This study produces a grounded theory of how 20 predominantly White, well-educated women experienced sharing physical custody of their children with their former partners after divorce or separation. Three patterns of coparenting were identified in the data: "continuously contentious", "always amicable", and "bad to better". Five negative factors…

As part of the largest, longest running prospective American study of same-sex parent families, the present investigation examined relationship dissolution in planned lesbian families. Data were collected from 40 separated couples and their 17-year-old adolescent offspring--19 girls and 21 boys. Nearly all breakups occurred before the former…

Since the early 1990s, the number of children with imprisoned mothers has increased 131%. A mother's imprisonment potentially exposes children to a concentrated disadvantage that undermines their cognitive, emotional, and intellectual abilities. Additionally, such experiences can have deleterious effects on mother-child relationships, stand-in…

Relationships that have not been formalized by marriage but that function like marriage are increasingly common among couples. Many of these relationships involve children who are related to only one of the adults but who have established parent-child relationships with both adults. This raises questions about how best to preserve children's…

Second marriages are known to be more fragile than first marriages. To better understand the factors that contribute to this fragility, this qualitative study compared stepfamilies that stayed together with those that separated by collecting interview data from one adult in each of the former (n = 31) and latter (n = 26) stepfamilies. Data were…

Examined child support payments among noncustodial mothers, focusing on characteristics of paying mothers and average amount of payment. (Author/BL)

Examined incidence and predictors of joint custody based on nationally representative sample. Although joint custody has captured much attention, its incidence actually remains low. Logistic regression model showed that those with higher income and educational levels, those living in larger cities, and nonwhites were more likely to have joint…

Provides overview of the literature and major policy issues pertaining to topics of importance to noncustodial fathers: child support, visitation, custody, and policy implications. Resources available for professionals working with divorced fathers and their families are identified. (Author/NB)

Examines race as a factor in determining the custody of children through judicial decisions of the federal and state courts and case reviews in journals and periodicals. Results revealed that where race becomes an issue in custody disputes it will be the most controversial factor. (Author/BL)

Examined differences in treatment of noncustodial mothers and noncustodial fathers by courts at time of divorce. Data from 1,043 court cases revealed that, looking at child support, noncustodial mothers appeared to have economic advantage over noncustodial fathers. Further analysis revealed that noncustodial mothers were in more economic danger…

Provided fathers' reports, matched to mothers', and court record data concerning nonpayment of child support. The court records were shown to be an underestimate. Fathers' reports of compliance was much higher than mothers' reports, illustrating that both might be biased in opposite directions. Ability to pay was shown to be a key correlate of…

Examines adult children's reports of relationship changes with their fathers were 20 years after their parents' divorce. Findings indicated that most adult children felt that their relationships with their fathers had either improved or remained stable over time. Custody did not directly affect reported changes in the quality of their relationship…

Examined data from 225 divorced fathers. Found that fathers who reported more positive relationships with their ex-wives were more satisfied with their custody arrangements; were more likely to blame themselves for marriage breakup; discussed greater number of topics with ex-wives; had higher educational levels; and reported greater feelings of…

Joint custody and cooperative coparenting are often unsafe for women who leave violent partners. Although certain legal protections are available, more work is needed to understand and address abused women's needs in this context. This study provides divorce scholars and practitioners with information on the interface between separation/divorce…

Reviews 35 cases involving contested child custody and visitation and generalizes about the techniques used by experienced divorce mediators to help couples reach resolutions to their differences. Discusses different ways mediators orient couples to mediation, gain their commitment, identify the issues, overcome emotional obstacles and generate…