Keeping the Child in Mind? Family Functioning and Experiences of Shared Parenting After Separation

By age five, 25% of children in the UK will have experienced their parents' separation, a risk factor for emotional and behavioural problems which have long-term personal and societal costs. Alongside managing emotions, finances, and, for many, divorce, couples with children must also navigate post-separation living and care arrangements. Many parents and professionals advocate that it is in the child's best interests to experience 'shared care' (i.e., a minimum of 30% of the parenting time is allocated to each parent). Yet, the evidence exploring links between different post-separation parenting arrangements and children's social, emotional and academic adjustment is largely based on studies outside of the UK that compare outcomes for children in shared care with a primary residence. The emphasis on outcomes often eclipses children's experiences of these arrangements. Children and young adults often describe feeling satisfied with the quality of the relationship with both parents but report unique challenges associated with routines that aren't flexible and responsive to their needs. However, the voices of children under eight have been largely overlooked, as have the experiences of the 90% of families who make arrangements outside of the family courts. Though it is estimated 9% of UK families engage in shared care after separating, there is very limited understanding of differences in both the what (e.g., number of overnight stays) and the how of shared parenting (i.e., co-parenting quality) and, crucially, how these link to children's experiences of and outcomes within shared-parenting families. Now, more than ever, parents and the professionals who support them need empirical evidence that answers fundamental questions about optimal post-separation parenting. How do separated couples manage shared parenting? What are relationships like within these families? How do children feel about this arrangement? How should families be best supported? Recent events make addressing this evidence gap pressing. First, the pandemic has seen an increase in parental conflict and divorce enquiries in the UK. Second, the cost of living crisis is likely to exacerbate stress and housing difficulties for separating parents. Third, changes in the law may lead to different post-separation experiences for families living in different UK jurisdictions. For example the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill came into law in England and Wales in April 2022 and includes a minimum period of 5 months from the start of proceedings to court confirmation to enable more time for practical arrangements, including in relation to children.
To address these questions, the project has three objectives:

1. Collect NOVEL EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE to examine family functioning and child adjustment in 120 shared-parenting families with children aged 4 to 8 years old.
2. Explore CHILDREN'S EXPERIENCES of shared parenting in Scotland and England.
3. Host a hybrid, international WORKSHOP to bring together academics, family-justice professionals and organisations that support families after separation to explore what successful shared parenting might mean for parents and children.

This study builds on pilot work conducted by the Principal Investigator as an ESRC Post-Doctoral Fellow and the research questions arise from conversations with parents, children, solicitors, barristers, mediators, charities, family-support professionals and scholars in family law, psychology, education and children's rights. By working with these groups during the project, the findings will benefit families directly via resources offered to parents going through separation. Though this study will focus on families who do not go to court, sharing these findings with family-justice practitioners and policy makers will provide a wider perspective of family experiences and children's involvement in post-separation parenting arrangements.