Divorce is one of those events that can generate a lot of emotions. In this context, legal psychology pays special attention to one of the most vulnerable parts: children. When a couple separates, many questions arise around the children: “Where will they live?”How many times will you see each of your parents?Should we choose shared or unilateral custody?
Although the conditions do not always allow it, sometimes a problem remains in the hands of the emotion that psychologists can solve: despite the differences, if the case allows it, is joint custody recommended? Can it unilaterally have any impact on the child? Are there differences in your well-being when comparing the two cases?
- Tejeiro and Gómez (2011) developed a meta-analysis.
- Divorce.
- Custody and child protection: a review of psychology surveys.
- And their research concluded something that the scientific community seemed to expect: there are differences in the well-being of the child if this is involved in a process joint or unilateral custody.
Both authors point out what Bauserman has already reported (2002) after selecting 33 studies with the best parametric attributes: were children in shared custody better?That those in unilateral custody, compared the adjustment of the children in shared custody with that presented in intact families. This research is presented at the end of the article.
Some of the differences between tutors suggested by the various revised meta-analysis are:
However, other reviewed studies also include results in which the type of care has no effect on children’s emotional health.
Shared custody seems to benefit not only children, but also separated parents, so Maron Rullon (2015) says low levels of conflict and high levels of communication are a model of parent-to-parent cooperation, so they have higher levels of satisfaction than parents who don’t.
Parent conflict is perhaps the most negative impact on children. Much of their well-being implies the ability of both parents to get along. Often, while shared custody may be thought to be the best alternative for the child, it can also lead to greater contact between two people whose relationship is deteriorating; however, Tejeiro and Gómez also included this variable in their meta-analysis, noting that shared custody reduces the level of conflict between parents.
Another doubt that shared custody may raise concerns the requirement to see an ex-husband or ex-wife at a given time and the inability to heal open wounds, studies suggesting that this is nothing more than an irrational fear. according to pearson and Thoennes (1990) measurement, tends to increase after two years, regardless of the type of custody.
This is the question that Emery, Laumann, Waldron, Sbarra and Dillon (2001) asked when they decided to analyze what was happening in the families of these parents who had to choose between shared and unilateral custody (in the second, conflicts between the parents Of the conclusions they reached, the most impressive was that the parents of the children living in unilateral custody had very little involvement in the lives of others.
In addition, they found that parents with shared custody tended to make further changes in their lives and therefore also in the child’s life, however, this did not involve further conflicts between parents, as it related to aspects such as flexibility and cooperation.
Bauserman, in his meta-analysis of the child’s adjustment in custody agreements and exclusive custody agreements: the metaanalytic journal, measures the child’s adjustment levels in different types of custody. The adaptation to which it refers includes:
The conclusion that all these categories are higher in the child in shared custody than in unilateral custody argues that the former has a more positive impact on the child than the second.
After a complicated, suffered and sometimes affected process, shared custody may not be the preferred option for parents in the first place. Even if your interest is to make sure your child has a normal life possible, he or she doesn’t know how to manage care.
Regarding this difficulty, Marlon Rullon seems clear: there are four factors whose presence can mark the success or failure of joint custody.
Knowing the results of both types of custody and taking into account the experiences of parents and children, the question may not be the choice between unilateral or joint custody, but how to equip parents with the necessary skills to adequately deal with joint custody. after divorce.