Joint custody awards and children: a theoretical framework and some practical considerations

Today there is great interest in forms of custody which involve shared legal and sometimes shared physical responsibility for children. The data reviewed in this article suggest that custody arrangements arrived at through the adversarial process tend to embody the conflicts and needs of the adults involved and fall short of addressing the needs of the children. Alternately, custody arrangements that rely on mediation, which involves counseling or legal advice, may predispose toward cooperation between parents. It is recommended that a careful mental health assessment be the cornerstone for making custody decisions. A frame of reference, which is based on principles of child development and takes into consideration the realities of the post-divorce parenting relationship, is presented in an attempt to formulate criteria for selecting and modifying custody arrangements. It is hoped that over time lawyers and judges will have available improved criteria for formulating and defending their recommendations according to a child's current and changing developmental needs.