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© 2013 Prof. Dr. Hildegund Sünderhauf 1
Prof. Dr. Hildegund SünderhaufShared Parenting in Germany and
Psychological Research on Shared Parenting
23.10.2013
© 2013 Prof. Dr. Hildegund Sünderhauf 2
May I introduce myself …
23.10.2013
Prof. Dr. jur. Hildegund Sünderhauf • Family lawyer since 1997
• Since 2000 Professor of family lawLutheran University of applied Sciences (Nürnberg / Germany)
• Since 2010 studies about shared parenting [german: Wechselmodell / Doppelresidenz]
• Author of „Shared Parenting: psychology – law – best practice“ [german: „Wechselmodell: Psychologie – Recht – Praxis“] 08/2013 Springer VS, Wiesbaden, 920 pages
• Mother of two daughters aged 7 and 8
stress factors
Economical
problems
Stress of single
parent
Loss of one
parent
Parental
conflict
Divorce research knows …
meta analysis: Amaoto & Gilbreth 1991 Amato & Keith 1991 Amato 1993; 2001 Bauserman 2001
Children after separation and divorce
Stress Factors Ressources
Economical support
Shared parental duty/responsibility
Substantial time with both parents
Deescalation
Economical problems
Stress of single parent
Loss of one parent
Parental conflict
Divorce research also knows …
Children after separation and divorce
Single Parents in Germany
154.000 fathers (~9%)
1.400.000 mothers (~ 91 %)
Statistisches Bundesamt 2011 / data of 2009
Income of Single Mothers
other income
social welfare work income
Statistisches Bundesamt 2010BMFSFJ 2012
Single parents are often poor
About 50 % of the households recieving social welfare are single parents with children.
4th Poverty report federal government report 2012
More than 75 % of single mothers with children under age 3 recieve social welfare.
Single parents in Germany federal government report 2012
Loss of Parent
About 40 % of children in Germany loose their contact to the non residential parent a couple of years after separation/divorce
Proksch 2002
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These 3.
Legal situation of custody
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Legal custody after divorce
single custody joint legal custody
D
Schwarz 2011
Since 1998 parents usually keep joint legal custody after divorce.
Parents get single custody only for serious reasons.
10% of seperated parents have single legal custody.
Custody decisions in controversial disputes by court (2008)
D
mother
father
third person
split dicision
both
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%
50.53%
13.27%
21.06%
1.50%
13.37%
Schwarz 2011
Location
• Courts can not make location orders for children
• Courts can not decide for shared parenting as a matter of paternal custody
• Courts may give the right of location decision (Aufenthaltsbestimmungsrecht) to one parent - while joint legal custody is remaining
• But: Courts decide about visitation. Some courts make visitation orders up to equal parenting time (shared parenting 50:50 %)
Conclusion
German family law (§ 1671 BGB) needs urgently a legal reform that gives family courts the explicit right to order shared parenting if it is in the best interest of the child.
Practice in Germany
There is no statistical data about shared parenting.
There is a Shared-Parenting-Boom.
There are misapprehension and prejudice among sceptics, caused on a lack of information about the psychological research on shared parenting and its influence on children (and parents) – even among professionals.
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Psychological Research
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© 2013 Prof. Dr. Hildegund Sünderhauf 16
Research Status
45 published psychological empirical studies about the effects of shared parenting for children and parents 1977-2012.
Most studies are published in the United States, some in Australia and few in Europe.
Most studies come to very positive results for Shared Parenting.
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© 2013 Prof. Dr. Hildegund Sünderhauf 17
Parent-Child-Relationship & Bonding
More time with the father & shared care is leading to a stronger emotional parent-child-bonding than residential care.
Abarbanel 1979; Steinman 1981; Luepnitz 1986; Fabricius & Luecken 2007; Aquilino 2010
Children in Shared Parenting show close bonding with both parents - just as close as in intact families.
Spruit & Duindam 2010; Bjarnason & Arnarsson 2011; Bergström 2012
Children in Shared Parenting have closer relations with their fathers than children in intact families.
Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study (HBSC) WHO/ Bjarnason & Arnarsson 2011
More positive relations with the fathers have no negative implication for the mothers – opposite: children in Shared Parenting have also closer relations with their mother compared with children in single mother custody.
Maccoby, Buchanan, Mnookin & Dornbusch 1993; Fabricius 2003; Bjarnason & Arnarsson 201123.10.2013
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Children in shared care have good psychological adjustment …Abarbanel 1979; Steinman 1981; Luepnitz 1984; McKinnon & Wallerstein
1986; Pearson & Thoennes 1990; Spruijt & Duindam 2010
... just as good or even better than children in single custody.
Underwood 1989; Bauserman 2002; Breivik & Olweus 2006; Kaspiew et al. 2009
Children in shared care indicate a better socio-emotional and better cognitive development (language skills) than children in single custody.
Cashmore et al. 2010
Psychological Adjustment
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Children in shared care are „very satisfied“ with their family-situation (contact with parents, support) - much more than children in single parent care.
Abarbanel 1979; Steinman 1981; Underwood 1989; Luepnitz 1986; Neugebauer 1989; Smart et al. 2001; Melli & Brown 2008; Haugen 2010;
Luftensteiner 2010
Children in shared care indicate higher „general life satisfaction“ than children in single parent care. Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study (HBSC) WHO/Bjarnason et al. 2012
Children in shared care indicate higher satisfaction with their situation at school than children in single parent care.
Bergström 2012
Children´s Satisfaction (1)
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93 % of the children in shared care say retrospective as young adults, that this was the best thinkable solution for them.
Luecken 2003
Childrens Satisfaction (2)
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© 2013 Prof. Dr. Hildegund Sünderhauf 21
There is no evidence that changing houses in shared care is strainfull for children.
In interviews children say that it´s worth changing for the better contact with their parents.
Neugehbauer 1989; Smart et al. 2001; Haugen 2010
Children in single care with contact to their non residential parent have also to change houses – usually just as often or even more often than children in shared care.
Strain caused by changing Houses
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A. Visiting Schedule: Single Care - Visits every second Weekend
Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
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© 2013 Prof. Dr. Hildegund Sünderhauf 23
Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
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B. Visiting Schedule: Single Care with Visits on every second Weekend and 1 Afternoon per Week
© 2013 Prof. Dr. Hildegund Sünderhauf 24
Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
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C. Visiting Schedule: Shared Care with weekly Changes
© 2013 Prof. Dr. Hildegund Sünderhauf 25
Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di Mi Do Fr Sa So Mo Di
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
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D. Visiting Schedule: Shared Care with 2-weekly Changes
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Emotional stability is no matter of geografy but a matter of continuing relationships.
Shared Care offers more continuity than single-parent-care.
Both modells change over the time as the needs of parents and children are changing.
Smyth & Moloney 2008; Cashmore et al. 2010; Haugen 2010
The „mother-drift“ is stronger in single care than in shared care.
Melli & Brown 2008
Emotional Stability
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Children in Shared Care show better physical health than children in single care.
Melli & Brown 2008; Fabricius et al. 2012
Children in single care show more often Hyperactivity/Inattention problems than children in shared care or in intact families.
Neoh & Mellor 2010
Physical health
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Parents in Shared Care Situations – mothers and fathers - are more satisfied than parents in single parenting situations.
Pearson & Thoennes 1991, Irving & Benjamin 1991; Kaspiew et al. 2009; Czerny 2011
An australian study (> 10.000 parents) shows: 70 - 80 % parents with shared care say that - they are „very satisfied“- Shared parenting works well for parents and
children - children benefit from Shared Parenting
Kaspiew et al. 2009
Parental Satisfaction (1)
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Reasons for parental satisfaction are
• Compatibility of work life and family life
• Free time for work / own social life / new partner• Close contact of children with both parents
Pearson & Thoennes 1991, Irving & Benjamin 1991; Kaspiew et al. 2009; Czerny 2011
Parental Satisfaction (2)
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Conclusion
„From the perspective of developmental psychology the empirical data may be recapitulate as showing, that Shared Parenting after parental separation and divorce usually is the preferable parenting arrangement in the best interest of the child.“
Prof. Dr. Harald Wernick, developmental psychologist, University of Vienna, 2009
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© 2013 Prof. Dr. Hildegund Sünderhauf 31
Finally
Your children are not your children.They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams….
Khalil Gibran (1923) from: The Prophet
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