Within Canada, parallel parenting plans have been introduced to manage parental conflict in cases of high conflict divorce (Epstein & Madsen, 2004). Since parallel parenting plans are a relatively novel form of custody order, limited research exists pertaining to their effectiveness and impact on the lives of families. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the experience of parallel parenting. However, since participants were reluctant to discuss this experience directly, the focus of this dissertation shifted to the experience of conflict. Individual interviews with eight participants (five mothers and three fathers) with direct knowledge or experience with parallel parenting plans volunteered to participate in this qualitative study. Interviews followed a reflexive-dyadic interview model and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis identified three common themes across the cases: (a) Attributions of responsibility: Self versus other; participants attributed responsibility for the parenting conflict to their former partners; (b) Who knows best; participants believed that they, and only they, knew what was best for their child; neither their former partners nor the court system were recognized as being able to accurately judge this; and (c) Desire for a resolution; the participants believed that they were more motivated than their former partners to desist from conflict; their willingness to cooperate was associated with a reduction in conflict and improved the parenting relationship and post-divorce adjustment of their child. The themes held dramatically different meaning across cases depending on the context of their relationships. Overall, participants reported a reduction in conflict over time. However, the reported reduction in conflict was found to vary with the participants’ level of satisfaction with the imposed arrangement, the quality of conflict in the parenting relationship, and subsequent willingness to cooperate with their former partners. How these variables relate to the parallel parenting custody arrangement remains unknown. Difficulties with research on parallel parenting custody arrangements and directions for further research are discussed.

In families where parents present with intimate partner violence dynamics, courts routinely impose restraints restricting communications between those parents. However, the same courts also routinely fashion arrangements whereby those same parents share custody of their children. Children in families with this dynamic are often used as communication facilitators and triangulated by parental conflict. This grounded theory study generated a theory about parenting coordination work with high conflict couples with intimate partner violence dynamics. This theory may have utility for parenting coordinators working more effectively with the described population. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 professional parenting coordinators who have worked with high conflict parents with intimate partner violence. The qualitative data collected were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding procedures with the additional use of research/mentor triangulation and researcher journaling. Results of this study yielded adaptive parenting coordination for intimate partner violence theory (APCIPV). This theory incorporates findings that specific modifications to the parenting coordination process, along with a concentrated effort to implement structured communication techniques and focused monitoring of exchanges between the parties can lead to coparenting despite the intimate partner violence dynamic. Further, it was revealed that high conflict parents, in general, often present with and report many of the same problematic behaviors even without a formal adjudication of domestic violence. Findings from this study can serve as an evidence basis for promoting the use of parenting coordinators as communication facilitators between high conflict parents with intimate partner violence to remove children from familial triangulation.

Parent alienation is an important phenomenon of which family care workers and legal professionals need to take cognisance of and understand. Parent alienation occurs when one parent undermines or prejudices the contact and relationship between the child and the other parent without well-founded reasons. The phenomenon parent alienation mainly occurs in the high-conflict divorce and is often accompanied by care- and contact disputes. The aim of this research is to investigate the father’s experience and perceptions of parent alienation due to high-conflict divorce so that it can lead to social workers providing the targeted father with more appropriate assistance. In this qualitative study the exploratory and interpretative research design was used. Six fathers were selected by means of purposive sampling. Data was collected by means of an in-depth interview with each participant individually as well as field notes made by the researcher. The qualitative data obtained was transcribed and processed by hand in themes. Eight themes were identified from the fathers’ experience and perceptions of parent alienation due to high-conflict divorce. The themes are: Theme 1: Perception of intense pain Theme 2: Unparalleled rage Theme 3: Loss of self-esteem Theme 4: Distrust in women Theme 5: Parental responsibilities and rights Theme 6: Consistent concern about their children’s physical and social well-being Theme 7: Distrust in the court system Theme 8: Supervision and contact It is clear from the research that fathers experience parent alienation in several levels of functioning as traumatic or negative. It appeared from the findings that parent alienation is a reality and the necessity for further research on this phenomenon clearly came to the fore. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Parent alienation is an important phenomenon of which family care workers and legal professionals need to take cognisance of and understand. Parent alienation occurs when one parent undermines or prejudices the contact and relationship between the child and the other parent without well-founded reasons. The phenomenon parent alienation mainly occurs in the high-conflict divorce and is often accompanied by care- and contact disputes. The aim of this research is to investigate the father’s experience and perceptions of parent alienation due to high-conflict divorce so that it can lead to social workers providing the targeted father with more appropriate assistance. In this qualitative study the exploratory and interpretative research design was used. Six fathers were selected by means of purposive sampling. Data was collected by means of an in-depth interview with each participant individually as well as field notes made by the researcher. The qualitative data obtained was transcribed and processed by hand in themes. Eight themes were identified from the fathers’ experience and perceptions of parent alienation due to high-conflict divorce. The themes are: Theme 1: Perception of intense pain Theme 2: Unparalleled rage Theme 3: Loss of self-esteem Theme 4: Distrust in women Theme 5: Parental responsibilities and rights Theme 6: Consistent concern about their children’s physical and social well-being Theme 7: Distrust in the court system Theme 8: Supervision and contact It is clear from the research that fathers experience parent alienation in several levels of functioning as traumatic or negative. It appeared from the findings that parent alienation is a reality and the necessity for further research on this phenomenon clearly came to the fore. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

As the divorce rate in the United States remains steady at 50%, the last few decades have shown an increase in child custody disputes. Within these litigations, interparental conflict can reach high levels and incite behaviors that wreak havoc on the children who are caught in the middle. When considering custody arrangements, judges and other evaluators use the Best Interest of the Child Standard (BICS), a jurisdictionally-specific framework that examines several factors that contribute to a child’s health and well-being. Parents who allow their resentments to get the better of them sometimes engage in behavior that encourages their child to become alienated from the other parent, known as Parental Alienation (PA) —a form of psychological abuse that can result in emotional and behavioral consequences for the child. While some states investigate components relevant to PA during a BICS evaluation, none include criteria that directly addresses this construct. Therefore, to achieve the intended outcome of BICS, which is to create a custody arrangement that will best meet a child’s needs, recognizing and addressing the presence of PA within a family system is required.

The master thesis introduces the topic of a period of family breakdown. It focuses on the benefits and difficulties of assisted handover of a child between parents who undergo a problematic separation. The content of the literature review section describes the development of family breakdown and the process of transformation of the family as a whole into a new phase. Emphasis is placed on the risk factors and conflicts that arise during the break-up period and on the issue of highly conflictual divorces. It covers the means of trained professionals suited to help such families allowing the resolution of disputes. The focus is on assisted handover. The empirical part of a qualitative nature maps out the central topics related to the service of assisted handover of a child from the parents' point of view. Data analysis was processed using the method of thematic analysis based on semi-structured interviews with parents using assisted child handover service. The output reflects the significant areas of the parents' split-up, as well as the benefits and difficulties of the service of assisted handover service as described by the parents using this service.