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Journal Articles

Challenging the presumption of diminished capacity to parent: does divorce really change parenting practices? by Strohschein L. Family Relations, Volume 56, Issue 4 pp358-368. 

This research was supported by a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The research and analysis are based on data from Statistics Canada, and the opinions expressed do not represent the views of Statistics Canada.Abstract.

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether divorced parents exhibit a diminished capacity to parent in the period following divorce. There were used two waves of data from a national survey of Canadian children and follows 5,004 children living in 2–biological parent households at initial interview and compares changes in parenting practices between households that subsequently divorce and those that remain intact. Results show that divorce is unrelated to changes in parenting behavior, suggesting that there are more similarities than differences in parenting among recently divorced and continuously married parents.

Coparental identity and mothers' cooperation in coparental relationships by Markham MS, Ganong LH & Coleman M. Family Relations, Volume 56, Issue 4 pp369-377.

This study was funded by a grant from the Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Missouri—Columbia.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations between divorced mothers’ (N = 196) coparental role identity and their perceptions of how cooperatively they coparent. Data were gathered by questionnaires mailed to mothers who had participated in a court-mandated divorce education program. Using structural equation modeling, it was determined that mothers’ perceptions of others’ expectations for them to coparent and their own expectations, as well as their commitment to a coparental identity, were positively related to their perceived level of coparenting cooperation. Parent educators and therapists working with mothers should focus on the value of coparenting for mothers and their children; social pressure and legal requirements are less effective motivators.

Research

Divorce and Separation

In 2005, there were 155,000 divorces in England and Wales; the lowest number since 1977, and 18 per cent lower than the highest number of divorces, which peaked in 1993 at 180,018. (1) Since 1994, the divorce rate has been approximately 12 to 14 people per 1000 of the married population. (2)

With the rise in cohabiting couples and parents, more relationships are ending outside of the official divorce process. In July 2007, the Law Commission published their report to Parliament containing recommendations for reforming the law that applies to the property and finances of cohabiting couples on separation and death.