Child Adjustment in Joint-Custody Versus Sole-Custody
Arrangements: A Meta-Analytic Review
Robert Bauserman
AIDS Administration/Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
The author meta-analyzed studies comparing child adjustment in joint physical or joint legal
custody with sole-custody settings, including comparisons with paternal custody and intact
families where possible. Children in joint physical or legal custody were better adjusted than
children in sole-custody settings, but no different from those in intact families. More positive
adjustment of joint-custody children held for separate comparisons of general adjustment,
family relationships, self-esteem, emotional and behavioral adjustment, and divorce-specific
adjustment. Joint-custody parents reported less current and past conflict than did sole-custody
parents, but this did not explain the better adjustment of joint-custody children. The results
are consistent with the hypothesis that joint custody can be advantageous for children in some
cases, possibly by facilitating ongoing positive involvement with both parents
