Ricardo Salguero
Ayuntamiento de Tarifa
SUMMARY
custody of children after divorce is the main area of \u200b\u200bintervention of Legal Psychology. Factors influencing the child-welfare principle in the actions of Justice, are numerous and must be analyzed in each case, but this does not preclude the necessary support in previous investigations. In this paper we review the available research data about the differential effects between the individual and joint custody. Most results indicate that, other things being equal, joint custody is more beneficial to the welfare of the individual child, both by direct effects on their behavior and emotions, as indirect through reducing conflict between parents. A number of studies found, however, that any type of custody is more beneficial than the other for the child.
Keywords: Legal Psychology, evaluation, divorce, custody, child. ABSTRACT
Child custody evaluation in the context of parental divorce establishi the main area of \u200b\u200bintervention Within Legal psychology. The Numerous Factors That Contribute to the child well-being, Which is the main Principle of Justice in Those Cases-Should Be Analyzed Individually, pero Such an analysis must be solidly based on previous empirical research literature. This work reviews the available empirical data on the differential effects between shared and sole custody. A majority of researchers have found that, other factors being equal, shared custody provides more benefits for the child well-being than sole custody, with a direct effect on the child behaviour and emotions and also with an indirect effect through the reduction of parental conflict. Notwithstanding, a high number of studies have not found any difference between both types of custody.
Key words: Legal psychology, assessment, divorce, custody, children.
Durante el año 2006 se dictaron en España 126.952 sentencias de divorcio, representing an increase of 74.27% over the previous year and no less than 223.51% over five years earlier. Of all divorces in 2006 in 53.80% of cases was involved the custody of children, which taking into account the number of children per marriage broke a total of 93,481 affected children (source: INE, see www.ine.es). And although the National Institute of Statistics does not provide data on who is assigned custody, it does say who is paying maintenance, which can be taken as a reference: in 92.6% of cases the father, compared to 2.9% mothers and 4.43% of cases where those who pay them.
As stressed in the caselaw, the fundamental principle that must govern the determination of the guardianship and custody of children is the protection of children, or please fili, while recognizing that parents also have the right to interact with their children. In this context, the absence of legal provisions regarding the custody disappeared as a result of Law 15/2005, of July 8, which introduced for the first time expressly legal at this figure in the Civil Code, both agreement of the parties, Article 92 paragraph 6 ("when requested by parents in the proposed regulatory agreement, or when both reach agreement during the procedure) and in litigation in paragraph 8 ("exceptional circumstances, the Judge, at the request of a party, with a favorable report of the Public Prosecutor may decide to shared custody on the grounds that only thus will adequately protect the interests of the child. ").
With this standard, the custody decision is subject to various conditions, including the possibility of seeking, ex officio or upon request, expert opinion on the appropriateness of the exercise of parental authority and custody arrangements child (Article 92.9 of the Civil Code). For such opinions, the experts have protocols of action that included a detailed assessment of the circumstances that come together in each case, and certainly the result of such evaluation should be one of the most important factors facing the final decision regarding the type of custody that the child will provide more welfare . However, as in any other area, it is clear that the views, procedures and judgments of the experts must be linked to the results of research in this field, but should rather be supported by them. In Spain, the "boom" of divorce is still relatively new to provide a solid body of research, but in other countries around us Reference is now widely available empirical knowledge that can transcend mere opinions, especially on this topic, primarily based on moral and ideological judgments.
STUDIES ON CHILD CUSTODY AND WELFARE
Effects of sudden separation from a parent about the child's emotional well
The sudden absence of a parent for long periods causes significant emotional distress less, unable not only to understand all aspects of the situation, but also to define the role he is playing in it. One child used to be with both parents regularly and to experience such contacts as a source of support, love and understanding, can react to the absence of one of them in the short to medium term, with a behavioral pattern characterized by aggression, desperate attempts to regain the love that lives as lost, anxiety , irritability, emotional instability, regressive behaviors, feelings of inferiority and guilt, self-injury, workplace problems and depression (eg, Amato and Gilbreth, 1999; Emery, 1994; Kalter, 1990; McLanahan, 1999, McLanahan and Sandefur. 1994; Wallerstein. 1991).
The difficulties of noncustodial parents to contact and interact with their children can be aggravated by the emergence in these attitudes of rejection towards them unjustified, promoted from the living environment, establishing the so-called Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS), destructive effects (Aguilar, 2004; Ramírez, 2004). As pointed out by Assumption Weaver, coordinator of Legal Psychology of the College of Psychologists of Asturias, the SAP is a very common reality, and "90% of cases is alienating the custodial" (cited in Fernandez, 2007) .
Influence of the type of custody over the child's
Most research finds that joint custody compared with sole custody, is a better fit for children in a variety of measures. This is demonstrated, among others, the studies cited below (for each study cited reference, sample and main results).
Bowman and Ahrons (1985) 28
custodial parents and 54 non-custodial parents divorce a year after Mayor
contact, activities and involvement in custodial parents.
Buchanan, Maccoby and Dornbusch (1996) 517
families with children between 10.5 and 18
Juveniles in custody tended to less depression, better grades, and less serious than those of individual custody. Gunnoe and Braver
(2001)
28 children in custody and 51 in individual, medium 10.9 years
Less adjustment problems in custody
Hanson (1985)
21 pairs of children in sole custody / shared
Mayor measured adjustment in joint custody in terms of social support and conflict resolution between parents and children
Karp (1982), doctoral dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology
16 children in custody and 22 individual, 5 to 12 years in early stages of divorce Minor
sibling rivalry and self-esteem in custody.
Lerman (1989)
60 children between 7 and 12 years (half in each type of custody)
Less self-esteem and more likely to feel rejected by a parent in sole custody.
Livingston (1983), PhD at the University of Vermont
32 children in custody and 54 in individual, mean age 11.7 years
Better self-esteem in custody.
Nunan (1980). doctoral thesis at the California School of Professional Psychology
20 pairs of children aged 7 to 11 years
in custody, self-esteem, self worth, self-confidence and less excitable and impatient.
Pojman (1982), doctoral thesis at the California Graduate Institute
20 pairs of children aged 5 to 13 years
Best fit (self-concept, locus of control and relations with parents) in custody in maternal well-being in custody did not differ from happy, intact families.
Rockwell-Evans (1991)
21 pairs of children between 4 and 15 years
Fewer behavioral problems in custody.
Schiller (1984), PhD at the University of Delaware
20 pairs of children 6 to 11 years in situations of maternal custody or shared
Mayor welfare custody, measured through the evaluations of teachers and parents.
Wolchik, Braver and Sandler (1985)
44 children in custody and 89 individual mean age 11.5 years
in custody, report higher self-esteem and success stories.
emphasize in this regard the comprehensive meta-analysis by Amato and Keith (1991) and more recently by Robert Bauserman (2002). In the latter study, Bauserman analyzed all empirical studies on the subject conducted between 1982 and 1999, including in major scientific databases in the United States. Of these, selected the 33 studies that met the criteria sufficiently objectivity and methodological correctness, including 21 doctoral theses. The conclusions were clear: "From the results, children at joint custody are better adjusted, as revealed by all measures, than children in mother sole custody situation "(p.97)," joint custody may be beneficial for children in a wide variety of domains, family, emotional , behavioral and academic "(p.98)," the best fit associated with joint custody does not vary with the age of the child "(p.98), and even" the setting is the same on that joint custody intact families "(p.98).
Other researchers found no association between type of custody and child welfare. Here are some comments de estos estudios.
Bredefeld (1985), tesis doctoral en la California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno
20 niños en custodia compartida y 20 en individual, edad media 9,4 años
Analizando las reacciones de los menores ante un nuevo matrimonio de un progenitor, no encontró diferencias de ajuste entre casos de custodia individual y compartida.
Donnelly y Finkelhor (1992)
19 niños en custodia compartida y 141 en custodia individual, edad media 12,4
El tipo de custodia no se asocia con apoyo y afecto padre-hijo ni con las discusiones.
Granite (1985), tesis doctoral en la University of Pennsylvania
20 niños en custodia compartida y 19 en individual, children between 9 and 12 years
found no relationship between type of custody and welfare, measured by self-concept and the use (or not) of psychological techniques for controlling behavior.
Haddad (1998)
Children between 2 and 11 years, data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth 1994-1995 (Canada)
concludes that the type of custody has no effect on emotional health or psychosocial
Isaacs, Leon and Kline (1987)
161 minors in custody, maternal or paternal
average 10.5 years found no differences in perception regarding the child's parents.
Johnston Kline and Tschann (1989)
35 children in custody and 53 in individual, medium
6.5 years found no relationship between children's adjustment (measured by the Child Behaviour Checklist) and type of custody.
Luepnitz (1982), PhD at the State University of New York
91 children found no differences in self-concept type of custody, valuation made by their parents in self-esteem and psychosomatic and behavioral problems and emotional climate family.
Pearson and Thoennes (1990) 418
divorced families, 64 of them with joint custody
found no relationship between the type of custody and adjustment
Steinman (1981)
32 children found no differences, indicating that the answer is individual rather than subject to the type of custody. Welsh-Osga
(1981), PhD at the University of South Dakota
10 children in custody and 10 individual, 4 to 10 years.
found no relationship between custody and set
Finally, we will cite only two studies in our review, show different results. So, Hendrickson (1991) found that although generally lower in custody showed better psychological adjustment, this was more evident in girls, while boys tended to show better adjustment individual in custody. And Buchanan, Maccoby and Dornbusch (1992) suggested that joint custody is a setting similar to that of maternal custody, and in both cases higher than parental custody.
Influence of the type of custody to the degree of conflict between parents
children's adjustment to divorce of their parents depends, among other factors and very clear, the degree of conflict between the two after separation . So, it could be argued that joint custody means a greater contact between former spouses who do not wish to be, which in turn can lead to a higher level of conflict. However, research data reveal either the type of custody does not affect future litigation (Berger, Madakasira and Roebuck, 1988) or that joint custody decreases the level of conflict between former spouses because of the need to negotiate and the perception of balance ( Bender, 1994; Ilfeld, Ilfeld, and Alexander, 1982, King and Heard, 1999; Luepnitz, 1986 Patrician, 1984). Pearson and Thoennes (1990) even found that while 50% of parents and 30% of mothers in sole custody situation positively valued the parenting style of his former spouse, the percentage rose to 65% in custody case shared.
Within this section, we note that several studies identified the existence of a high level of conflict between the parents as the primary (if not the only) obstacle to that joint custody is the best situation for children whose parents have divorced (eg Johnston 1995, Johnston et al., 1989, Wallerstein & Johnston, 1990). However, in his comprehensive review of research, Robert Bauserman (2002) concluded that this only applies to cases where the level of conflict is extreme.
Influence of the type of custody in the degree of adjustment of the parents
There are some who believe that parents need to rebuild their lives after separation, and that the obligation to see the other quite often difficult or impossible task. It was suggested that the parent with sole custody may experience feelings of overflow by increasing the work overload, social isolation, requirements for home care and care of children (Canton, Cortes and Justice, 2000, Rincón and Marrero , 2000). Several investigations did not support neither approaches. So on the one hand it has been found that the level of estrangement between the parents (measured at the time of separation and a couple of years later) tends to increase regardless of the type of custody that is agreed (Pearson and Thoennes, 1990 .) On the other hand, research found there is no relationship between type of custody and adjustment of the former spouses, measured in coping skills, social relationships, job performance, satisfaction with life stress or job satisfaction (Bailey, 1991; Coysh et al. 1989, Maccoby and Mnookin, 1992, Shapiro and Lambert, 1999).
CONCLUSIONS We began by saying that in 2006 a total of 93,481 English children were faced with the divorce of their parents. The welfare of each and every one has depended, in each case, numerous factors: the level of conflict between parents before and after separation, parental adjustment to divorce, the degree of closeness between child and parent, the child's personality, sex and age, pre-divorce adjustment, attitudes and performance of the parents in their upbringing and care, socio-economic circumstances of each of the parties ...
The vast majority of these children live today on a regular basis with the mother, limiting their contact with the father at a rate of "hits" more or less reduced, which in most cases results in four nights month. A small group of children, however, share their time, activities and care equally with his father and his mother. Others being equal individual factors that come together in each case, it is time to ask, which of the two types of custody is "adequately protected the interests of the child" as required by our Civil Code?
Research tells us that joint custody is more beneficial than sole custody, to the extent that (a) minimizes the potential negative effects of sudden separation from a parent, (b) improving the quantity and quality links between the child and parents, (c) is a better fit of the child, measured with a wide variety of indicators, and (d) reduce the degree of conflict between former spouses, which in turn reverberates indirectly in the child's welfare. The research that has deferred these results have raised almost entirely to a lack of influence of the type of custody over the child's welfare.
In recent years, the accumulation of results has led to a clear bias in favor of joint custody between practitioners and academics in psychology. Serve as an example the words of Dr. Thomas Andrew Tripero, head of the Department of Psychology and Education at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid: "The most recent psychological studies conclude that children from families with custody and shared parenting adjustment, then to divorce, better than children in families with sole custody (http://educarbiencontomastripero.blogspot.com/2007/06/custodia-compartida. html). In the same line uttered teachers at the University of Granada José Cantón, María Rosario Cortés and María Dolores Justice in the book Marital Conflicts, Divorce and child development (2000): "The type of custody is very important to understand the future development of the child and in that sense, clearly defend the option of joint custody. "
But not only psychology professionals share this view, but also a growing number legal experts. For example, Judge Dean, Barcelona, \u200b\u200bMaría Sanabria Buenaventura said in 2006 during the First National Conference on Violence in Society, organized by the Catholic University of Valencia, that "the focus of our neighboring countries, after years of working in the field of psychology is that of joint custody. This work has led to the conclusion that joint custody promotes self-esteem of children, promotes greater social integration and unresponsive to violent behavior and continued conflict of loyalties that cause severe psychological disorders "(proceedings http://www. catalunyaproposa.net / conclusionesjornadasviolencia. htm).
therefore conclude by recalling that the American Psychological Association in 1985 suggested the need to encourage joint custody, and already in 1977 found that "is scientifically and psychologically untenable, and a violation of human rights, discriminate against men basis of sex in the allocation of custody of their children "(APA, 1985).
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