Parental divorce during adolescence and adjustment in early adulthood

Presents a study which examined the relationship between parental divorce during adolescence and the psychosocial adjustment of young adults. Methods; Results; Discussion.

Who gets the cats...you or me? Analyzing contact and residence issues regarding pets upon divorce or separation

Mills and Akers outline the statistical incidence of pet ownership and people's need for domestic pets, discuss ownership or property rights in domestic pets, outline the criteria used by the courts when ruling on implied contact and residence rights regarding domestic pets upon the irretrievable breakdown between the "owners" of the particular pets, and highlight both the shortcomings in the existing law and possible means of overcoming those shortcomings.

Disloyality and divorce: why (and when) the traitor should pay

Loyalty n3 is the catalyst for an enormous amount of admirable human conduct. It is also a desirable virtue: 'in loyalty . . . is the fulfilment of the whole of morality'. n4 It may be justly argued that loyalty grounds more of the principled, honourable and other kinds of non-selfish behaviour in which people engage than does any other moral principle. Curiously, loyalty is almost totally ignored by the law. The area of law in which the principle of loyalty most acutely applies (at least potentially) is family law -- in particular to the concept of marriage. n5 Loyalty is the brussel sprout of the law. Almost everyone recognises [*2] its inherent goodness but few are prepared to make a meal of it. Despite its moral desirability, there are virtually no legal principles that are expressly derived from, or give effect to, the virtue of loyalty. This paper examines the extent to which loyalty should be given legal recognition in matrimonial law. Although the main purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of the potential relevance of loyalty to the dissolution of marriage (and therefore to encourage further consideration and debate on this issue), for the sake of completeness we provide an example of a legal framework in which loyalty should be incorporated into matrimonial law. We argue that within the scope of the 'no-fault' based system of divorce in some circumstances betrayals should be penalised by means of a reduced property settlement.

Child-focused and child-inclusive divorce mediation : comparatice outcomes from a prospective study of postseparation adjustment

This study compared outcomes over 1 year for two groups of separated parents, who attended two different forms of brief therapeutic mediation for entrenched parenting disputes. The two interventions each targeted psychological resolution of parental conflict, enhanced parental reflective function, and associated reduction of distress for their children. The child-focused (CF) intervention actively supported parents to consider the needs of their children, but without any direct involvement of the children, while the child-inclusive (CI) intervention incorporated separate consultation by a specialist with the children in each family, and consideration of their concerns with parents in the mediation forum. Repeated measures at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year postintervention explored changes over time and across treatments in conflict management, subjective distress, and relationship quality for all family members. Enduring reduction in levels of conflict and improved management of disputes, as reported by parents and children, occurred for both treatment groups in the year after mediation. The CI intervention had several impacts not evident in the other treatment group, related to relationship improvements and psychological well-being. These effects were strongest for fathers and children. Agreements reached by the CI group were significantly more durable, and the parents in this group were half as likely to instigate new litigation over parenting matters in the year after mediation as were the CF parents. The article explores the potential of CI divorce mediation to not only safely include many children in family law matters related to them, but also to promote their developmental recovery from high-conflict separation, through enhanced emotional availability of their parents.

The relationship between perceived interparental conflict and Malaysian young adults' attitudes toward divorce

In the context of an upward trend in divorce rates in Malaysia, this article explores the relationship between Malaysian young adults' perceptions of interparental conflict and their own attitudes toward divorce. Two questionnaires were administered to 160 young adults between 18 and 30 years old: the Attitude Towards Divorce Scale and the Perceptions of Interparental Conflict−Intensity/Frequency Scale. A positive relationship was found between perceived intensity and frequency of interparent conflict and attitudes toward divorce in males and females, respectively; however, the associations were weak. Future investigations of divorce need to take into consideration both the cultural factors that are influential within a society and how they shape gender norms within that population to gain a greater understanding of this relationship. Such investigations will increase the understanding of non-Western culture's unique interaction between attitudes and divorce, thus potentially aiding future efforts to strengthen marriages and families.

Sequential polyandry through divorce and re-pairing in a cooperatively breeding bird reduces helper-offspring relatedness

Polyandry is an important component of both sexual selection and kin structuring within cooperatively breeding species. A female may have multiple partners within a single reproductive attempt (simultaneous polyandry) or across multiple broods within and/or across years (sequential polyandry). Both types of polyandry confer a range of costs and benefits to individuals and alter the genetic structure of social groups over time. To date, many molecular studies of cooperative breeders have examined the evolution of cooperative breeding in relation to simultaneous polyandry. However, cooperatively breeding vertebrates are iteroparous, and thus sequential polyandry is also likely, but more rarely considered in this context. We examined sequential polyandry in a cooperatively breeding bird that has a low level of within-brood polyandry. Over a 5-year period (2006–2010), we monitored individual mating relationships using molecular markers in a population of individually marked apostlebirds (Struthidea cinerea). Divorce occurred between reproductive seasons in 17 % (8/48) of pairs and appeared to be female-driven. The level of sequential polyandry was also driven by the disappearance of males after breeding, and over 90 % of females, for whom we had suitable data, bred with multiple males over the period of study. This sequential polyandry significantly altered the relatedness of group members to the offspring in the nest. However, in about half of the cases, the second male was related (first- or second-order relative) to the first male of a sequentially polyandrous female and this alleviated the reduction in relatedness caused by polyandry. Our findings suggest that even in species with high within-brood parentage certainty, helper-offspring relatedness values can quickly erode through sequential polyandry.

Filicide and parental separation and divorce

This paper discusses the findings of a ten-year study of filicide in Victoria, Australia, using the data from selected case files held in the Victorian coroner's office for the period 2000–09. The study sought to examine whether separation is a factor in filicide cases, as well as the role of other factors, such as domestic violence and mental illness. Also, the study sought to identify whether filicide perpetrators had contact with support services, including family and friends, general practitioners, mental health services and child protection services, in order to ascertain how these services might more appropriately identify those families most at risk prior to the filicide. The study found that while separation was a factor identified in a significant number of cases, more cases analysed showed evidence of mental illness, mainly depression. These findings suggest the need for improved strategies in preventing filicide by identifying risk factors and improving service responses for victims prior to these tragic events.

An abominable crime: filicide in the context of parental separation and divorce

The victims of filicide in the context of parental separation and divorce have recently been identified as the largest group among all filicide victims in Australia. Nevertheless, research into this group of victims has been sparse, fragmentary and contradictory, with the consequence that confusion has prevailed. This article critically reflects on the existing research on filicide and argues that it has been insufficiently comprehensive and reliable and, therefore, is not suitable for use as a knowledge base for professional individuals, programmatic and policy interventions, and prevention. The article suggests ways of developing more reliable research for knowledge building and details the data developed so far that underpins their recommendations for a national programme of research.

The relationship between divorce and children with AD/HD of different subtypes and comorbidity: results from a clinically referred sample

This study investigated the relationship between divorce and thesymptom profile of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(AD/HD). The files of 1,201 children from a pediatric practicein Sydney, Australia were used in this study. Children wereaged 6 to 18 years, and were diagnosed with either the inattentiveor combined type of AD/HD. Results show that 213 children hadparents who were divorced. Children with the combined type, andespecially boys with comorbid conduct disorder/oppositional defiantdisorder (CD/ODD) were more common in the divorced group,and children of the inattentive type with comorbid learning disabilitieswere overrepresented in nondivorced families. Results suggestthat divorce is associated with disruptive behavior patterns inchildren with AD/HD. The importance of including marital status asan important correlate in AD/HD treatment outcomes is discussed.