Custody, Access and Child Support: Findings from The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth

Description of figures

Figure 1: Family Context at Birth for Various Cohorts of Children — Canada

All figures are approximate

• 1963: 5% single parent, 2.5% common law, 1% Marriage: common-law before, 91.5% marriage: no common-law before
• 1973: 7% single parent, 3% common law, 5% Marriage: common-law before, 85% marriage: no common-law before
• 1983: 7% single parent, 10% common law, 23% Marriage: common-law before, 60% marriage: no common-law before
• 1993: 9% single parent, 20% common law, 33% Marriage: common-law before, 38% marriage: no common-law before

[ Return to Figure 1 ]

Figure 2: Family Context at Birth for Various Cohorts of Children--Ontario and Quebec

All figures are approximate

• Ontario
  • 1963: 5% single parent, 3% common law, 1% Marriage: common-law before, 91% marriage: no common-law before
  • 1973: 6% single parent, 2.5% common law, 2.5% Marriage: common-law before, 89% marriage: no common-law before
  • 1983: 5% single parent, 8% common law, 22% Marriage: common-law before, 65% marriage: no common-law before
  • 1993: 10% single parent, 12% common law, 30% Marriage: common-law before, 48% marriage: no common-law before
• Quebec
  • 1963: 2% single parent, 2% common law, 0% Marriage: common-law before, 96% marriage: no common-law before
  • 1973: 6% single parent, 3% common law, 5% Marriage: common-law before, 86% marriage: no common-law before
  • 1983: 2% single parent, 18% common law, 26% Marriage: common-law before, 54% marriage: no common-law before
  • 1993: 6% single parent, 44% common law, 28% Marriage: common-law before, 22% marriage: no common-law before

[ Return to Figure 2 ]

Figure 3: Cumulative Percentage of Canadian Children Who Were Born to a Lone Parent or Have Experienced the Separation of Their Parents, for Various Birth Cohorts

All figures are approximate

• 1961-1963 Cohorts 25% by age 20
• 1971-1973 Cohorts 27% by age 16
• 1983-1984 Cohorts 25% by age 10
• 1987-1988 Cohorts 23% by age 6

[ Return to Figure 3 ]

Figure 4: Cumulative Percentage of Canadian Children Born in a Two-Parent Family, Who Have Experienced Their Parents' Separation, According to Type of Parents' Union--1983-1984 Cohorts--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• Common-Law: 63% by age 10
• Common-Law, Married since: 29% by age 10
• Marriage, Common-Law Before: 27% by age 10
• Marriage, No Common-Law Before: 14% by age 10

[ Return to Figure 4 ]

Figure 5: Cumulative Percentage of Children Born in a Two-Parent Family, Who Have Experienced Their Parents' Separation Before Age 6, According to Type of Parents' Union--1983-1988 Cohorts--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• Quebec
  • Common-Law: 39% by age 6
  • Common-Law, Married since: 25% by age 6
  • Marriage, Common-Law Before: 15% by age 6
  • Marriage, No Common-Law Before: 9% by age 6
• Ontario
  • Common-Law: 61% by age 6
  • Common-Law, Married since: 18% by age 6
  • Marriage, Common-Law Before: 18% by age 6
  • Marriage, No Common-Law Before: 8% by age 6

[ Return to Figure 5 ]

Figure 6: Distribution of Children Aged 0-11 and of Children from Broken Families, According to Type of Parents' Union--Canada--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• All Children
  • Common-Law: 13%
  • Common-Law, Married since: 3%
  • Marriage, Common-Law Before: 32%
  • Marriage, No Common-Law Before: 52%
• Children from Broken Homes
  • Common-Law: 34%
  • Common-Law, Married since: 5%
  • Marriage, Common-Law Before: 31%
  • Marriage, No Common-Law Before: 30%

[ Return to Figure 6 ]

Figure 7: Distribution of Children Aged 0-11 and of Children from Broken Families, According to Type of Parents' Union--Quebec--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• All Children
  • Common-Law: 29%
  • Common-Law, Married since: 3%
  • Marriage, Common-Law Before: 30%
  • Marriage, No Common-Law Before: 38%
• Children from Broken Homes
  • Common-Law: 50%
  • Common-Law, Married since: 5%
  • Marriage, Common-Law Before: 22%
  • Marriage, No Common-Law Before: 23%

[ Return to Figure 7 ]

Figure 8: Percentage of Children from Broken Marriages Who Have Not Yet Witnessed Their Parents' Divorce, According to Time Elapsed Since Separation--NLSCY 1994-1995 (Life Table Estimates)

All figures are approximate

• After 5 years: Canada=29%,
• Ontario=31%,
• Quebec=20%,
• Atlantic Provinces=30%,
• Prairies=25%,
• British Columbia=25%

[ Return to Figure 8 ]

Figure 9: Proportion of Children Whose Parents Have Been Separated for at Least 5 Years and for Whom a Custody Order Does Not Exist, According to the Type of Parental Separation--Quebec and Rest of Canada--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• Quebec
  • Divorced: 28%
  • Married and Separated: 54%
  • Common-Law: 43%
  • All: 37%
• Rest of Canada
  • Divorced: 29%
  • Married and Separated: 66%
  • Common-Law: 57%
  • All: 43%

[ Return to Figure 9 ]

Figure 10: Degree of Tension Created by the Question of Living Arrangements or Visiting Rights, According to Type of Parental Separation--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• Custody Order
  • Divorced: No Tension 40%, Very Little Tension 23%, Some Tension 19%, Great Tension 18%
  • Married and Separated: No Tension 32%, Very Little Tension 13%, Some Tension 29%, Great Tension 26%
  • Common-Law: No Tension 39%, Very Little Tension 13%, Some Tension 25%, Great Tension 23%
• No Custody Order
  • Divorced: No Tension 52%, Very Little Tension 22%, Some Tension 15%, Great Tension 11%
  • Married and Separated: No Tension 62%, Very Little Tension 16%, Some Tension 15%, Great Tension 8%
  • Common-Law: No Tension 63%, Very Little Tension 17%, Some Tension 14%, Great Tension 6%

[ Return to Figure 10 ]

Figure 11: Type of Contact Maintained with Either Parent at Time of Separation--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• Mother
  • Never Visits: 1%,
  • Visits Irregularly: 2%,
  • Visits Regularly: 4%,
  • Shares Residence: 7%,
  • Lives With: 86%
• Father
  • Never Visits: 15%,
  • Visits Irregularly: 25%,
  • Visits Regularly: 47%,
  • Shares Residence: 7%,
  • Lives With: 7%

[ Return to Figure 11 ]

Figure 12: Type of Contact Maintained with Father at Time of Separation, Whether the Broken Union Was a Marriage or Common-Law Union--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• Marriage
  • Never Visits: 11%,
  • Visits Irregularly: 25%,
  • Visits Regularly: 47%,
  • Shares Residence: 8%,
  • Lives With: 8%
• Common-Law
  • Never Visits: 21%,
  • Visits Irregularly: 23%,
  • Visits Regularly: 47%,
  • Shares Residence: 3%,
  • Lives With: 5%

[ Return to Figure 12 ]

Figure 13: Type of Contact Maintained with Father at the Time of Survey, According to Time Elapsed Since Separation--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• Less Than 2 Years
  • Never Visits: 10%,
  • Visits Irregularly: 16%,
  • Visits Regularly: 57%,
  • Shares Residence: 9%,
  • Lives With: 8%
• 5 Years or More
  • Never Visits: 24%,
  • Visits Irregularly: 32%,
  • Visits Regularly: 31%,
  • Shares Residence: 6%,
  • Lives With: 7%

[ Return to Figure 13 ]

Figure 14: Visiting Patterns with Father, for Children Living with Mother at Time of Separation, According to Regularity of Child Support Payments--NLSCY 1994-1995

All figures are approximate

• Regular Payments on Time
  • Never Visits: 7%,
  • Visits Irregularly: 22%,
  • Visits Every 2 Weeks: 23%,
  • Visits Weekly: 48%
• Irregular Payments
  • Never Visits: 9%,
  • Visits Irregularly: 34%,
  • Visits Every 2 Weeks: 22%,
  • Visits Weekly: 35%
• No Payment for 6 Months or More
  • Never Visits: 15%,
  • Visits Irregularly: 28%,
  • Visits Every 2 Weeks: 39%,
  • Visits Weekly: 18%

[ Return to Figure14 ]