The effects of resolution method of child custody and support plans on parental well-being during the divorce process: Implications from and for divorce education

Abstract

The majority of research on the impact of divorce on parents, children, and families focuses on what occurs after the divorce has been finalized. However, data derived from divorce education programs present opportunities for research on the experience of parents during the divorce process. Guided by the divorce-stress-adjustment model, this study sought to understand how the divorce process impacts parental well-being by examining some of the most pressing child-related concerns divorcing parents have while going through a divorce. Specifically, we looked at how the approach parents took to resolve child-related issues (i.e., internally, through outside intervention, or unresolved) was related to the perceived fairness of child custody arrangements, parental concerns regarding how divorce impacts children, financial concerns, and their overall well-being. Perceived fairness of the child custody arrangement, concerns regarding how divorce impacts children, and financial concerns were associated with parental well-being, and also served as an indirect path through which approaches to resolve child-related issues impacted parental well-being. Understanding what parents think and feel during the divorce process, and how those thoughts and feelings are related to the actual steps to getting a divorce, could help inform divorce education typically administered as part of divorce proceedings.