Coparenting as a mediator between physical custody arrangements and children's mental health.

The detrimental effects of parental break-up on children's mental health are well-documented. However, research has also shown that children living in joint physical custody (JPC) arrangements often fare better than children living in sole physical custody (SPC) arrangements. Thus, the question arises: What are the differences between JPC and SPC that account for those results? Drawing on data from the Family Models in Germany (FAMOD) study conducted in 2019, structural equation models (SEM) were estimated to deduct the mediating role of coparenting support in children's mental health in 465 JPC and 652 SPC families with children aged 2-14. The findings suggest that the better mental health observed among children in JPC families than among children in SPC families was fully mediated by coparenting support. However, this held true only for internalizing and externalizing behavior, but not for prosocial behavior as no differences between JPC and SPC were found for this dimension. The findings affirm the importance of supportive coparenting for children's well-being after family dissolution in both SPC and JPC arrangements. After breaking up, parents should be supported in their parental engagement through coparenting counseling or psychoeducation classes.

Is Adolescent Risk Behavior Associated With Cross-Household Family Complexity? An Analysis of Post-separation Families in 42 Countries.

We examine whether complex cross-household structures of post-separation families are associated with higher risk-taking behavior in adolescence (substance use, bullying, early sexual onset) and whether the proportion, and thus statistical normality, of complex family types in a certain country is a potential moderator of this association. Drawing on representative data from 42 countries and regions from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in 2001, 2006, and 2010 (N = 506,977), we provide detailed analyses on adolescent risk behavior even for very rare family types, thereby accounting for the complex cross-household structure present in many post-separation families. We combine logistic and count regression models to analyze risk incidence and intensity. Controlling for relevant child and family characteristics, our results reveal a gradient along which adolescent risk-taking increases with family complexity: The incidence and intensity of risk-taking among adolescents is lowest in two-biological-parent and highest in two-household families with stepparents in both households. The association decreases with a higher proportion of the respective family type in a country. However, the differences between family types, other than the two-biological parent family, are not as pronounced as expected.

Children's well-being in sole and joint physical custody families.

Joint physical custody (JPC), a parental care arrangement in which children live with each parent about equally after separation or divorce, is an increasingly common phenomenon in many countries. This is a major shift away from the standard of sole physical custody (SPC), in which children live primarily with one parent (usually their mother) after family dissolution. Although attention to JPC by social scientists is growing, and the effects of this arrangement on children's well-being are the subject of highly ideological debates, there is currently little empirical evidence with statistical power on JPC. Using data from Family Models in Germany (FAMOD), a survey of postseparation families conducted in 2019, we estimated four linear regression models for children aged 2-14 in SPC and JPC families, with analytic samples of up to 1,161 cases. We investigated the association between physical custody arrangements after separation or divorce and four dimensions of children's well-being: psychological, physical, social, and cognitive/educational. The bivariate results provided support for the hypothesis that children living in JPC families fare significantly better than children living in SPC families on all four dimensions of well-being. However, after controlling for a set of child, parent, and separation characteristics, as well as for the quality of family relationships, the differences between children from SPC and JPC families disappeared. Additional analyses revealed that the parent-child relationships fully mediated this association. In sum, the quality of family relationships accounted for the positive association between JPC and children's well-being in this study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

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

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.

La custodia física conjunta, un acuerdo de cuidado parental por medio del cual un niño vive con cada padre más o menos por igual después de la separación o el divorcio, es un fenómeno cada vez más común en muchos países occidentales. Aunque la atención por parte de los investigadores familiares, los profesionales de la salud y los abogados está aumentando, hay muy pocas cifras sobre el predominio de la custodia física conjunta. Además, los estudios que utilizan datos representativos a gran escala sobre los efectos de la custodia física conjunta para el bienestar de los niños todavía son escasos. Los datos para este estudio provienen del Estudio sobre las conductas saludables de los jóvenes escolarizados (Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children, HBSC), una encuesta transnacional representativa de adolescentes en 37 países europeos y norteamericanos que se realizó en 2002, 2006 y 2010 e incluyó información sobre alumnos a las edades de 11, 13, y 15 años (N=92,886). En primer lugar, los resultados revelaron que la custodia física conjunta simétrica después de la división familiar aun es muy rara en la mayoría de los países (5 % o menos), pero llega a entre el 10 y el 20 % en algunos países. En segundo lugar, la satisfacción con la vida de los adolescentes en familias no intactas es mayor en los acuerdos de custodia física conjunta simétrica que en los acuerdos de cuidado asimétrico. Sin embargo, después de tener en cuenta las características de los niños y las familias, las diferencias desaparecen. Por lo tanto, no es el acuerdo de custodia física conjunta simétrica lo que causa una mayor satisfacción con la vida en los adolescentes, sino las características de los niños y las familias que están asociadas con la elección de dicho acuerdo de custodia por parte de los padres separados o divorciados.

Stability and Change in Intergenerational Family Relations Across Two Decades: Findings From the German Ageing Survey, 1996-2014.

OBJECTIVES: Using high-quality data from Germany, this study aims to contribute to the yet little knowledge about possible changes in adult parent-child relationships within countries over time. METHOD: Analyzing 13,106 interviews from four rounds of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS), covering the period 1996-2014, we monitor stability and change in four dimensions of adult parent-child relationships, namely geographic proximity, frequency of contact, emotional closeness, and exchange of support. RESULTS: We observed a continuous decrease in parent-child geographic proximity between 1996 and 2008, but no further increase in distance thereafter. There was no change in intergenerational frequency of contact or emotional closeness between 1996 and 2014. Parents' propensity to support a child tended to decrease in the early 2000s, with signs of recovery in 2014. Whereas parents' receipt of material support from children remained stable, their probability to receive instrumental support declined between 1996 and 2008, but not any further thereafter. DISCUSSION: Temporal patterns of intergenerational solidarities within countries might be characterized simultaneously by stability and change, where increasing geographic mobility, for example, is paralleled by continuous family cohesion. Family members appear to react to variations in social and economic circumstances with behavioral changes allowing them to maintain high levels of overall intergenerational solidarity.

Children's and Parents' Well-Being in Joint Physical Custody: A Literature Review.

Joint physical custody (JPC), a parental care arrangement in which a child lives with each parent for at least 25-50% of the time after separation or divorce, is increasingly common in many Western societies. This is a major shift from the standard of sole physical custody, with mostly mothers providing primary childcare after a parental separation or divorce. The increasing share of separated or divorced parents who practice JPC, which in some countries, US states, and regions reaches 30% and more, results from increasing gender equality due to mothers participating considerably in the labor force and fathers being actively involved in their children's daily lives. This review focuses on the effects of JPC on children's and parents' well-being, based on 40 studies from North America, Australia, and Europe published between 2007 and 2018. In sum, there is empirical evidence from different countries that suggests that JPC arrangements can have positive effects on the well-being of children and of parents. However, the existing studies are conceptually, methodologically, and contextually very heterogeneous. In addition, self-selected highly educated parents with a high socio-economic status, a low conflict level, and children between the ages of 6-15 practicing JPC dominate the samples. Thus, the risks and benefits of JPC are not clear yet and are heavily debated by advocates and academics. The review concludes with suggestions for future research.

La tenencia compartida, un acuerdo entre los padres respecto del cuidado de los hijos por el cual un niño vive con cada padre al menos entre el 25 % y el 50 % del tiempo después de la separación o el divorcio, es cada vez más común en varias sociedades occidentales. Este es un cambio trascendental con respecto a la tradicional tenencia individual, donde principalmente las madres se encargan del cuidado primordial de los niños después del divorcio o la separación. La proporción cada vez mayor de padres separados o divorciados que ejercen la tenencia compartida, que en algunos países y en estados y regiones de Estados Unidos alcanza el 30 % o más, resulta de la creciente igualdad de género debido a que las madres participan considerablemente en el mercado laboral y a que los padres participan activamente en las vidas diarias de sus hijos. Este análisis se centra en los efectos que produce la tenencia compartida en el bienestar de los padres y de los niños basándose en 40 estudios de Norteamérica, Australia y Europa publicados entre 2007 y 2018. En resumen, existen datos empíricos de diferentes países que sugieren que los acuerdos de tenencia compartida pueden tener efectos positivos en el bienestar de los niños y de los padres. Sin embargo, los estudios existentes son muy heterogéneos conceptualmente, metodológicamente y contextualmente. Además, entre las muestras de padres que ejercen la tenencia compartida predominan los autoseleccionados, con un alto nivel de educación, un alto nivel socioeconómico, un bajo nivel de conflicto e hijos de entre seis y quince años. Por lo tanto, los riesgos y los beneficios de la tenencia compartida no son claros todavía y los abogados y académicos los debaten intensamente. El análisis concluye con sugerencias para futuras investigaciones.

Intergenerational solidarity and intragenerational relations between adult siblings.

Few studies have yet investigated how intergenerational solidarity between parents and adult children is associated with intragenerational relations between siblings. Theoretically, one might expect compensation between inter- and intragenerational relationship solidarity as well as spillover effects from parent-child solidarity to sibling solidarity. Using data from the German Family Panel (pairfam), this study analyzes 5410 interviews with young adults who provided detailed information on the relationships to their parents and up to four siblings. Focusing on four dimensions of relationships in families (contact, emotional closeness, intimacy, and conflict), hierarchical linear regression results provide general support for the assumption that inter- and intragenerational relations reinforce each other. We also find evidence for the existence of partially compensating relationships: more frequent intergenerational conflicts, for example, not only predict more frequent conflicts between siblings, but also greater intimacy. The results are in line with predictions derived from family systems theory as well as social learning and attachment theories.

Intergenerational Relations in Older Stepfamilies: A Comparison of France, Germany, and Russia.

OBJECTIVES: Our study examines cross-national variations in intergenerational relations of partnered parents aged 50 and older with adult non-coresident children by family structure (intact vs stepfamilies) and parent-child relationship type (biological tie vs steprelation). We focus on three European countries-France, Germany, and Russia-which have in common a relatively large proportion of stepfamilies, but differ with regard to contextual characteristics potentially impacting the stepfamily-intergenerational-relations nexus. METHOD: The analysis is based on data from the Generations and Gender Survey (Wave 1). Our pooled analytical sample consists of 14,309 parent-child relationships derived from responses by 6,590 surveyed parents with adult children living outside the parental household. We consider two core dimensions of intergenerational solidarity as dependent variables, namely frequency of contact and emotional closeness. RESULTS: Our results support the notion of commonly weaker intergenerational relations in stepfamilies. We also observe differences between biological parent-child ties and steprelations. Compared with their French and German counterparts, there is a weaker association between having a steprelation and parent-child contact frequency as well as a stronger negative correlation between having a steprelation and emotional closeness among Russian respondents. DISCUSSION: The observed cross-national differences are proposed to result from different economic incentives to form a stepfamily, translating into a stronger "functional" basis of stepfamily intergenerational relations in the Russian context.