Whom to turn to? The association between childhood living arrangement and the parent-child relationship

Objective: First, the study examines if children’s perception of their parent-child relationship is associated with parental separation and second, it investigates if children’s perception of their relationship with parents is associated with their living arrangements post-separation. Background: Previous findings indicate that children living in shared residence generally fare better across several life domains compared to children living in sole parental households. There is, however, limited knowledge of how children perceive their relationships with both their separated parents during childhood. Method: The data includes two cross-sectional waves (2000 and 2010) of the child survey (Child-LNU) that accompanies the Swedish Level-of-Living Survey (LNU). The analytical sample consisted of 2,064 children (10-18 years), and the subsample of separated families comprised 455 children. Results: Children in separated families were less likely to turn to both parents when worried (emotional support) compared to children living with two custodial parents in the same household. Additionally, they were less likely to report that they get along very well with both parents. Children in shared residence arrangements did not differ significantly from children in households with two custodial parents, with the exception of older children (age 14-18), who also reported less often that they get on very well with both parents. In contrast, children in sole parental residence fared worse regarding both emotional support from, and relationship quality with, both parents. Conclusion: Shared residence enables children to maintain a relationship with both parents after separation, regarding both emotional support and relationship quality. This result is on par with the parental relationships of children in households with two custodial parents. Importantly, this study does not claim to provide causal interpretation due to the use of cross-sectional data.