It is well known that the health and well-being of children are at risk when parents split up (8). The higher risks of emotional problems and social maladjustment for children with separated parents, compared to those with cohabiting parents, may be related to children’s loss of social, economic and human capital after a divorce.

Shared parenting, or joint physical custody (JPC), refers to a practice where children with non-cohabiting parents live alternatively and about equally with both parents, for example, one week with one parent and the next week with the other parent. This practice is increasing among divorcing and separating parents throughout the Western world, for example in Australia, Belgium and the USA.

Preschool children who spent about equal time in both of their parent’s respective homes after a separation showed less psychological problems than those living mostly or only with one parent. The design of the current study did not allow us to determine whether this difference was due to preseparation factors, but the results showed that JPC arrangements were not per se associated with more psychological symptoms.

A copy of the research and studies performed by Malin BERGSTRÖM, Emma FRANSSON, Helena FABIAN, Anders HJERN, Anna SARKADI, Raziye SALARI can be found below.

The work was done in association with Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University/Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, Child Health and Parenting (CHAP), Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.