Clarification of Answer by
umiat-ga
on
07 Jun 2003 21:19 PDT
Hello again, benfranklin-ga!
I certainly hope I haven't overwhelmed you here! There is so much
research available. I wish the citations had actual online links to
the articles, but most journal archives require a special
subscription. However, I still hope this extra research is helpful.
I could have found more, but I think you could be overcome by a
serious case of brain fog, so I have decided to stop here! (There are,
as you requested, some articles that provide specific references to
the effect of joint or sole custody on girls)
Let me know if I can be of help again in the future!
umiat-ga
*******************************************************
"Adolescents After Divorce, Buchanan, C., Maccoby, and Dornbusch,
Harvard University Press,1996.
http://www.horut-shava.org.il/legistlation/custody/research_on_shared.htm
A study of 517 families with children ranging in age from 10.5 years
to 18 years, across a four and a half year period. Measures were:
assessed depression, deviance, school effort, and school grades.
Children in shared parenting arrangements were found to have better
adjustment on these measures than those in sole custody.
===
"Division 16, School Psychology, American Psychological Association,
Report to the U.S. Commission on Child and Family Welfare, June 14,
1995."
http://www.horut-shava.org.il/legistlation/custody/research_on_shared.htm
This report "summarizes and evaluates the major research concerning
joint custody and its impact on children’s welfare." The report
concludes that "The research reviewed supports the conclusion that
joint custody is associated with certain favorable outcomes for
children including father involvement, best interest of the child for
adjustment outcomes, child support, reduced relitigation costs, and
sometimes reduced parental conflict." The APA also noted that "The
need for improved policy to reduce the present adversarial approach
that has resulted in primarily sole maternal custody, limited father
involvement and maladjustment of both children and parents is
critical. Increased mediation, joint custody, and parent education are
supported for this policy."
Note: This report was approved and submitted by Division 16 of the
APA, and is a part of the public record. However, it is not listed
among official APA publications; it was quashed because it did not
fit the political ideology of those at the top of the APA.
===
Ilfeld, Holly Zingale "Children’s perceptions of their relationship
with their fathers in three family constellations: mother sole
custody, joint custody and intact families." Doctoral dissertation, U.
of California, Davis 1989
http://www.horut-shava.org.il/legistlation/custody/research_on_shared.htm
This study evaluated children’s perceptions of their fathers at least
four years post-divorce, comparing joint custody, sole custody and
intact families. The subjects were 43 latency-age children: 11 from
maternal custody families, 14 from joint custody families and 18
controls from intact homes.
Results: "There was a significant difference in the perceptions of
children in sole and joint custody. Joint custody children reported
spending more time with their fathers in childcentered activities,
activities which were considered pleasurable and important to
children. "And: "No differences were found as a function of custody
arrangements in children’s perceptions of emotional closeness to the
father, acceptance by the father, or fathers’s potency or activity."
===
Research reveals that the parent's mental health must be relatively
stable for the shared custody to provide any benefit over sole
custody.
"Surviving the Breakup," by J. Wallerstein and J. Kelly; "Second
Chances," by J. Wallerstein and S. Blakeslee; and other publications.
http://www.horut-shava.org.il/legistlation/custody/research_on_shared.htm
Judith Wallerstein and colleagues have produced many publications on
a 20+ year study of 184 families that had been referred to her clinic
for therapy. The parents were predominantly mentally ill, with
approximately half the men and half the women "moderately disturbed or
frequently incapacitated by disabling neuroses and addictions,"
including some who were "sometimes suicidal." An additional 20% of the
women and 15% of the men were categorized as "severely disturbed."
Approximately one third of the sample were considered to have
"adequate psychological functioning" before divorce. Although there
was a significant level of attrition, with families dropping out of
the study when problems were resolved, some conclusions emerged from
the remaining families.
"Children in joint custody situations did no better than those in sole
custody, indicating that:
*parents must be reasonably psychologically healthy for shared
parenting to benefit children.*
===
Gunnoe, M.L., and S.L. Braver, "The Effects of Joint Legal Custody on
Family Functioning, Controlling for Factors that Predispose a joint
award." Child Development.
http://www.horut-shava.org.il/legistlation/custody/research_on_shared.htm
"This study evaluated 273 families, controlling for 28 variables that
influence a predisposition to agree on joint legal custody.
Controlling for these factors, children in joint legal custody
families had more time with their fathers and fewer adjustment an
behavior problems."
===
Sanford Braver,"Determining the Impact of Joint Custody on Divorcing
Families."
http://www.horut-shava.org.il/legistlation/custody/research_on_shared.htm
Study consisted of 378 families; some with unmatched partners, in
various custody arrangements.
". . .Sharlene Wolchik, Iwrin Sandler and I found in 1985 that
children in joint custody had higher feelings of self-worth than
children in sole maternal custody."
"Our results showed considerable benefits for joint custody, even when
equating predisposing factors. After this adjustment, children in
joint custody were found to be significantly better adjusted, and to
exhibit less antisocial and implulsive behavior than sole custody
families. Fathers also visited more, and were more involved in child
care, as well as more satisfied with the divorce settlement."
================================================================================================================================================================
The following excerpts with accompanying research citations were taken
from the article:
"The District of Columbia’s New "Joint Custody of Children Act": A
Guide for Bench and Bar," by Ronald K. Henry.
http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/mhndocs/JointCustodyDC97.html
"Research indicates that younger children have less highly developed
long-term memories with the result that frequent contact with each
parent is important to prevent regression in the relationship."
(Stratton, Peter (Ed.), Psychobiology of the Human Newborn, 1982, John
Wiley, New York.)
"Frequent contact is particularly important during the preschool years
to allow bonding with both parent."
(Warshak, Richard A., The Custody Revolution, 1982, Poseidon Press;
Lamb, Michael (Ed.), The Role of the Father in Child Development, 2nd
Ed., 1981.)
============================================================================
============================================================================
The following excerpts with accompanying research citations were taken
from the article:
"MEMORANDUM IN FAVOR OF JOINT CUSTODY AND SHARED PARENTING," by Bob
Hirschfeld.
http://www.ncfc.net/jtcustdy.html
"The Children's Rights Council conducted a "comprehensive survey of
more than 50 studies showing the greater risks (on a variety of
indicators) for children raised in single- parent homes...whether the
single parent is a father or a mother."
(D. Levy, Ed., The Best Parent is Both Parents, A Guide to Shared
Parenting in the 21st Century, Children's Rights Council (1993) at p.
118, fn. 38.)
==
"The emotional stability of children of divorced parents is directly
related to the quality of their continuing relationships with both of
their parents. "We have repeatedly described the dissatisfaction of so
many youngsters who felt they were not seeing their fathers often
enough, If custody and visiting issues are to be within the realm of
the 'best interest of the child,' then such widespread discontent must
be taken very seriously."
(J. Wallerstein and J. Kelly, Surviving the Breakup, 142-143 (1980) .
See also, D. Luepnitz, Child Custody, A Study of Families After
Divorce, (1983).
==
"..sole custody arrangements with limited visitation by the
non-custodial parent have resulted in children suffering a broad range
of emotional disorders including deep feelings of loss and
abandonment, strained interactions with both parents, disturbances in
cognitive performance, and sex role identification problems."
(Trombetta, Joint Custody: Recent Research and Overloaded Courtrooms
Inspire New Solutions to Custody Disputes, 19 J. Fam. L. 213, 217-20
(1980).)
IMPACT ON YOUNG BOYS:
"Researchers Alston and Williams noted that "[a] significant
relationship was found between father absence and self-concepts of the
boys. They placed less value on themselves, had less stable
relationships with peers, less interaction with family members and
showed a weaker scholastic performance.
(D. Alston and A. Williams, "Relationship Between Father Absence and
Self-Concept of Black Adolescent Boys," Journal of Negro Education,
Vol. 51, No. 2 (Spring 1982), 134-138. See also, Richard Koestner, et
al., "The Family Origins of Empathic Concern: A 26-year Longitudinal
Study," J. of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 58, No. 4
(1990), 709-717; K. Covell and W. Turnbull, "The Long- Term Effects of
Father Absence in Childhood on Male University Students' Sex-role
Identity and Personal Adjustment," J. of Genetic Psychology, Vol. 141,
Pt. 2 (December 1982), 271-276
=
"Males who had experienced father absence prior to age five scored
significantly lower on self-esteem, self-confidence and social
interaction."
(J. Guidubaldi, et al., "The Impact of Parental Divorce on Children:
Report of the Nationwide NASP Study," School Psychology Review, Vol.
12, No. 3 (Fall 1983), 300-323; Doris Jacobson, "The Impact of Marital
Separation/Divorce on Children: I. Parent-child Separation and Child
Adjustment," J. of Divorce, Vol 1, No. 4 (Summer 1978), 341-360
(Findings suggest that the amount of time lost in the presence of the
father is a crucial aspect of adjustment following separation of
parents).
================================================================================================================================================================
CUSTODY IMPACT ON BOYS AND GIRLS:
The following excerpts are from the article, "The Effects of Divorce
on Children, " by Jeff Wood. UCLA.
http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~jeffwood/res.html
"Few studies have directly compared mother and father custody.
However, of those that have, there is some support for the assertion
that pre-teen boys do better in father rather than mother custody
(Hetherington, et al, 1998), whereas the reverse may be true for girls
(see the early work of Santrock, Warshak, & Elliott, 1982; Warshak &
Santrock, 1983). A recent study (Clarke-Stewart & Hayward, 1996)
provides further support."
"In an impressive study including 187 children from divorced families,
Alison Clarke-Stewart and Craig Hayward (1996) examined how
elementary-aged children fared in mother vs. father custody. Similar
to (though subtley different from) the findings of Santrock and
colleagues in the early 80's, father custody was found to be linked
with significantly better adjustment for boys.
***
Interestingly, father custody was also linked with somewhat better
adjustment among girls, though not as in many areas as for boys.
***
Due to the large sample-size in this study, it is worth specifying
exactly which domains of adjustment showed improvement."
"For boys, father custody was associated with lower levels of
depression, higher self-esteem, fewer fewer parental ratings of the
child as "difficult", and substantially lower anxiety. These measures
were based on standard parent questionnaires, child questionnaires,
and child interviews."
***
For girls, father custody was associated with lower levels of
depression and anxiety. An interesting additional finding was that
both girls and boys in father custody were more likely to draw a
picture of both parents, rather than just the custodial parent, when
asked to draw a picture of their family.
***
"Children in father custody were also more likely to have liberal
access to their non-custodial parent than children in mother custody.
This was undoubtedly an important factor in why these custodial
fathers had children who were so well adjusted. There appeared to be
less negativity toward the non-custodial parent on the part of
custodial fathers. Allowing a great deal of contact with the mothers
undoubtedly gave the children more of the benefits of having two
parents."
"The other important finding in Clarke-Stewart's study was that
children in mother custody who had liberal access to father (a fairly
small group) fared just as well as children in father custody. This
finding suggests that a strong, consistent relationship with both
parents is perhaps the most important predictor of child adjustment in
comparisons of custody arrangements. Mothers and fathers who isolated
their children from the non-custodial parent generally had less happy,
less well-adjusted children. These results are consistent with some
studies comparing joint custody and sole custody (discussed below)
which find joint custody to be the "option of choice". Of course,
there are situations in which the parents simply cannot share custody,
due to personal or geographic considerations. In these cases, it may
be very important to consider parent and child gender when determining
who should have custody. Clarke-Stewart and Hayward's study is an
exceptional beginning to what I hope will be a fresh generation of
custody studies looking with increasing depth at gender issues."
As a side-note, the results on mothers versus fathers for adolescents
(as opposed to pre-teen children, as discussed above) have not shown
much of a consistent advantage for mother or father custody (eg.
Maccoby et al., 1992). It may be that whichever parent is better able
to keep track of what their teenagers are doing is going to be the
more effective parent at this age. Perhaps gender considerations
become less important in comparison to firm, effective parenting for
adolescents.
Joint custody versus sole custody has also been a topic of interest
among researchers. Bender (1994) recently reviewed the literature and
found that the majority of studies indicate that joint physical
custody is better than sole custody from the standpoint of children's
adjustment. For one of the more influential and well-designed studies
on this topic, see Wolchik, Sandler, and Braver (1985), who found that
joint custody was superior in numerous ways. However, some criticisms
of the research on joint custody must be considered, as well (Depner,
1994). Depner suggests that joint custody may be chosen by families
that are less disturbed than families that opt for sole custody. This
is a possibility which should be investigated in a prospective study
of pre-divorce families.
References to Divorce Research Literature:
http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~jeffwood/ref.html
Articles highlighted in the exerpt above:
Hetherington, E.M., & Anderson, E.R. (1988). The effects of divorce
and remarriage on early adolescents and their families. In Early
Adolescent Transitions.
Santrock, J.W., Warshak, R.A., & Elliott, G.L. (1982). Social
development and parent-child interaction in father-custody and
stepmother families. In: Nontraditional Families: Parenting and Child
Development, ed. M.E. Lamb. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum,
289-331.
Warshak, R.A. & Santrock, J.W. (1983). The impact of divorce in
father-custody and mother-custody homes: the child's perspective. In:
Children and Divorce, ed. L.A. Kurdek. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
29-46.
Clarke-Stewart, K.A., & Hayward, C. (1996). Advantages of father
custody and contact for the psychological well-being of school age
children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 17, 239-270.
Bender, W.N. (1994). Joint custody: The option of choice. Journal of
Divorce and Remarriage, 21, 115-131.
Wolchik, S.A., Braver, S.L., Sandler, I.N. (1985). Maternal versus
joint custody: Children's postseparation experiences and adjustment.
Journal of Clinical Child Psychiatry, 14, 5-10.
================================================================================================================================================================
All of the following references can be found in the following article:
"Benefits of Joint Custody: Statistics, Analyses, Data, And Anecdotal
Evidence In Support Of Joint Custody Statutes."
http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/jointbenefits.htm
Benefits of Joint Custody:
"This research discovers that children--* especially daughters
*--benefit considerably when the parent they are not living with
nevertheless does everyday things with the child, from 'shopping,
reading, visiting, doing homework, watching TV together,' to 'spending
holidays together.' The authors conclude that, for a school-age
daughter, this 'doing everyday-type things together' with the parent
she is not living with is the only predictor of psychological
well-being."
(K. Alison Clarke-Stewart and Craig Hayward, "Advantages of Father
Custody and Contact for the Psychological Well-Being of School-Age
Children," Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Vol. 17, No.
2, April-June 1996, p. 239.)
==
"..children raised by a divorced single parent are significantly more
likely than average to have problems in school, run away from home,
develop drug dependency, or experience other serious problems."
((John Guibaldi, D.Ed., "Child Custody Policies and Divorce Rates in
the US", 11th Annual Conference of the Children's Rights Council, OCT
23-26, 1997, Washington, D.C.).
==
Actually, there are SO MANY good references in this article, it will
probably cause less eye strain if I refrain from listing them here,
and refer you back to the actual website.
Please take a look!
http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/jointbenefits.htm
================================================================================================================================================================
ALL of the following references are from:
"Research bibliography on divorce and shared parenting." American
Divorce Network
http://www.americandivorce.net/sharedparenting/why/biblio-divorce-reform.htm
=
D.B. Cowan. Mother Custody versus Joint Custody: Children`s parental
Relationship and Adjustment. Doctoral Thesis 1982. University of
Washington. UMI No. 82-18213.
"Cowan compared 20 joint custody and 20 sole (maternal) custody
families. Children in joint physical custody were rated as better
adjusted by their mothers compared with children of sole custody
mothers. The children's perceptions in sole custody situations
correlated with the amount of time spent with their father."
"The more time children from sole maternal custody spent with their
fathers, the more accepting both parents were perceived to be, and the
more well-adjusted were the children."
==
D.B. Cowan. Mother Custody versus Joint Custody: Children`s parental
Relationship and Adjustment. Doctoral Thesis 1982. University of
Washington. UMI No. 82-18213.
Cowan compared 20 joint custody and 20 sole (maternal) custody
families. Children in joint physical custody were rated as better
adjusted by their mothers compared with children of sole custody
mothers. The children's perceptions in sole custody situations
correlated with the amount of time spent with their father.
The more time children from sole maternal custody spent with their
fathers, the more accepting both parents were perceived to be, and the
more well-adjusted were the children.
==
B.H. Granite. An investigation of the relationships among
self-concept, parental behaviors, and the adjustment of children in
different living arrangements following a marital separation and/or
divorce. Doctoral thesis 1985. Unviersity of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia. UMI No. 85-23424.
"Parents in sole custodial homes (both maternal and paternal) were
perceived as using psychological pressure techniques to control
children. e.g. inducing guilt. However, in joint custody homes, the
perception of the children was that such techniques were seldom used.
No difference in self-concept was detectable among the different
homes. Children`s ages 9-12 years. 15 joint, 15 maternal sole, 15
paternal sole."
==
M.B. Isaacs, G.H. Leon and M. Kline. When is a parent out of the
picture? Different custody, different perceptions. Family Process,
v.26, p.101-110, 1987.
This study compares children from five groups: joint physical custody,
joint-legal maternal-physical, joint-legal paternal-physcial, sole
maternal and sole paternal custody. On their measurement of how
children perceive the importance of family members, sole custody
children were three times more likely to omit one parent than joint
custody situations.
==
.B. Karp. Children`s adjustment in joint and single custody: An
Empirical Study. Doctoral thesis 1982. California school of
professional psychology, Berkeley. UMI No. 83-6977.
"Age range of children 5 to 12 years, studying early period of
separation or divorce. Boys and girls in sole custody situation had
more negative involvement with their parents than in joint custody
situation. There was an increase reported in sibling rivalry reported
for sole custody children when visiting their father (ncp).
**
Girls in joint custody reported to have significantly higher
self-esteem than girls in sole custody."
**
==
L.P. Noonan. Effects of long-tern conflict on personality functioning
of children of divorce. Doctoral thesis 1984. The Wright Institute
Graduate School of Psychology, Berkeley. UMI No. 84-17931.
Long-term effects were studied in joint custody, sole maternal custody
and intact families. Children in joint custody families were found to
be more active than in sole custody families or intact families. In
low conflict situations children did better (demonstrated less
withdrawal) than in either sole custody or intact families.
==
S.A. Nunan. Joint custody versus single custody effects on child
development. Doctoral thesis 1980. California School of Professional
Psychology, Berkeley, UMI No. 81-10142
"Nunan compared 20 joint custody children (ages 7-11) with 20
age-matched children in sole maternal custody. All families were at
least two years after separation or divorce. Joint custody children
were found to have higher ego strengths, superego strengths and
self-esteem than the single custody children. The joint custody
children were also found to be less excitable and less impatient than
their sole custody counterparts. For children under four at the time
of separation the differences were very small."
==
Refer to the website for more artices!
http://www.americandivorce.net/sharedparenting/why/biblio-divorce-reform.htm
===
Again, thank you for your question!
