A Qualitative Synthesis of Children’s Experiences of Shared Care Post Divorce

Abstract

Objectives: Children’s views and experiences of shared care arrangements post separation were explored to provide their voices to the ongoing discussions of shared parenting. Methods: Qualitative synthesis included a systematic and transparent method for retrieval, screening, and analysing qualitative studies. The inclusion criteria accepted studies that were: qualitative in design; included children as participants in shared care parenting time post-separation. Results: Ten qualitative studies in six different countries with 466 children and young adults were included in the final analysis. Children’s experiences of shared care parenting post separation were mixed and varied depending on contextual factors related to their relationship with both parents, as well the quality of these relationships and the flexibility/rigidity of the parenting arrangement. Implications: Hearing from children and young adults directly helps to move the shared care debate away from binary arguments about sole versus shared care based on parents’ rights and advocacy views.