238P
Shared Decision-Making in Child Custody: The Addition of the Parent Voice through Their Experiences
A limited body of research has explored parent experience in child custody decision-making. How parents perceive and experience child custody decision-making is not represented in the research literature particularly when considering shared decision-making. This is particularly important when considering the increase in shared custody or shared parenting arrangements that are being awarded through the courts. These decisions have been made without the benefit of the parent experience.
This paper helps to fill this gap by exploring parent perceptions and experiences in child custody decision-making, specifically shared decision-making. In this study, parents provide suggestions and recommendations about how shared decision-making can be achieved.
Methods
Eighteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents who could speak to their experience with child custody decision-making. The sample is predominantly female (61% female; 39% male), White (72% White Canadian; 5% Original Peoples; 5% Hungarian; 5% Belizean; 5% Kenyian; 5% Iraquian), between the ages of thirty-one and fifty years old, with high education achievement. Seven (39%, 5 men, 2 women) of the participants have high school diplomas. Seven (39%, 6 women, 1 man) have college diplomas. Two (11 %, 1 woman, 1 man) have bachelor degrees and two (11%, 2 women) have master degrees. Participants were recruited through the mandatory information program (MIP) where all parents’ seeking a divorce or change in motion regarding child custody in Ontario, attend an information session. One on one interviews were scheduled and interviews were transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used and after manual coding, codes were entered into N-Vivo (software) to assist with organization of the data.
Findings
Five themes emerged from the data analysis. Parents describe their experience with child custody decision-making as needing to redefine their role as parent upon separation and when they believed they had choice and the focus was on the needs of the child, shared decision-making could be achieved, sometimes through a process of education and support. If during the redefining their role stage, the focus was on the needs of the parent, choice or agency was often not achieved for both parents, many barriers were maintained and decision-making alone was more often the path travelled by parents. When parents felt they had to make decisions alone, they often sought support through others such as family, friends, community support and the legal system. During this second path, parents described much conflict.
Conclusions and Implications
The findings highlight the importance of support and education for parents when separation occurs to help parents navigate the challenges they face during child custody decision-making. Through education and support, parents learn to focus on the needs of the child, which they report can lead to shared decision-making.
Within the next few months, the House of Commons in Ontario will address Bill 560, a Bill recommending shared parenting be the default position in child custody decision-making. The recommendations from this study suggest a number of supports will be necessary for parents to manage this government imposed position to prevent further parent conflict.