Joint Custody: One More Step towards Gender Equality?

Data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE in the Spanish acronym) show that, since 2011, the figures for divorces are remarkably stable at around 100,000 every year with half of them involving offspring who are still minors. However, there has been a notable spike in shared custody to the detriment of the earlier paradigm of the mother having exclusive custody and the father visitation rights. Between 2011 and 2016 the figure for joint custody rose from 12% to 28% of divorces where minors are involved. This increase, led by the autonomous regions of Spain with favourable legislation, reflects social changes of a broader scope embracing gender equality within and outside the home. Analysis of the INE series, in addition to work on all 5,894 never-previously-explored divorce and separation (for de facto couples) settlements from the family courts of the city of Barcelona, shows that shared custody means, at least on paper, equity between father and mother, both with regard to alternating residence of the children and also sharing child-related costs. Given this situation, one might ask whether it might be a good idea to grant joint custody by default after the parents have separated. The answer is a resounding no. Joint custody should be the result of an agreement that reflects prior co-parenting practice in equality, and this is far from being a majority situation nowadays

Nonresident Father Involvement and Child Well-Being:

Using data from the child supplement to the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a series of multivariate regression models were tested to determine whether father visitation or the payment of child support are significantly associated with several measures of child welleing. The results indicate that there is limited evidence to support the hypothesis that nonresident father involvement has positive benefits for children. The strongest evidence is for the effect of child support in the domain of academics.