TY - JOUR
T1 - Associations between parental relocation following separation in childhood and maladjustment in adolescence and young adulthood
AU - Stevenson, Matthew M.
AU - Fabricius, William
AU - Braver, Sanford L.
AU - Cookston, Jeffrey T.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), RO1HD0566-06A1, to William Fabricius, the National Institute of Mental Health, MH64829 R01, and NICHD 5T32HD007109 to Sanford Braver. Portions of the findings were presented at the 2014 annual meetings of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Toronto, Canada.
PY - 2018/8
Y1 - 2018/8
N2 - Petitions by custodial parents to relocate children away from noncustodial parents present difficult choices for family courts. In the current study, the sample (N = 81) was randomly recruited through the children's schools according to the following criteria: Children were 12 years old and at the time resided primarily with their mothers and mothers had been living with a male partner "acting in a father role" for at least the previous year. Thirty-eight children had been separated by more than an hour's drive from their biological fathers because of either their mothers or fathers relocating. The data were collected from 2 reporters (children and mothers) at 5 time points (child ages 12.5, 14, 15.5, 19.5, and 22) by trained interviewers using standardized measures with adequate reliability and validity. Long-distance separation from biological fathers prior to age 12 was linked in adolescence and young adulthood to serious behavior problems, anxiety and depression symptoms, and disturbed relationships with all three parental figures (i.e., biological fathers, mothers, and stepfathers). These associations held after controlling for mother- stepfather conflict and domestic violence, mothers' family income, and mother- biological father relationship quality. These longitudinal findings over time replicated the cross-sectional findings of Braver, Ellman, and Fabricius (2003) and Fabricius and Braver (2006). Policy implications for parental longdistance relocation following separation are discussed.
AB - Petitions by custodial parents to relocate children away from noncustodial parents present difficult choices for family courts. In the current study, the sample (N = 81) was randomly recruited through the children's schools according to the following criteria: Children were 12 years old and at the time resided primarily with their mothers and mothers had been living with a male partner "acting in a father role" for at least the previous year. Thirty-eight children had been separated by more than an hour's drive from their biological fathers because of either their mothers or fathers relocating. The data were collected from 2 reporters (children and mothers) at 5 time points (child ages 12.5, 14, 15.5, 19.5, and 22) by trained interviewers using standardized measures with adequate reliability and validity. Long-distance separation from biological fathers prior to age 12 was linked in adolescence and young adulthood to serious behavior problems, anxiety and depression symptoms, and disturbed relationships with all three parental figures (i.e., biological fathers, mothers, and stepfathers). These associations held after controlling for mother- stepfather conflict and domestic violence, mothers' family income, and mother- biological father relationship quality. These longitudinal findings over time replicated the cross-sectional findings of Braver, Ellman, and Fabricius (2003) and Fabricius and Braver (2006). Policy implications for parental longdistance relocation following separation are discussed.
KW - Adolescent adjustment
KW - Divorce
KW - Fathers
KW - Parent conflict
KW - Relocation
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U2 - 10.1037/law0000172
DO - 10.1037/law0000172
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85047310815
VL - 24
SP - 365
EP - 378
JO - Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
JF - Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
SN - 1076-8971
IS - 3
ER -