High-conflict shared-time parenting after separation: Insights from Australia

• In Event: Fathers‘ involvement in nuclear and separated families: Implications for parenting arrangements

Abstract

Shared-time parenting – where children spend at least 25–50% of time with each parent (also known as ‘joint physical custody’, ‘shared residence, ‘dual residence’ or ‘shared care’) – is a new family form in many Western countries. Post-divorce shared-time families are not a homogenous group. At one end of the spectrum is the large group of highly cooperative parents with typically flexible arrangements, about whom much is known; at the other end is the group comprising highly conflicted parents with rigid arrangements often forged in litigation (about whom far less is known); and in the middle, a potentially sizeable group of parents with more ambivalent circumstances involving some conflict and who might be considering shared-time parenting as some kind of compromise – perhaps after mediation or legal intervention (about whom even less is known).
Despite the growing interest in shared-time arrangements internationally, it is still unclear how courts should deal with cases in which parents are in dispute about equal or near-equal time arrangements. Indeed, in many ways, shared-time parenting in a context of ongoing high conflict and/or safety concerns continues to be one of the big issues in family law. What proportion of shared-time families in the general population of separated parents are in high-conflict? How do separated parents in entrenched high-conflict make shared-time arrangements ‘work’ (or not work) for their children – emotionally, practically and financially? To address these questions, this presentation draws on data from (a) a national random cross-sequential sample of 5,000 separated parents; (b) qualitative interviews with 67 separated parents with high-conflict and low-conflict shared-time arrangements; and (c) various studies published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.
Somewhat surprisingly, shared-time parenting did not suddenly increase in Australia following legislative change to encourage shared parenting. Rather, shared-time arrangements have plateaued at ~16% of children since the changes, and is exercised increasingly by cooperative parents¬ rather than those in high-conflict. The data suggest that shared-time can work well and support many aspects of childhood development in the right circumstances but can also involve risks for children – especially when entrenched interparental hatred is present.

Author

• Bruce Smyth, Australian National University
  Presenting Author