ky hierarchial regression with a sample of 328 intact and 206 divorced families. The results indicated that quality of mother @ parenting and of father@ involvement in parenting explains the association between divorce and boys' externalizing problems, whereas quality of mother @ parenting and postdivorce conflict explain the relationship between divorce and girls' externalizing problems. Divorce elevates a girl @ risk for depression because it increases the chances that her mother will become depressed, which in turn reduces the quality of her parenting. Including the various explanatory variables did not reduce the association between divorce and boys' internalizing problems. Boys with divorced parents tended to be more depressed than those from two-parent families regardless of the psychological adjustment, level of conflict, or quality of parenting manifested by their parents. Key Words: child depression, delinquency, divorce. A variety of studies have reported that children of divorced parents experience more adjustment problems than children who grow up in nuclear families. This research suggests that parental divorce increases the chances that a child will have difficulty with school, engage in early sex, suffer depression, commit delinquent acts, and use illicit substances (see Amato& Keith, 199 lb; McLanahan B McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994; Simons et al., 1996). Further, recent research indicates that the effects of parental divorce continue to be evident in adulthood. Several studies have reported that adults who experienced parental divorce as children have poor psychological adjustment, lower socioeconomic attainment, and greater marital instability than adults reared in a nuclear family (see Amato & Keith, 1991 a). Although the evidence indicates that parental divorce is associated with a two- to threefold increase in risk for adjustment problems, it is important to note that the majority of children whose parents divorce show no lasting negative effects (Emery, 1988; Simons et al., 1996). Researchers have proposed a variety of explanations for the correlation between family structure and child adjustment. These explanations emphasize factors such as family income, the psychological adjustment and quality of parenting of the custodial parent, level of parental conflict, and degree of involvement by the nonresidential parent. Some evidence supports each of these mechanisms. With a few exceptions, however, past research has investigated only one or two of the explanations at a time. This procedure has a major methodological flaw because the various factors posited as an explanation for the association between parental divorce and child adjustment are likely to be correlated. Thus, one can determine the contribution of a particular hypothesized mechanism only after controlling for the impact of the others. When proper controls are utilized, the effects that have been reported for some explanations may turn out to be spurious or indirect through other factors. The present study used multivariate procedures to examine the importance of each of the more frequently cited explanations for the association between divorce and child adjustment. Our analyses focused on two dimensions of child adjustment-externalizing problems and internalizing problems. Externalizing problems involve aggressive and delinquent behavior, whereas internalizing problems involve emotional distress such as depression. It is important that both types of outcomes be considered because the factors that account for the relationship between family structure and child externalizing problems may differ from those that link fan-tily structure to child internalizing problems. …

MEDIATION AND PARENTAL ALIENATION SYNDROME

Parental alienation syndrome (PAS), a term that originated in the mid‐1980s, refers to a disturbance in which children are preoccupied with viewing one parent as all good and the other parent as all bad. Conscious or unconscious words and actions of custodial parents cause the child(ren) to align with them in rejection of noncustodial parents during divorce or custody disputes. Issues of concern for mediators include detection of PAS and an understanding of appropriate remedial plans that will allow the child to restore his or her relationship with the noncustodial parent.