Exploring A New Family Form – The Shared Time Family
* Voss-Bascom Professor of Law Emerita, University of Wisconsin Law School and Affiliate, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison
** Researcher, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Abstract |
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This is a report of a study in the state of Wisconsin of a random sample of 590 divorced mothers and fathers who shared the physical care of their children and 590 who had traditional mother custody. It examines three areas: (1) the social characteristics of the families in the survey – their education, occupations, income and family composition; (2) the living conditions of the families: residential stability and adequacy, the formation of a new family, the work hours and childcare arrangements they had, and the health of parents and children; and (3) family relationships including fathers’ contact with their child and parental relationships and disagreements. The report concludes that parents who share the care of their child post-divorce do not differ greatly from those who have traditional mother custody. The report cautions that it should not be taken as an endorsement of, or a recommendation for, a statutory presumption of shared custody on divorce. The influence of the law in changing gender roles is limited.
The data analyzed in this article were collected by the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison under a contract with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Views expressed in the article are those of the authors, not the Institute or the Department.