Unpacking Court Divorce Decrees, Children's Outcomes, and Three Unconfounded Determinants: An Evidence-Based Look

• Published in: Journal of divorce & remarriage Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. 179 - 205
• Main Author: Allen, Harris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Binghamton Routledge 03.04.2014; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Child Custody; Childrearing Practices; Children; Children & youth; children's outcomes; Courts; Divorce; Domestic violence; Family Violence; father contact; father involvement; high interparental conflict; Home Environment; Intergenerational relationships; Judicial Decisions; legal and physical custody; parenting time; Parents & parenting; Reform
• ISSN: 1050-2556; 2837-5300; 1540-4811; 2837-5319
• DOI: 10.1080/10502556.2014.887376

This article examines evidence on 3 determinants of the outcomes of children of divorce that are shaped but neither confound or are confounded by court decrees for custody and parenting time: father contact or involvement, high interparental conflict, and domestic violence. This evidence is brought to bear in an analysis that contrasts predictions based on the rationales for sole maternal versus joint custody and explores implications for judicial decision making. It is found that the best-interests-of-the-child standard better serves children in contested cases when this evidence is taken into account. A call is made for rebuttable presumptions for joint custody and commensurate parenting time except when parent-perpetrated violence or other patterns of abusive behavior are substantiated. Steps for judicial reform are proposed.