Joint Physical Custody and Children’s Physical and Mental Health

Abstract Background This study examines the effects of joint physical custody (JPC) on the physical and mental health of children following divorce, using comprehensive survey data from Wisconsin. Objective Informed by Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological model, the study seeks to understand the impact of custody arrangements on children’s health outcomes post-divorce. Prior research has suggested potential benefits of JPC, but there is a need for more robust analysis to control for selection biases and other confounding factors. Method The analytic sample is constructed to facilitate comparisons between mothers with shared versus sole placement. The parents in the Wisconsin data are included in the analytic sample based on survey measures reflecting the focal child’s actual placement arrangement at the time of the survey. The final data include 374 parents consisting of 170 sole-placement mothers and 204 shared placement mothers. This study employs robust probit regression models and Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) to account for selection biases. Descriptive statistics and multivariate models are used to analyze survey data collected from Wisconsin. The analytic approach ensures methodological rigor by adjusting for potential confounders and providing a more accurate estimate of the relationships under investigation. Results The findings reveal that children in JPC arrangements exhibit significantly better mental health outcomes compared to those in sole custody. Specifically, 79.8% of children in JPC reported good mental health versus 67.9% in sole custody. Multivariate probit and IPW models corroborated these results. High-quality co-parenting relationships, more prevalent in JPC scenarios, were not clearly linked to these improved outcomes. Conclusions The study underscores the importance of nuanced policy approaches that consider individual family contexts and parental relationship quality. The findings raise questions concerning the need for interventions like co-parenting workshops to promote effective communication and collaboration between divorced parents. Further research is recommended to explore the long-term effects of custody arrangements on children’s well-being and to inform evidence-based policy decisions. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of how JPC and co-parenting quality influence children’s mental and physical health post-divorce.