Introduction: Advances in Research on Shared Physical Custody by Interdisciplinary Approaches

This introductory chapter provides the rationale for adopting an interdisciplinary approach to study the implications of shared physical custody arrangements for families and their members. The Chapter gives a rapid overview of the current state of the literature on shared physical custody in the legal, sociological and psychological literature and highlights the uncertainties and controversial aspects still open to exploration in this field. It addresses the specific research needs in order to move forward from the current situation, where evidence on shared physical custody produce results that are scattered across disciplines and hard to compare across contexts. It concludes by arguing that the complexity of shared physical custody implications in terms of health, educational, relational and living standards requires research from different disciplinary fields in order to agree on a comprehensive theoretical perspective, standardize definitions and collect longitudinal and comparable data on the custody arrangements and their normative environments.

Children’s Living Arrangements After Divorce and the Quality of the Father-Child Relationship; Father Involvement as an Important Underlying Mechanism

Using data from the multi-actor Divorce in Flanders survey, this study aimed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of linkages between children’s living arrangements after divorce and father-child relationship quality. First, we tested whether father involvement and co-parental relationship quality explained linkages between living arrangements and father-child relationship quality. Second, we examined whether child’s loyalty conflicts and child’s sex moderated associations between living arrangements and father-child relationship quality. Finally, we explored whether results differed when fathers or children reported on their relationship. Results show that father-child relationship quality (irrespectively of the reporter) was significantly higher for children living in JPC but only compared to children who live solely with their mother. Furthermore, father involvement explained the association between living arrangements and father-child relationship quality (again irrespectively of the reporter). The co-parental relationship also explained part of this association, but only when children reported on father-child relationship quality. The association between children’s living arrangement and father-child relationship quality was stronger for sons than daughters. This association did not differ by loyalty conflicts. These findings highlight the importance of enabling fathers to remain involved after divorce and having a positive co-parental relationship for maintaining high quality relationships between fathers and children.

Shared Physical Custody After Parental Separation: Evidence from Germany

Multilocal, dual residence or shared parenting arrangements after parental separation are increasingly discussed in many countries because they seem best suited to allow for more equally shared parental roles and children’s equal access to both (biological) parents. So far, there is little information about shared physical custody in Germany. The present research uses the second wave from a large German survey “Growing up in Germany” (2013–2015) to investigate the prevalence, preconditions, as well as possible outcomes of shared physical custody after separation. The sample comprises 1042 children (below age 18) with separated parents (maternal report). Measured by children’s overnight stays with each parent, less than 5% of these children lived in a dual residence arrangement (50:50 up to 60:40% of time with either parent). Shared physical custody was more likely if maternal and paternal residence were in close proximity, and if the mother had higher levels of education. As expected, shared physical custody was more likely if the parents had a positive cooperative (co-parenting) relationship while co-parenting problems did not seem to have independent effects. The findings are discussed with respect to other research addressing issues of self-selection into different parenting arrangements and the still limited role of shared physical custody in Germany in facilitating more equal gender roles.

A European Model for Harmonizing the Law on Parental Responsibilities: The Family Law Persepctive

Since 2001 the academic Commission on European Family Law (CEFL) has drafted Principles of European Family Law that are thought to be most suitable for the harmonization of family law within Europe. The CEFL Principles are non-binding rules. They can be considered to be a model law which national legislators can take into account.This contribution explains methodological aspects of the drafting process of the Principles on Parental Responsibilities. It informs about the huge amount of international and European instruments. Although each of these instruments only addresses some specific aspects of the law regarding parental responsibilities, they collectively built the general framework which to a considerable extent has also determined the national systems in Europe. Before focussing on the concept of parental responsibilities, as well as on those Principles which specifically address the situation upon divorce and separation of the parents (joint and sole exercise, (dis-)agreement on exercise, residence of the child, relocation, maintenance of personal relationships, hearing of the child, representing the child), information about the structure of the Principles is provided. Finally, more than 10 years after the publication of the Parental Responsibilities Principles it makes sense to take stock and explore how they have been perceived.

The Different Ways of Implementing Shared Physical Custody in the French Context

Drawing on quantitative contextual data, this largely qualitative study comprehensively explores the different ways of obtaining shared physical custody (SPC) in France. I show that the choice of SPC depends on the historical context in which the marital separation occurred. I distinguish three ways of entering into SPC: situations of parental disagreement settled by law, situations in which a third party intervened in the decision, and situations of parental agreement. In this final category, I discuss the category of agreement itself, showing that behind seemingly obvious, though far from explicit, ways of reasoning lie processes of influence and negotiation occurring between separated mothers and fathers.

Alternating Homes – A New Family Form – The Family Sociology Perspective

In this chapter, we identify structural features of families with shared physical custody that differ from those of nuclear families or those of families where one parent has sole physical custody, and discuss the implications for family and kin relationships. We pay particular attention to the ways in which shared physical custody alters the gendered nature of parenting and kinship. We argue that the structural features of shared physical custody create distinct contexts for parent-child and sibling relationships and produce differences in shared understandings of obligations between family members. The unique context for relationships and obligations together constitute a new family form. Our analysis generates an agenda for future research on the nature and consequences of shared physical custody.

Are “Part-Time Parents” Healthier and Happier Parents? Correlates of Shared Physical Custody in Switzerland

Changing legal and parental practices across Europe led to a higher share of parents practicing shared physical custody (SPC) upon separation, who tended to be more affluent and less conflict-ridden. Since SPC became more prevalent, profiles of SPC parents pluralized. Far from these developments, no clearly defined legal pathways toward SPC existed in Switzerland before 2017. Profiling the Swiss case, we examine the prevalence of SPC families, and its associations with parental health and well-being before these legislative changes. Among 875 separated parents of 1,269 minors, SPC (i.e., child alternates between parental homes at least 30% of the time) was practiced by about 11% of the sample. A higher share of SPC parents was highly-educated, yet more financially strained compared to other parents. Although no overall differences in health and well-being emerged between SPC and other separated parents (e.g., with sole custody), SPC-health-linkages varied by gender and education. We conclude that lacking institutional support for SPC and gender-biased employment practices reinforce traditional custody models. Because of costly childcare and more skewed time splits among Swiss SPC parents, SPC may represent more of a resource drain—at least economically—than a relief for the parent shouldering more care duties and expenses.

Psychological Perspectives on Joint Physical Custody

This overview discusses key findings, questions, and controversies about joint physical custody (JPC) emphasizing psychological issues for research and practice. Children living in JPC are slightly better adjusted, on average, but it is not clear whether this is a consequence of the arrangement or due to nonrandom selection into it. Moreover, no consistent evidence links specific variations in JPC to better or worse child adjustment, including equal or some other pattern of shared time. Parental conflict/cooperation is the factor most firmly, if still somewhat tenuously, established as a moderator of JPC effects. Other important moderators include logistics (e.g., geographical distance between parents), developmental stage (very young children and older adolescents may fare less well), and personality (a factor only beginning to be explored). The clearest implication for policy and practice is that children will fare better if their parents cooperate in crafting a parenting plan designed to meet their individual needs.

Who Cares? An Event History Analysis of Co-parenthood Dynamics in Belgium

Until the end of the twentieth century, child custody arrangements after separation typically continued the gendered pre-separation parenting division, with mothers taking up childcare and fathers paying child support. Recently, there has been a significant rise in co-parenting after separation, reflecting the trend towards more socio-economic, work- and childcare-related gender equality during the relationship. However, it remains unclear to what extent the organization of the pre-separation household dominates over important changes in the lives and labor force participation of parents after separation in choosing to co-parent.This study uses longitudinal Belgian register data to consider the effect of post-separation dynamics in parents’ life course and labor force participation in deciding to co-parent. While certain pre-separation characteristics remain predictive of co-parenting, our results suggest a societal trend towards co-parenting as the parenting norm. Increased time in paid work positively affects co-parenting probabilities, but we find no effect of a post-separation income increase, even though this would imply greater bargaining power to obtain sole custody. As such, the investigated post-separation changes seem to be an indication of parents moving towards supporting and attempting to gain gender equal parenting after separation.

Coparenting Interventions and Shared Physical Custody: Insights and Challenges

This chapter focuses on the issue of shared physical custody (SPC) in the broader context of coparenting interventions. To identify if and how these interventions address the issue of SPC, we provide a systematic overview of the currently available types of coparenting interventions after marital dissolution. To be selected, the interventions had to be published in peer-reviewed journals, target separated or divorced parents, integrate work on coparenting, and include a custody focus within the intervention curriculum or as a targeted outcome. Finally, they had to be subject to empirical evaluation.As a second step, using a case study, we investigate how the issue of SPC may be addressed before divorce, during couple therapy. We describe the therapy sessions to highlight the factors that may protect or undermine the development of a cooperative coparenting relationship while separating, and eventually create a positive shared-custody scenario after divorce. We also analyse the couple’s progress regarding individual symptomatology and coparenting satisfaction based on self-reported questionnaires and on the quality of their observed coparenting interactions.From a therapeutic perspective, this chapter aims to deepen our understanding of the challenges and opportunities of coparenting during and after separation and its intertwinement with the issue of SPC.