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

把孩子放在心上？

• 批准号: ES/X013480/1
• 负责人: Sarah Foley
• 金额: $ 31.9万
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FX013480%2F1
• 关键词: Keeping; Child; Mind; Family; Functioning

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.

到5岁时，英国25%的儿童将经历父母分离，这是导致情绪和行为问题的风险因素，会造成长期的个人和社会成本。除了管理情绪，财务，以及对许多人来说，离婚，有孩子的夫妇还必须处理分居后的生活和照顾安排。许多父母和专业人士主张，体验“共同照顾”（即，每一位家长至少有30%的育儿时间）。然而，探索不同的分离后养育安排和儿童的社会，情感和学术调整之间的联系的证据主要是基于英国以外的研究，比较结果的儿童在共同照顾的主要住所。对结果的强调往往掩盖了儿童对这些安排的体验。儿童和年轻人经常描述对与父母双方关系的质量感到满意，但报告了与不灵活和不适应他们需求的常规相关的独特挑战。然而，8岁以下儿童的声音在很大程度上被忽视了，90%的家庭在家庭法院之外做出安排的经历也是如此。虽然据估计，9%的英国家庭在分居后会共同照顾孩子，但人们对这两个方面的差异了解非常有限（例如，过夜的次数）和如何共同养育（即，共同养育质量），以及至关重要的是，这些如何与儿童在共同养育家庭中的经历和结果联系起来。现在，父母和支持他们的专业人士比以往任何时候都更需要经验证据来回答有关最佳分离后养育的基本问题。分居的夫妻如何管理共同养育子女？这些家庭内部的关系是什么样的？孩子们对这样的安排有何感想？家庭应该如何得到最好的支持？最近的事件使解决这一证据差距变得紧迫。首先，疫情导致英国的父母冲突和离婚咨询增加。其次，生活成本危机可能会加剧分居父母的压力和住房困难。第三，法律的变化可能会导致生活在英国不同司法管辖区的家庭在分居后有不同的经历。例如，《离婚、解除和分居法案》于2022年4月在英格兰和威尔士生效，其中包括从诉讼程序开始到法院确认的至少5个月时间，以便有更多时间进行实际安排，包括与儿童有关的安排。为了解决这些问题，该项目有三个目标：1。收集新的经验证据，以检查120个4至8岁儿童的共同养育家庭的家庭功能和儿童适应。探索孩子们在苏格兰和英格兰共同养育孩子的经历。举办一个混合的国际研讨会，汇集学者，家庭司法专业人员和支持分居后家庭的组织，探讨成功的共同养育对父母和孩子意味着什么。这项研究建立在首席研究员作为ESRC博士后研究员进行的试点工作的基础上，研究问题来自与父母，儿童，律师，大律师，调解员，慈善机构，家庭支持专业人士和学者在家庭法，心理学，教育和儿童权利方面的对话。通过在项目期间与这些团体合作，调查结果将通过向正在分居的父母提供的资源直接使家庭受益。虽然这项研究将侧重于家庭谁不去法院，分享这些调查结果与家庭司法从业人员和政策制定者将提供一个更广泛的视角家庭的经验和儿童参与后分离养育安排。