Postdivorce parental roles: a descriptive study

• Main Authors: Congleton, Victor R., Londos, Lisa Christina
• Format: Others
• Published: PDXScholar 1976
• Subjects: Parent and child; Divorced women; Children of divorced parents; Social Welfare; Social Work
• Online Access: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1936; https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2936&context=open_access_etds

Divorce is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon in American society. Its occurrence is increasing both in absolute and relative numbers, and also in its involvement of minor children. As will be demonstrated below, very little is actually known about the process of divorce or about its impact on the members of the family. Of particular concern is the effect of divorce on the children invo1ved, and the decisions and practice of the divorcing parents regarding their subsequent parenting relationship to the children. The authors of this report intend to study a random sample of divorcing couples and to derive a descriptive analysis of their perceptions of the proper role of the noncustodial parent (usually the father) in regard to the child rearing process following separation and divorce. We will work with that portion of available data for which we have information from both parents in the divorcing family. Particular attention will be paid to issues of congruence or noncongruence in perceptions between the two members of the coparental couple (including each member's judgement of his/ her partner's perceptions of the issues. We believe that the ability of the divorcing parents to provide a stable and cooperative relationship in their parental roles is very important for the children to be assisted in adjusting to the divorce. Given this assumption the extent of congruence or noncongruence in the perceptions of the parents about the role of the noncustodial parent in postdivorce child rearing may be very important in determining the degree of cooperation between them and the subsequent ease of adjustment of the children to the new family role relationships. Our data will be taken from questionnaires and oral interviews with a random sample of divorcing couples, administered very soon after the official filing for the divorce. Longitudinal studies are planned to follow the subjects through the divorce process for as long as eighteen months after filing. These subsequent studies will not be reported here.