Parents’ loneliness in sole and joint physical custody families

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between post-separation physical custody arrangements – that is, sole physical custody (SPC), asymmetric, and symmetric joint physical custody (JPC) – and resident parents’ loneliness. The analyses were based on data from the Family Models in Germany (FAMOD) survey with an analytical sample of 1,146 resident parents living in post-separation families. Bivariate findings suggested that resident parents practicing asymmetric JPC reported fewer feelings of loneliness than resident parents practicing SPC. However, no differences were found between parents in symmetric JPC and SPC families. In the full multivariate model, the difference between resident parents in asymmetric JPC and SPC arrangements disappeared. Results showed that resident parents practicing asymmetric JPC had more time for friends and were less depressive and, thus, felt less lonely than parents with SPC arrangements.