Commuting between two parental households: The association between joint physical custody and adolescent wellbeing following divorce

Sofie Vanassche, An Katrien Sodermans, Koen Matthijs, Gray Swicegood

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study examines the association between joint physical custody and adolescent wellbeing and whether this relationship is conditioned by the degree of parental conflict, the quality of the parent-child relationship and the complexity of the family configuration of mother and father. We use data from the LAGO-project, containing information on 1,570 children with divorced parents. Overall the wellbeing of children in joint physical custody is similar to that of children in other custody arrangements. However, under certain circumstances joint physical custody can become negatively related to child wellbeing. We find support for the moderating effects of parental conflict, quality of the relationship with mother and father, and the presence of a new partner in the parental households.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)139-158
Number of pages20
JournalJournal of Family Studies
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013

Keywords

  • Adolescent wellbeing
  • Joint physical custody
  • Parent-child relationship
  • Parental conflict
  • Stepparents

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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