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Divorced parents 'make conflict worse by going to court over child contact'

October 30, 2002

Divorced and separated parents who resort to the law to settle chronic disputes over contact with their children risk making matters worse for all concerned. Research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation contrasts the relative success of contact agreements that separated parents reach without legal intervention with the stress placed on children after parents fail to agree, or lack commitment to arrangements.

The study suggests that lawyers are rarely able to improve their clients' commitment to unwelcome contact arrangements and that applications for court orders tend to fuel conflict rather than resolve it. It concludes that time and money spent trying to impose solutions through the courts would be better invested in services to improve relations between parents and children, enabling them to find solutions for themselves.

The report, by researchers at the University of East Anglia, will be launched today in London at a seminar organised by CAFCASS, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. Based on 140 in-depth interviews with parents and children in 61 families affected by separation or divorce, it finds that:

- Contact arrangements varied widely across the sample. In some families contact was frequent and both parents supported their children's relationship with the other parent. In others contact, whether frequent or infrequent, was a source of mutual frustration and conflict.

- Parents in 27 families where contact was working had all made their arrangements without legal intervention. Although some children in these families identified problems - especially if their non-resident parent lived with a new partner - their experience of contact was mostly positive.

- Where contact was working, it was evident that all parties were committed to the arrangements. Non-resident parents did not denigrate or threaten their former partners and resident parents actively supported contact.

- The two main reasons for contact not working were parents' lack of commitment to children seeing their ex-partner and high levels of continuing conflict. In eight families interviewed, no regular schedule for contact had ever been established and parents were clearly ambivalent about its importance.

- In 25 families, the parents were in active dispute over contact. This included families where contact was taking place, but the parents refused to communicate and used their children as go-betweens. Children were acutely aware of the conflict and found it very distressing.

Liz Trinder, co-author of the study said: "Our research suggests that provisions in the Children Act 1989 encouraging parents who separate to make workable child contact arrangements without external intervention are fully justified. But there are major problems with existing procedures for resolving disputes and imposing arrangements where no agreement can be reached. Since applications for court orders appear to exacerbate rather than settle disputes, resources should be redirected towards more creative work to improve parental and parent-child relationships. Children, too, should have greater access to counselling and other support services."

Jonathan Tross, the Chief Executive of CAFCASS, commented: "We welcome this research on 'Making Contact' which provides useful insights into what is likely to help or hinder contact following relationship breakdowns. Contact arrangements should focus primarily on the welfare and interests of the children involved who can often get caught in the crossfire of parental conflict. This research provides practical suggestions to help families make workable contact arrangements for their children."

East Anglia, University of