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Who Gets Custody Now? Dramatic Changes in Children’s Living Arrangements After Divorce

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  • Maria Cancian
  • Daniel Meyer
  • Patricia Brown
  • Steven Cook

Abstract

This article reexamines the living arrangements of children following their parents’ divorce, using Wisconsin Court Records, updating an analysis that showed relatively small but significant increases in shared custody in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These changes have accelerated markedly in the intervening years: between 1988 and 2008, the proportion of mothers granted sole physical custody fell substantially, the proportion of parents sharing custody increased dramatically, and father–sole custody remained relatively stable. We explore changes in the correlates of alternative custody outcomes, showing that some results from the earlier analysis still hold (for example, cases with higher total family income are more likely to have shared custody), but other differences have lessened (shared-custody cases have become less distinctive as they have become more common). Despite the considerable changes in marriage and divorce patterns over this period, we do not find strong evidence that the changes in custody are related to changes in the characteristics of families experiencing a divorce; rather, changes in custody may be the result of changes in social norms and the process by which custody is determined. Copyright The Author(s) 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Cancian & Daniel Meyer & Patricia Brown & Steven Cook, 2014. "Who Gets Custody Now? Dramatic Changes in Children’s Living Arrangements After Divorce," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(4), pages 1381-1396, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:51:y:2014:i:4:p:1381-1396
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-014-0307-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Weiss, Yoram & Willis, Robert J, 1985. "Children as Collective Goods and Divorce Settlements," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(3), pages 268-292, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yoonsook Ha & Maria Cancian & Daniel R. Meyer, 2018. "Child Support and Income Inequality," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 147-158, June.
    2. Trisha Chanda, 2023. "Economic Wellbeing and Labor Supply Patterns of Subsequently Divorcing Mothers in Wisconsin," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 821-835, December.
    3. Mats Lillehagen & Martin Arstad Isungset, 2020. "New Partner, New Order? Multipartnered Fertility and Birth Order Effects on Educational Achievement," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1625-1646, October.
    4. Daniel R. Meyer & Marcia Carlson & Md Moshi Ul Alam, 2022. "Increases in shared custody after divorce in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(38), pages 1137-1162.
    5. Allison Dwyer Emory & Daniel P. Miller & Lenna Nepomnyaschy & Maureen R. Waller & Alexandra Haralampoudis, 2020. "The Minimum Wage and Fathers’ Residence with Children," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 472-491, September.
    6. Thomas J. Cooke & Clara H. Mulder & Michael Thomas, 2016. "Union dissolution and migration," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(26), pages 741-760.
    7. Chen, Yiyu, 2015. "Does a nonresident parent have the right to make decisions for his nonmarital children?: Trends in legal custody among paternity cases," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 55-65.
    8. Carole Bonnet & Bertrand Garbinti & Anne Solaz, 2022. "Does Part-Time Mothering Help Get a Job? The Role of Shared Custody in Women’s Employment," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 885-913, December.
    9. Xiaohui Sophie Li, 2021. "What Impacts Young Generations’ School/College Education Through the Lens of Family Economics? A Review on JFEI Publications in the Past Ten Years," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 118-123, July.
    10. Christine Schnor & Sofie Vanassche & Jan Van Bavel, 2017. "Stepfather or biological father? Education-specific pathways of postdivorce fatherhood," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(51), pages 1659-1694.
    11. Astrid Würtz Rasmussen & Leslie S. Stratton, 2016. "How distance to a non-resident parent relates to child outcomes," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 829-857, December.
    12. Lara Augustijn, 2023. "Mothers’ Economic Well-Being in Sole and Joint Physical Custody Families," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 53-64, March.
    13. Fransson, Emma & Sarkadi, Anna & Hjern, Anders & Bergström, Malin, 2016. "Why should they live more with one of us when they are children to us both?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 154-160.
    14. Garcia-Moran, Eva M., 2018. "Differential fecundity and child custody," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 156-170.
    15. Lara Augustijn, 2023. "Post-separation Care Arrangements and Parents’ Life Satisfaction: Can the Quality of Co-parenting and Frequency of Interparental Conflict Explain the Relationship?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1319-1338, April.
    16. Sofie Vanassche & Martine Corijn & Koen Matthijs & Gray Swicegood, 2015. "Repartnering and Childbearing After Divorce: Differences According to Parental Status and Custodial Arrangements," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 34(5), pages 761-784, October.
    17. Matthijs Kalmijn, 2023. "Weakened parent–child ties and the well-being of older divorced parents," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(21), pages 591-608.
    18. Kristin Mammen, 2020. "Children’s Gender and Investments from Nonresident Fathers," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 332-349, June.
    19. Zuzana Zilincikova & Christine Schnor, 2023. "Trends in Distance Between Non-resident Parents and Minor Children Following Separation: Analysis of the Belgian Case, 1992–2018," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-35, December.
    20. Lawrence M. Berger & Lidia Panico & Anne Solaz, 2018. "Maternal Repartnering: Does Father Involvement Matter? Evidence from United Kingdom," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(1), pages 1-31, February.
    21. Tara Koster & Teresa Castro-Martín, 2021. "Are Separated Fathers Less or More Involved in Childrearing than Partnered Fathers?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(4), pages 933-957, November.
    22. Bram Hogendoorn, 2022. "Why do Socioeconomic Differences in Women’s Living Standards Converge After Union Dissolution?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(3), pages 577-622, August.
    23. Giulia Ferrari & Carole Bonnet & Anne Solaz, 2019. "‘Will the one who keeps the children keep the house?’ Residential mobility after divorce by parenthood status and custody arrangements in France," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(14), pages 359-394.
    24. Wendy D. Manning & Kara Joyner & Paul Hemez & Cassandra Cupka, 2019. "Measuring Cohabitation in U.S. National Surveys," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1195-1218, August.
    25. Aaron Albert, 2018. "Parental duties, labor market behavior, and single fatherhood in America," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1063-1083, December.

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