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An Overview of Findings from the WiscParents Survey

This report provides an overview of current parenting practices and perspectives of divorced parents with sole or shared physical custody of their children in Wisconsin, 6 to10 years after divorce. It explores the nature and extent of involvement of both parents in various aspects of their child(ren)’s lives; how parents share responsibility for the logistical aspects of parenting; the nature and frequency of communication between parents; similarities and differences in rules between mothers’ and fathers’ homes; and conflict around issues such as child support, schedules, health, and education decisions.

Data are from the Wisconsin Parents Survey (WiscParents), a 2020 survey conducted with a sample of divorced parents in Wisconsin drawn from the Wisconsin Court Record Data (CRD). The sample (N=640) included mothers with sole mother placement (n=170), and mothers (n=239) and fathers (n=231) with shared placement, who began divorce proceedings in 2009-2010 and 2013. The sample was limited to parents of a child aged 6 or under at the time of divorce. We draw on both quantitative and qualitative survey data. For our quantitative analyses, we present descriptive results related to the context of post-divorce parenting; parenting roles and responsibilities; co-parenting experiences; conflict and alignment between homes; and satisfaction with child living arrangements. Our qualitative component uses structured tabular thematic analysis to provide additional insight into parents’ perspectives on why children’s living arrangements have evolved in particular ways, and the kinds of factors contributing to parents’ and children’s overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction with current living arrangements.

Regarding post-divorce parenting context, we find that families operate in a wide range of circumstances—from parents who live in close proximity, spend time together with their children, communicate regularly, perceive their parenting practices as generally aligned, and report good relationships and collaboration—to those who fall at the other end of the spectrum on these dimensions. Regarding parenting roles and responsibilities, we find that mothers as a group almost universally report very high engagement across all types of roles and activities, regardless of placement; we also find that shared-placement mothers self-report higher engagement than do fathers. With regards to co-parenting experiences, we find that communication between divorced parents is common but variable, and considerably more common when placement is shared versus sole. We also find generally low levels of conflict across a range of dimensions, regardless of placement type or which parent was reporting, with child support and child expenses as the most common areas with conflict for both placement types. We find variation in the alignment of rules between homes across domains, with highest alignment in the case of school-related rules (e.g., homework, attendance) and lowest in the case of rules surrounding time use and responsibilities in the home (e.g., screen time, chores); across categories, we find greater alignment for parents with shared vs sole placement. Finally, we find that shared-placement mothers report moderately lower satisfaction with the arrangements than their sole-placement counterparts; most commonly parents ground their reports of satisfaction in how much time they prefer to have with their child, their perceptions of the child’s well-being and happiness, and logistical challenges for parents and children stemming from the arrangements.

Categories

Child Support, Child Support Policy Research, Custody & Placement, Family & Partnering, Parenting

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