PUB TYPE Reports- Research/Technical (143)-- Speeches /Conference Papers (150)

Research on children's adjustment following divorce suggests_that the choice of custodial parent may be-an important faCtOr._To examine the process by which_parentsidecide on custody of their children in a divorce, a sample of divorcing couples (N =55) drawn from a large urban county and three rural, counties, participated in tape recorded interviews_and completed two forms of the Custody Decision FormACDF)i In the first_form parents rated the imr-rtance of 20_generai_criteria and 6 additional criteria if they appxied; On the second form parents_were also required to rate_the_ extent to which-each consideration favored either the mother or-the father; Statistical analyse_shoWed that mothers and fathers agreed on the reIative_importance of various criteria (e.g;, continuity in the child's environment, quality of the_parent-child-reIationship) but not_on the extent to WhiCh each criterion favored either, partner