"Two bedrooms, two toothbrushes" : a qualitative study of shared care parenting : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
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Date
2015
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Massey University
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Abstract
Shared care is a post-separation family living arrangement whereby the children
move between the parents living in two separate houses. This custody arrangement
has grown more popular in the last few decades, although little is known about a
young person’s perspective of living shared care. The present study examined the
views of 12 young adults who had experienced shared care family life. Thematic
analysis revealed five broad themes. Firstly, “The catalyst: parental separation”
focuses on the actual separation event, what they remembered, how it was
communicated and what they would advise parents contemplating separation. The
second theme ‘logistics: two homes, one bag” explores practical aspects of shared
care; how participants adapted to two houses and their likes and dislikes about the
arrangement. The third theme explores ‘relationships: many and varied’ to discuss
how shared care impacted relationships with each parent; the co-parenting
relationship and the complexity of introducing new members into the family. The
fourth theme examines “wellbeing changes” including mental and emotional
wellbeing as well as financial changes participants experienced. The last theme
“reflections” uses a strength based perspective to explore positive aspects, attributes
and values that the participants attributed to their shared care family life. Participants
strongly identified with having two separate valid homes. They adapted easily to
shared care and found it unremarkable. They sometimes found the living
arrangement inconvenient and the bag or suitcase that went between the two homes
was a symbolic and evocative representation of living in shared care. Participants
acquired personal attributes including: resilience, independence, compassion and
adaptability. They also acquired enhanced interpersonal skills through managing
different networks of people. Family life was important to them and they enjoyed
warm relationships with both their parents. Whilst they discarded the traditional
nuclear family convention, they embraced a fluid, versatile, encompassing and
relational view of family view.
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Keywords
Joint custody of children, Social aspects, Parenting, Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Psychology