Advantages of father custody and contact for the psychological well-being of school-age children

Previous researchers have suggested that after divorce, children do better in the custody of the some-gender parent. This hypothesis was explored in a study of 187 school-age children (72 in father custody and 115 in mother custody). Two other hypotheses were also tested: children do better (1) if they have more contact with the nonresident parent, and (2) if the circumstances in the resident parent's household are more favorable. The major finding of the study was that across a variety of assessments of psychological well-being (self-esteem, anxiety, depression, problem behaviors), children (especially boys) did significantly better in the custody of their fathers. Moreover, children in father custody had the advantage of maintaining a more positive relationship with the nonresident parent, the mother. These differences in children's well-being were not eliminated by statistically controlling for the custodial parent's psychological state and adequate income or the child's contact with the nonresident parent-other variables that also predicted children's well-being. No same-gender advantage was found for girls in mother custody. For these children, well-being was predicted by close ''parentlike'' contact with the nonresident father-participating in a variety of activities and spending holidays together.