Parents' Characteristics and Children’s Residential Arrangements Post-Separation
Abstract
Children’s shared residence post-separation has become more common in Finland. Almost 30 per cent of children in separated families spend about equal amount of their time in each parent’s homes. However, staying mostly with the mother is still the most typical residential arrangement, applying to almost 40 per cent of children. We examined sociodemographic factors related to children’s residential arrangements in Finland using a population-level survey conducted by the Social Insurance Institution (Kela) in 2019 among separated parents. Altogether 3,449 parents participated in the survey; one-third of them were fathers. Previous research has shown that children’s shared residence is more common among highly educated and well-off families. Large socioeconomic disparities were also found in Finnish children’s residential arrangements. We applied multinomial logistic regression to compare different children’s residential arrangements – living solely with the mother, shared residence, living mostly or solely with the father – to living mostly with the mother.
Children’s shared residence was more common if parents were highly educated, employed, or had middle to high income. Especially fathers’ education mattered: almost 40 per cent of children with a highly educated father practised shared residence, compared to 26 per cent of children with less-educated fathers. Children were more likely to live exclusively with the mother if both parents had a low level of education. A parent’s new union and having new half-siblings in one household increased the time the child spent with their other parent. Parents’ relationship quality after separation affected the child’s residential arrangement: parents with low conflict were more likely to practise shared residence. Although the majority of separated parents in Finland agree on shared judicial custody, socioeconomic resources strongly influence children’s residential arrangements
post-separation. Highly educated parents and parents with high incomes appear to have better opportunities than others to share parenting through
children’s shared residence.
Authors
Anneli Miettinen, Miia Saarikallio-Torp, Mia Hakovirta
Additional Information
- Peer-Reviewed: yes.
- Open Access: yes.
- Cite as: Miettinen, A., Saarikallio-Torp, M., & Hakovirta, M. (2023). Lapsen vuoroasuminen vanhempien eron jälkeen ja asumisjärjestelyjen sosioekonomiset taustatekijät. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka, 88(3), 274-285. https://www.julkari.fi/handle/10024/146763
