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SUNDAY, March 24 (HealthScoutNews) -- More than two decades after the movie "Kramer vs. Kramer" dramatized the traumas of a hostile divorce, a Maryland researcher has found that children raised in joint-custody settings do better than those in sole custody and almost as well as those from two-parent homes. Overall, children in joint arrangements tended to be better adjusted than those in sole-custody situations, with less anxiety and depression, fewer behavioral problems, and they fared better in school, the new study found. "It's very clear that the joint-custody children show somewhat better adjustment than the sole-custody children," says Robert Bauserman, a behavioral scientist at the Maryland Department of Health in Baltimore who conducted the study. Text Continues Below
"That doesn't mean that sole-custody children are maladjusted. But if you look at the overall pattern of results, kids [in joint-custody situations] seem to be doing better in a large variety of areas," from self-esteem to school performance, he adds. Joint custody isn't a good option for every splintering family, especially those in which a spouse is abusive, mentally ill or otherwise unstable, according to experts. However, in general, divorce courts and states that don't already do so should consider joint arrangements as the default for custody, Bauserman says. Joint custody "is an idea whose time has come," adds Richard Warshak, a well-known divorce expert in Dallas and author of Divorce Poison. "The more we learn about how children experience their parents' divorce, the more we find they can be shielded" from harm, as long as "the parents behave like adults, and they don't expose their kids to all the conflict," he says. Not only do children in joint custody report more satisfaction with the setup than those in sole custody, Warshak says, but they stick to that assessment as adults. Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >>
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