One million children in America are involved in a new divorce annually,
as of 1997, according to DivorceMagazine.com.
The Children’s Fund reports that one in three American children is born to unmarried
parents and the National Fatherhood Initiative reports “About 40 percent of children
in father-absent homes have not seen their father at all during the past year.”
Dr. Joan Kelly wrote, “The primary negative aspect of divorce reported
by children in numerous studies was loss of contact with a parent.”
E. Mavis Hetherington and John Kelly, authors of For Better or For Worse: Divorce Reconsidered, found that “twenty years after the divorce less than one-third of boys and one-quarter of girls reporting having close relationships with their nonresident fathers.”
“The emotional stability of children of divorced parents is directly related to the quality of their continuing relationships with both of their parents. We have repeatedly described the dissatisfaction of so many youngsters who felt they were not seeing their fathers often enough. If custody and visiting issues are to be within the realm of the ‘best interest of the child’, then such widespread discontent must be taken very seriously,” said Dr. Kelly and Judith Wallerstein in Surviving the Breakup.
According to Ronald Rohner and Robert Veneziano, authors of “The Importance of
Father Love: History and Contemporary Evidence,” (Review of General Psychology
5.4, 2001), “Having a loving and nurturing father was as important for a child’s
happiness, well-being, and social and academic success as having a loving and
nurturing mother,” and researchers found a direct link between children’s behavior
and quality contact with their real fathers, according to Child health News.
Warren Farrell, Ph.D., author of Father and Child Reunion said, “Children need both their mom and their dad because children are both their mom and their dad. When they are missing either, they are missing that half of themselves. The children who need most the stability of both halves of themselves are the children of divorce, especially those children whose parents are the most in conflict.”
“Mothers’ attitudes strongly determined the effectiveness of post-divorce father involvement, and quality of father contact was more important than quantity. Joint custody led to better child outcomes overall,” wrote Kelly, J. B. in Children’s adjustment in conflicted marriage and divorce: A decade review of research. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 963-973.
CHILDREN LIKELY TO BE BETTER ADJUSTED IN JOINT VS SOLE CUSTODY ARRANGEMENTS IN MOST CASES, ACCORDING TO REVIEW OF RESEARCH - Living Situation Not As Influential As Time Spent With Parent
WASHINGTON - Children from divorced families who either live with both parents at different times or spend certain amounts of time with each parent are better adjusted in most cases than children who live and interact with just one parent, according to new research on custody arrangements and children’s adjustment. more Published March 24, 2002
Making Shared Custody Work - These key guidelines can help joint custody arrangements run smoothly.
Once dismissed as a disruptive oddity, shared physical custody is increasingly common in divorce courts across the nation. A growing body of research indicates that children in joint custody arrangements have fewer behavioral and emotional problems, higher self-esteem, and better family relations and school performance than children in sole custody arrangements. “Children need both parents — one is not more primary or important than the other,” says Jerry Brodlie, Ph.D., a child psychologist specializing in custody issues. Here, some basic guidelines to make shared custody run smoothly. more The Sydney Morning Herald Published: December 3, 2004
Children’s Behavior Is Linked To Contact With Real Father
The importance of a father figure in children’s lives has been demonstrated
by a new study of families with separated parents in Bristol. After looking at couples who had split up, researchers found there was a direct relationship between their children’s behavioural problems and the amount of contact they had with their natural father, and the quality of the relationship between father and child. more Child Health News Published: May 25, 2004
