Study shows
How separated children live happiest
© Dima Zaharia / Shutterstock
If parents separate, the big question remains: How do you regulate childcare? Residence model or would you prefer an exchange model? Scientists have now looked at how children live most happily.
When mother and father go their separate ways, it’s never easy for children. Then it says: What can we do so that the little ones suffer as little as possible? Should we take care of the offspring in the 50:50 alternating model or should we choose the traditional residence model, that is, the children live with one parent and the other has access rights.
Interchangeable model better than expected
Scientists at the University of Duisburg-Essen have now devoted themselves to the question of which type of care is best for separated children. For the study “Family models in Germany” (FAMOD) 1,233 families were surveyed who practice a residence or a changeover model after a separation.
The most important finding: Although the alternation model, in which children live half with one and half with the other parent, is only lived by 5 percent of parents, it is at least as good or even better for children than the residence model. According to the study, children between the ages of 7 and 14 benefit from this in particular. However, it plays a role in how the changeover model is practiced. The so-called asymmetrical model, in which the children are at least 30 percent with both parents, came off better in the study than the symmetrical model, in which the children spend exactly the same time with their parents.
Relationship with parents is crucial
The scientists found that the positive effect the changeover model has on the well-being of the offspring depends on the relationship with the parents. If this is good, the positive effects increase, if this is bad or if the relationship between the parents is shaped by conflicts, then the change model has more negative consequences than the residence model.
The conclusion of the researchers
“Our finding is clear: the changeover model works at least as well as the previously predominant residence model”, states Prof. Anja Steinbach. “But it is not a panacea that is the first choice in every separation situation. Much depends on the relationship between the parents, especially the extent to which they manage to keep their conflicts away from the children and to mutually agree on the care. “
The study should be seen as confirmation that the courts are currently taking the right approach to custody disputes. “If the parents cannot come to an agreement, the judge has to consider the alternation model as a serious option. However, the alternate model is not a preferred solution “says Prof. Tobias Helms.