Human Services News

From EurekAlert! - Breaking News:

What influences women when they are making child custody decisions that will bring them into future contact with a violent or controlling ex-husband?

Fear, pragmatism, and the belief--sometimes reinforced in mandated divorce education classes--that their children will suffer if both parents are not in their lives, according to a University of Illinois study in the August Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

That's the most important consideration in making child custody decisions," said Jennifer Hardesty, a U of I assistant professor of human and community development.

Aside from the obvious fear of being hurt or killed, mothers feared their former husbands would harm or take the children.

Nearly all of the mothers experienced some form of abuse between the time they initiated separation and finalization of the divorce.

One participant said, "Get me into a courtroom where they're going to grill me and ask me questions and it's frightening.

Only one had an attorney who brought the prior abuse into the proceedings by including in the divorce petition threatening notes written by the woman's husband.

And, although experts recommend that abused women be screened out of co-parenting classes, such as the class mandated in the two Missouri counties studied, half of the women in the study were directed to participate in the classes, even though all but one of the women's attorneys knew there had been violence in the relationship.

"Many women talked about the influence of that class on their thinking about custody," said Hardesty.

"I listen to Dr. Laura every day, and I know it is really good for the children to see both parents every day," said one mother.

I just know it would be hard on him for me to take away his rights to his kids," said another.

One woman reluctantly agreed to a joint physical custody arrangement in which the children lived with their father during the week and she had them on weekends.

Women with health problems were concerned about having enough energy to endure a custody battle.

After the divorce, many mothers continued to co-parent in a context of fear, the researcher said, adding that the fathers in this study seemed to have a high level of involvement compared to divorced fathers in general.

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