Why Our Research Matters
In Canada, shared parenting has become the dominant child custody policy debate that underpins legal judgements and service delivery. This shift to joint legal decisions and shared parenting comes without consensus and with little knowledge about the indicators that determine the success of joint custody, particularly in families when children are under the age of four and families in which domestic violence is occurring where concerns of mental health and addictions may be present. While some research has brought attention to the challenges of shared parenting for young children, these study designs and methodologies fail to account for different family formations, including demographic factors and the presence of domestic violence, particularly with the co-occurrence of addictions and mental health issues that this study aims to address within the Canadian context.
We focus on women here because women are more likely than men to be held to account for children’s care and well-being, and young children are more likely to reside with their mothers even with the growth of shared parenting arrangements in Canada. Even when courts order shared parenting and there is fluidity in child residency, mothers tend to continue to provide the majority of child care, hence the focus on mother influence.
As of April 30, 2020, we updated our study to include questions relevant to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its impact on shared parenting arrangements. We included service providers who have contact with women in shared parenting arrangements, and their ability to provide services and supports during a world pandemic.
We focus on women here because women are more likely than men to be held to account for children’s care and well-being, and young children are more likely to reside with their mothers even with the growth of shared parenting arrangements in Canada. Even when courts order shared parenting and there is fluidity in child residency, mothers tend to continue to provide the majority of child care, hence the focus on mother influence.
As of April 30, 2020, we updated our study to include questions relevant to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its impact on shared parenting arrangements. We included service providers who have contact with women in shared parenting arrangements, and their ability to provide services and supports during a world pandemic.
The Goals of our 3-Province Study
To understand the impact of shared parenting on children 4 years and under in families.
To explore how issues of domestic violence impact mothers and their young children in shared parenting arrangements.
To identify approaches that promote healthy family functioning in shared parenting arrangements.
To inform national and international research, policy and practice debates regarding shared parenting
arrangements for children 4 years and under in families experiencing domestic violence.
To understand the impact of COVID-19 on shared parenting arrangements.
To understand how service providers are impacted during COVID-19; including their ability to provide supports to women and children in shared parenting arrangements.
To explore how issues of domestic violence impact mothers and their young children in shared parenting arrangements.
To identify approaches that promote healthy family functioning in shared parenting arrangements.
To inform national and international research, policy and practice debates regarding shared parenting
arrangements for children 4 years and under in families experiencing domestic violence.
To understand the impact of COVID-19 on shared parenting arrangements.
To understand how service providers are impacted during COVID-19; including their ability to provide supports to women and children in shared parenting arrangements.
Our Findings
Our recent study revealed that all of our participants (100%) with young children in shared parenting arrangements experienced domestic violence which is defined as physical violence and coercive control (Archer-Kuhn & Beltrano, 2021). We found a correlation between domestic violence (DV) scores and co-parenting (CO-PAFS) scores such that the lower the DV scores, the higher the co-parenting scores (Archer-Kuhn et al., 2021). This can help the courts in making shared parenting orders by using the Co-PAFS scale.
Sharing parenting with young children in situations of domestic violence
Our study found that women who share parenting at least 40% of the time had similar scores on measures of DV, anxiety, depression and child development to women who shared parenting less than 30% of the time. This suggests that domestic violence and coercive controlling behaviours are occurring in shared parenting arrangements more than was previously thought. These findings are critical and require further exploration because family court orders for shared parenting (40% or more time with each parent) are happening routinely in Canada in situations of DV while having challenging impacts on women and their young children. The amendments to the Divorce Act in Canada will require us to better understand the day-to-day practices of those supporting families through the separation/divorce process and parenting arrangements for children so that parenting plans reflect considerations of safety for survivors of DV and their young children.
Who will be responsible to monitor the day-to-day practices?
Additional Findings
Recruitment in response to a pandemic: Pivoting a community-based recruitment strategy to Facebook for hard-to-reach populations during COVID-19
Archer-Kuhn, B., Beltrano, N. R., Hughes, J., Saini, M., & Tam, D. (2021). International Journal of Social Research Methodology. DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2021.1941647
COVID-19 has required researchers to change methods to better reflect the new realities of social distancing, sheltering in place, and the use of extended quarantines to isolate from the community. The paper illustrates the implications of shifting recruitment strategies midstream with populations that are already normally considered ‘hard-to-reach’. The population in this illustration involves mothers with young children in shared parenting arrangements across three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario) who have experienced domestic violence. Due to public health protocols that required social distancing, strategies typically used to engage vulnerable populations in research, including collaborating with community service providers and face-to-face contact were no longer possible. With limited knowledge and resources, we pivoted our recruitment strategy from the use of posters in agencies to a paid Facebook advertisement strategy. Prior to our social media campaign, our time-intensive recruitment efforts had produced very few responses to our online survey. Our advertisement ran from March 13 to 12 July 2020 and Facebook reported that it ‘reached’ an approximate 42,488 viewers Through Facebook, we discovered a number of support groups for mothers with young children that only exist online. Rather than putting up posters in their settings, community service providers became online recruiters through their ‘tweets’, ‘likes’, and ‘sharing’ of our study. The impact of COVID-19 on our research has taught us about the power of social media as a recruitment strategy. Facebook is a useful tool to enhance research awareness and engagement with hard-to-reach populations even post COVID-19.
Read the full article here: International Journal of Social Research Methodology ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsrm20 Recruitment in response to a pandemic: pivoting a community-based recruitment strategy to facebook for hard-to-reach populations during COVID-19 | Request PDF (researchgate.net)
Archer-Kuhn, B., Beltrano, N. R., Hughes, J., Saini, M., & Tam, D. (2021). International Journal of Social Research Methodology. DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2021.1941647
COVID-19 has required researchers to change methods to better reflect the new realities of social distancing, sheltering in place, and the use of extended quarantines to isolate from the community. The paper illustrates the implications of shifting recruitment strategies midstream with populations that are already normally considered ‘hard-to-reach’. The population in this illustration involves mothers with young children in shared parenting arrangements across three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario) who have experienced domestic violence. Due to public health protocols that required social distancing, strategies typically used to engage vulnerable populations in research, including collaborating with community service providers and face-to-face contact were no longer possible. With limited knowledge and resources, we pivoted our recruitment strategy from the use of posters in agencies to a paid Facebook advertisement strategy. Prior to our social media campaign, our time-intensive recruitment efforts had produced very few responses to our online survey. Our advertisement ran from March 13 to 12 July 2020 and Facebook reported that it ‘reached’ an approximate 42,488 viewers Through Facebook, we discovered a number of support groups for mothers with young children that only exist online. Rather than putting up posters in their settings, community service providers became online recruiters through their ‘tweets’, ‘likes’, and ‘sharing’ of our study. The impact of COVID-19 on our research has taught us about the power of social media as a recruitment strategy. Facebook is a useful tool to enhance research awareness and engagement with hard-to-reach populations even post COVID-19.
Read the full article here: International Journal of Social Research Methodology ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsrm20 Recruitment in response to a pandemic: pivoting a community-based recruitment strategy to facebook for hard-to-reach populations during COVID-19 | Request PDF (researchgate.net)