Joint Physical Custody and Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction in 37 North American and European Countries

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21320026
AutoresA Steinbach (0000-0002-3642-2374, Department of Sociology University of Duisburg‐Essen Duisburg Germany, autor de correspondencia), L Augustijn (0000-0002-1441-7734, Department of Sociology University of Duisburg‐Essen Duisburg Germany), Gerrit Corkadi (Department of Sociology University of Duisburg‐Essen Duisburg Germany)
Año2021
Volumen60
Número1
Páginas145-158
Fecha de publicación2021-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaFamily Process (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0014-7370 • E-ISSN: 1545-5300
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/famp.12536
PMID32293039
OpenAlexW3015517532
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas42
Referencias citadas58

Joint physical custody, a parental care arrangement in which a child lives with each parent about equally after separation or divorce, is an increasingly common phenomenon in many Western countries. Although attention from family scholars, practitioners, and law professionals is growing, there are hardly any numbers on the prevalence of joint physical custody (JPC). Moreover, studies using large‐scale representative data on the effects of JPC for children’s well‐being are still rare. The data for this study come from Health Behaviour in School‐Aged Children (HBSC), a representative cross‐national survey of adolescents in 37 European and North American countries that was conducted in 2002, 2006, and 2010 and included information on students at the ages of 11, 13, and 15 years ( N = 92,886). First, results revealed that symmetrical JPC after family dissolution is still very rare in the majority of countries (5% or less), but reaches 10–20% in some countries. Second, adolescents’ life satisfaction in nonintact families is higher in symmetric JPC arrangements than in asymmetric care arrangements. However, after controlling for children and family characteristics, the differences disappear. Thus, it is not the symmetric JPC arrangement that induces adolescents’ higher life satisfaction, but rather the children and family characteristics that are associated with the choice of such a custody arrangement by separated or divorced parents

Family life · Life satisfaction · Political science · Sociology · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Family Support in Illness · Gender Studies · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology