The Fluidity of Children's Post-Separation Residential Arrangements

David Pelletier, Université de Montréal
Solene Lardoux, Université de Montréal

Surprisingly very little research has been done on the (in)stability of children's post-separation residential arrangements, i.e. de facto physical custody arrangements. Using interval-censored data on a cohort of children born in Quebec (Canada) in 1997-1998, we explore the dynamic nature of those arrangements with a multi-state model that allows us to estimate hazards of transition between four types of arrangements as well as the effect of covariates on those hazards. We find that dual-residence arrangements are less stable than other kinds of arrangements, but that fathers who did share physical custody at least for some months maintain more frequent contact with their children, especially their sons, throughout their childhood. Parents' education level is associated with increased father-child contact and with more stable dual- and father-residence arrangements.