When Parents Separate: Further Findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth

2004-FCY-6E

Phase 2 of a three part project commissioned by the Department of Justice Canada on:

The Impact of Parents' Family Transitions on Children's Family Environment and Economic Well-Being: A Longitudinal Assessment

Prepared by:

Heather Juby, Nicole Marcil-Gratton and Céline Le Bourdais
Centre interuniversitaire d'études démographiques
Institut national de la recherche scientifique / Université de Montréal

Presented to:

Family, Children and Youth Section
Department of Justice Canada

The results presented are based on analyses conducted in the Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics that provides researchers with access to the detailed longitudinal survey data collected by Statistics Canada. The opinions expressed here do not represent the views of Statistics Canada.

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Justice Canada.

This report may be reproduced, in part or in whole, and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Department of Justice Canada, provided that due diligence is exercised in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced; that the Department of Justice Canada is identified as the source department; and that the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the original report.

©  Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada,
    represented by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada,
    2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1
Proportion of children aged 2-13 years in 1996-97 who have experienced  at least one family transition, by age group, and according to a) the parents' conjugal status and b) the family context at the child's birth, NLSCY, longitudinal cohort
Table 3.1
Distribution of children with separated parents in 1994-95 and 1998-99, according to type of custody and living arrangements at separation, NLSCY, Cycles 1-3
Table 3.2
Impact of given variables on the probability that children (aged 0-15 years in 1998‑99) live in shared custody or with their father rather than remaining with their mother when parents separate, NLSCY, Cycle 3 (Multinomial logistic regression odds ratios—N = 4377)
Table 3.3
Impact of given variables on the probability that children (aged 0-15 years in 1998‑99) in shared custody at separation are living with their mother or father in 1998-99 rather than remaining in shared custody, NLSCY, Cycle 3 (Multinomial logistic regression odds ratios—N = 269)
Table 4.1
Impact of given variables on the probability that children, aged 4-15 years in 1998‑99, whose parents separated in the two previous years, saw the "other parent" more or less frequently than agreed, NLSCY, Cycle 3 (Multinomial logistic regression odds ratios—N = 807)
Table 4.2
Impact of given variables on the probability that children in sole custody are consulted about living arrangements by separating parents, among children aged 4‑15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, NLSCY, Cycle 3 (Logistic regression N = 731)
Table 4.3
Proportion of child support agreements that include child support payments, among children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the two previous years, according to various characteristics, NLSCY, Cycle 3
Table 4.4
Impact of given variables on the probability that a child support agreement does not include child support payments, among children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, NLSCY, Cycle 3 (Logistic regression odds ratios N = 518)
Table 4.5
Distribution of children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, according to the method and regularity of child support payments, and the proportion of payment received, NLSCY, Cycle 3

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1
Type of parents' union at child's birth, for children aged 2-13 years in 1996‑97, NLSCY, longitudinal cohort
Figure 1.2
Distribution of children according to parents' conjugal status at the child's birth for various cohorts of children, NLSCY, Cycles 1 and 3 Inter-regional variations through time
Figure 1.3a
Distribution of children according to parents' conjugal status at the child's birth, by region of Canada, 1983-84 cohorts, NLSCY, Cycle 1
Figure 1.3b
Distribution of children according to parents' conjugal status at the child's birth, by region of Canada, 1997-98 cohorts, NLSCY, Cycle 3
Figure 1.4
Family context at birth, for children aged 2-13 years in 1996-97, NLSCY, longitudinal cohort
Figure 1.5
Distribution of children born in two-parent families according to the family context at birth, 1983-84 and 1997-98 cohorts NLSCY, Cycles 1 and 3
Figure 1.6
Distribution of children, aged 2-13 years in 1996-97, born in two-parent families by family context and by type of parents' union, NLSCY, Cycle 2, longitudinal cohort
Figure 2.1a
Cumulative proportions of Canadian children who experienced their parents' separation, various birth cohorts, NLSCY, Cycle 3 (life table method)
Figure 2.1b
Cumulative proportions of Canadian children born to a lone parent or experiencing their parents' separation, various birth cohorts, NLSCY, Cycle 3 (life table method)
Figure 2.2a
Cumulative proportions of children who have experienced their parents' separation by age 10 years, by region of Canada, 1983-85 and 1989-91 birth cohorts, NLSCY, Cycle 3 (life table method)
Figure 2.2b
Cumulative proportions of children who have experienced a lone-parent episode by age 10 years, by region of Canada, 1983-85 and 1989-91 birth cohorts, NLSCY, Cycle 3 (life table method)
Figure 3.1
Distribution of minor children for whom there was a custody order at divorce, according to the type of arrangement, Canada, 1970-2000
Figure 3.2
Distribution of children whose parents separated in the two years preceding Cycles 1 (1994-95) and 3 (1998-99), according to the living arrangements at separation, NLSCY
Figure 3.3
Distribution of children, aged 0-15 years in 1998-99, in shared custody at separation, according to the type of shared living arrangements, NLSCY, Cycle 1-3
Figure 3.4
Living arrangements by 1998-99 for children (aged 0-15 years) who were in shared custody at separation, NLSCY, Cycle 3
Figure 4.1
Living arrangements and contact with other parent in 1998-99 for children, aged 4‑15 years at Cycle 3, whose parents separated in the previous two years, NLSCY, Cycle 3
Figure 4.2
Distribution of children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, according to the frequency with which the child saw the "other parent" relative to the frequency agreed, NLSCY, Cycle 3
Figure 4.3
Distribution of children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, according to the reason given for less frequent contact than agreed with the other parent, Cycle 3, NLSCY
Figure 4.4
Distribution of children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, according to the child's involvement in decisions regarding custody and contact arrangements, by age at separation, NLSCY, Cycle 3
Figure 4.5
Distribution of children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, according to the existence and type of child support agreement, NLSCY, Cycle 3
Figure 4.6
Distribution of children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, according to the reason why no agreement was made on child support payments, NLSCY, Cycle 3
Figure 4.7
Distribution of children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, according to the regularity of support payments and the type of support agreement, NLSCY, Cycle 3
Figure 4.8
Distribution of children aged 4-15 years in 1998-99, whose parents separated in the previous two years, according to the proportion of child support payments made and the type of support agreement, NLSCY, Cycle 3