Differences between joint custody and mother custody families were assessed. The sample consisted of 42 post divorce families which had a child between the age of 4 and 15 years and resided in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. This cross sectional, multimethod, quasi-experimental study examined two groups of divorced families. The experimental group consisting of 21 joint custody families, was compared to the control group, consisting of 21 mother custody families. Families were matched between the two groups based on the child's gender, age and time lapse since parental separation. Within each family, interviews were conducted with one parent and with the parent's permission, a target child. Besides the interview, parents completed a questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist. Only 19 parents gave permission for their child to be interviewed. Parents completed a questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist.