Custody Arrangement and Communication Style as Predictors of Parent-Child Relationships Post Divorc

An increase in focus on the psychological, behavioral, and communicative influences on the wellbeing of children has led to changes in interventions during initial divorce court proceedings for co-parents. Key contributions of this paper comprise a deepening and refocusing on the theoretical foundations of divorce research by analyzing the link between communication style and custody arrangement, frequency of communication, and divorce experience; and by analyzing the connection between frequency of communication and use of technology. The results indicated that the use of technology did not influence the frequency of communication. Joint/shared custody and ongoing deliberation, as well as full (paternal) custody and ongoing deliberation, were significantly associated with protective communication. A protective communication style coincided with more frequent communication and a positive divorce experience; whereas, a laissez-faire communication style coincided with less frequent communication (e.g., both between co-parents and parents/children).