Virtual Library of Newspaper Articles

University of Leeds - Press Release

Shared residency not a 'magic solution'

October 17, 2003

Children who split their time equally between their parents' houses after divorce or separation may find this arrangement increasingly difficult as they get older, according to new research from the University of Leeds.

These findings from the ESRC Enduring Families project come as Fathers 4 Justice – the group calling for mandatory shared residency – descend upon Trafalgar Square to kick-off their ‘uprising' campaign, and just as the Australian Government consider implementing automatic 50/50 residence on divorce.

In their forthcoming article, the research team reveal that shared residence caused unhappiness for some children. Difficulties emerge if arrangements are too rigid and if parents are inattentive to the problems their children face in living their lives across two homes. Some children reported feeling trapped. Others felt unsettled in one of their homes. Some of the teenagers interviewed said they were looking forward to leaving home so they could stop packing their bags every week.

Dr Bren Neale, Director of the Project, said: “The idea that shared residence is the best measure for all children is challenged by our research. Children had a wide-range of experiences.

“Some relished the feeling of being loved by both parents and understood shared residence as a demonstration of this, but others felt this was a terrible burden because they became responsible for the emotional well being of both their parents. Some thought the arrangement was excellent because it was fair for their parents, yet others thought it was dreadfully unfair on them”.

Dr. Jennifer Flowerdew explained that for the children, the key to good shared residence was flexibility, supportive and co-operative parenting, and a sense of belonging in both parent' s houses. “It is very important that children feel that both houses are ‘home' and they can enjoy good and supportive relationships with both parents”, she said.

The researchers are concerned that children's experiences should be heard before shared living arrangements become the norm in England and Wales.

Press release issued by University of Leeds and The ESRC Research Group for the Study of Care, Values and the Future of Welfare (CAVA)

View the full article click here

For more information, contact
Vanessa Bridge on 0113 343 4030, or by email v.bridge@adm.leeds.ac.uk
Keleigh Groves on 0113 343 4605, or by email k.a.groves@leeds.ac.uk

NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. Smart, C., Neale, B. and Flowerdew, J. (forthcoming, 2003), ‘Drifting Towards Shared Residence?' , Family Law, December, Volume 33.

2. These findings are taken from the Enduring Families project, a qualitative longitudinal study funded by the ESRC and housed in the Centre for Research on Family, Kinship and Childhood, a sister centre of CAVA. This is a follow up to two previous studies which explored the family lives of 117 children and young people (aged 5-20) after their parents' divorce or separation. For this project, 60 of these young people were re-interviewed after a three to four year period, 30 of whom had lived in shared residence arrangements. For more general information on this project click here .

3. The ESRC Research Group for the Study of Care, Values and the Future of Welfare (CAVA) has undertaken a wide-ranging research programme into changes around parenting and partnering. For more information about CAVA's research activities, contact Keleigh Groves or visit the website: www.leeds.ac.uk/cava.

4. The ESRC is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It provides independent, high-quality, relevant research to business, the public sector and Government. The ESRC invests more than 76 million every year in social science and at any time is supporting some 2,000 researchers in academic institutions and research policy institutes. It also funds postgraduate training within the social sciences to nurture the researchers of tomorrow. For more information, visit the website: www.esrc.ac.uk

Quebec men more likely to commit suicide than women

The National Post, The Gazette, Montreal, Lynn Moore, Monday, February 15, 1999

Women in Quebec talk Read More ..out it, but when it comes to doing it -- committing suicide -- it's men who actually do the deed. It's a gender gap that needs explaining, say suicide prevention experts who point to statistics that show 80% of Quebec suicides are male.

"The high rate of male suicide is becoming a pressing public heath issue," Louise Levesque, head of the Association Quebecoise de suicidologie, said yesterday during a press conference to launch Suicide Prevention Week.

Of the 1,351 Quebecers who committed suicide in 1997, 1,071 were male and 280 were female, said Pierre Morin, Quebec's chief coroner, citing the most recent figures available.

Especially alarming is the high suicide rate among male "baby boomers," Mr. Morin said. Almost 2,000 men, aged 35 to 50, committed suicide during the last five years for which statistics are available, he said.

Invisible Suicides

StatsCan recently reported on a 10% increase in suicides. But StatsCan persists in ignoring the group of Canadians at greatest risk for suicide, as do the media and professional reports.

Suicide is a microcosm for those most under stress and most at risk of unresolved crisis in society. Suicides may logically be categorized as 100% citizens of Canada, and then as 79% male. The most critical measure of depression - suicide - is counted overwhelmingly in male corpses. For over 23 years widespread media and professional attention concentrated on 12,500 AIDS deaths, compared to little concern with 92,000 suicides.

CYF project halves child suicide rate

The New Zealand Herald, BY LEAH HAINES, October 10, 2004

A three-year project by welfare and health agencies has halved the rate of suicide among some of the country's most at-risk children.

Researchers say the project has the potential to put a massive dent in New Zealand's youth suicide rate - currently the highest in the developed world.

The results of the Towards Well Being suicide monitoring project were due to be presented to an international conference on youth suicide this weekend and are expected to gain global attention.

University of Leeds - Press Release

Shared residency not a 'magic solution'

Quebec men more likely to commit suicide than women

Invisible Suicides

CYF project halves child suicide rate

Family Conflict and Suicide Rates Among Men

Violence and Abuse within the Family: The Neglected Issues