Effects Of Relocation For Children Of Divorce

By Author: The Divorce Law Firm
Total Articles: 2
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The divorce of parents significantly undermines their children’s
sense of security and stability. The two people upon whom the
child is dependent are no longer equally accessible to the child and
the foundation of the child’s world is splintered. From the child’s
perspective, the best of all possible worlds, after parental divorce,
includes parents who are amicable, do not display overt hostility,
can communicate with each other about the child, and live close
enough to each other so that child can have the same playmates
when with either parent. These conditions maximize the potential
for the child developing strong, positive relationships with both
parents as well as for both parents’ involvement in the child’s
school and extracurricular activities and for frequent and regular
contact with the nonresidential parent. When a residential or
custodial parent, then, seeks to move to a different geographic
region that best possible post-divorce scenario for children is
threatened. The wish to relocate poses the most dramatic example
...
... of the conflicting needs and wishes of parents and children and of
the conflicting needs and wishes of custodial and noncustodial
parents. For the most part, children do not wish to leave the
environment in which they live nor do they wish to leave their
noncustodial parent, who also does not want them to go. Parent
and child relocation, which has become a major problem facing
mental health and legal professionals, is, however, inevitable in a
mobile society.
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Psychological research has yet to focus extensively on the impact of
relocation on children. Perhaps this is because relocation as an
issue is relatively new, too infrequent to obtain a sufficient sample
of cases, and, of course, too geographically widespread to make the
study of these families feasible. A vast body of psychological
literature, however, exists regarding the relationship of other
variables, such as interparental conflict, to children’s well-being
following parental divorce. In this article, I present the major
considerations involved in examining relocation cases, such as
definitions of relocation, psychological issues germane to relocation
decisions, the context in which relocation occurs, and the various
motivations for relocation.
The research dealing with psychological factors, such as the child’s
contact with the nonresidential parent, interparental conflict, the
age of the child, parent-child relationships, and the parents’ level
of functioning, are discussed in terms of their significance for
relocation. Finally, several factors are identified that are
consistently related to positive adjustment in children of divorce.
These factors include positive adjustment of the custodial parent, a
positive relationship between the child and custodial parent, and a
low level of conflict between the parents. Findings regarding
contact with the noncustodial parent have been found to be
inconsistent and subject to wider variation than the other factors
mentioned. The need to consider the potentially conflicting wishes
of the child and of the parents is also explored. Finally, the delicate
task of reconciling the relocation issue with the best interests of
the child is addressed. While the best interests of the child
standard should be a priority in any custody decision, the larger
family system cannot be neglected, especially in relocation cases.
The importance of the family context is acknowledged in the
standards adopted by of the Association of Family and Conciliation
Courts which state that the primary purpose of a custody
evaluation is to assess the family. The binuclear family consists of
two households, with the child living in both. The binuclear family
includes stepparents, step-siblings, even former spouses of
stepparents as well as parents, full siblings and half siblings
Learn more at: https://www.thedivorcelawfirm.in/pdf/The-Psychological-Effects-of-Relocation-for-Children-of-Divorce.pdf