"Divorce, Separation and Changing Family Practices"
21-23 September 2001

"Changing families, changing childhoods? Separation, divorce and family life in Ireland "
Diane M. Hogan, Ann Marie Halpenny & Sheila Grene
(Trinity College Dublin)

Introduction

The benefits to be gained from talking directly with children about their own family life experiences instead of relying exclusively on adult-mediated reports have been well rehearsed elsewhere (Brannen & O'Brien, 1996; Hogan, Etz & Tudge, 1999; Moore, Sixsmith & Knowles, 1996) and do not need further argument here. The value that can be gained from speaking with children about their experience of family life following parental separation or divorce has also been argued, and illustrated empirically, by other authors (Neale, Wade & Smart, 1998; Neale & Smart, 1999). The present paper sets out to describe the findings from a study of children's experiences of parental separation in a particular social and cultural context, that of the Irish Republic.

In this paper we have two main concerns. The first is to describe some preliminary findings from our study, in which 60 children in two age groups, 8-11 and 14-17, were interviewed about their experiences of parental separation. The study was based mainly in the Dublin area. The study as a whole looked at several aspects of children's experiences; their narratives of the process and the way in which they learned about their parents' decision, their role in negotiating new family arrangements, their emotional response to the separation, their perspectives of changes in their family life and expectations about the future of their family, their understanding of the legal implications of separation and divorce, and the support that was available and that they drew on throughout the separation process. In this presentation we will focus on the issue of children's experiences of change in family life, both in terms of practical everyday living and in terms of family relationships. We look at their descriptions of how they understand family life to have changed for them and their response to those changes.

Our second aim in this presentation is to set these findings in context and here we dwell mainly on the level of macro-system; the societal values and beliefs and the policy context in which children's experiences occur. Since our study focused solely on learning about children's experiences we rely on existing texts, mainly sociological and policy documents, for information about the broader context for the study. We hope to be able draw out some key issues, both general and culturally-specific, for researchers and policy makers concerned with childhood and family life. We begin with an overview of the legislative and social-cultural background to the present study.

The Irish Context

Legislative context

It is hardly six years since the intense public debate leading up to the referendum on the removal of the Constitutional ban on divorce in the Irish Republic. Under Article 41.3.2 the State guaranteed that 'No law shall be enacted providing for the dissolution of marriage.' In November 1995 the slimmest of majorities (51%) voted for a removal of the ban, thus paving the way for the first time for couples to obtain a decree of divorce in Ireland (1). In 1986, in a previous referendum, Irish voters rejected removal of the ban. This is part of the context in which the experiences of children of separated and divorced parents in Ireland must be understood, since it sets Ireland apart in cultural and historical terms. Clearly Ireland has been much later that other western societies in adopting legal procedures for the dissolution of marriage and provision of legal sanction for remarriage.

Ireland's divorce law is at once conservative and liberal. It is conservative in the sense that an application to divorce can only be made when it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the court that that the spouses have lived apart for a period of 4 of the 5 years prior to making the application, and where there is 'no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.' There is no provision for an application for divorce without this separation period (Walls & Bergin, 1997). Yet the law is also liberal; it has a no-fault basis and divorce must be granted if the living apart condition has been met, even if both spouses do not want the divorce.

While divorce legislation may be relatively new, it is important to remember that marital separation has long been possible in the Irish Republic. And of course marriages ended, both formally and informally, prior to the introduction of legal remedies for handling custody, maintenance and inheritance matters. Indeed many marriages continue to follow this trajectory, with couples separating, at least initially, without a legal agreement; they simply cease to cohabit and do not seek to formalise arrangements. The most significant change in terms of influence on family life is, perhaps, the possibility for couples whose marriage has effectively ended to gain legal sanction for remarriage, and therefore for children to experience the prospect or reality of belonging in new families with step parents and step siblings.

Social and religious context

The legislative context is significant in part because of the social-cultural context that created and sustained it, and eventually gave way to change. The family has been protected under the Constitution, where it receives recognition as 'the natural and fundamental unit group of Society, as a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent to all positive law' (Article 41.1.1). Article 41.3.1 further sets out that the State will guarantee to 'guard with special care the institution of marriage, on which the Family is founded.' , thus affording special recognition and protection of the two parent family based on marriage, and making it difficult or impossible historically to introduce any legislation or policy that was inconsistent with a particular view of ideal family life. It is generally agreed that this constitutional protection of family sovereignty lies behind the State's traditionally non-interventionist approach to family issues and its failure to provide initiative and cohererence in the development of policies for families and for children (Greene & Moane, 2000; Kiely, 1995). Most sociological commentators also attribute considerable influence to the Roman Catholic Church for sustaining public and institutional support for opposition to any change in the status accorded to the family in Irish law and particularly to the ban on the dissolution of marriage (Kiely & Richardson, 1995; O'Toole, 1998; Wood & O'Shea, 1997). There is evidence that even the Supreme Court has interpreted the family according to these terms, reflecting 'the influence of Catholic social teaching, the value system of a highly agrarian society and an idealised vision of the family in Irish society' (Kiely & Richardson,1995, p.27).

While there is agreement on the historical context of social attitudes to marriage and its dissolution, there are mixed views about the nature and extent of change. At a time when Ireland appears to be experiencing so much change, especially economically, it is tempting to take a linear and simplistic view of traditional (then) versus contemporary (now) Ireland (Tovey & Share, 2000). Some analysts believe that contemporary Ireland is increasingly secular, and indeed that the influence of the Church has declined significantly in recent times (Quinn, 1999). Others argue that the value system that gave rise to and sustained the ban on divorce for so long has remained largely in place, with 'the value system of the majority of Irish people today … still rooted in Catholicism.' (Earley, 1999, p.150). Both of these arguments may have merit, since social and religious change has neither been uniformly linear nor has it been black and white. In the last two decades the Church has received unprecedented open and public criticism (2). But to conclude that Ireland is now a secular society is to ignore the complexity of change and continuity in Irish life, and indeed the internal complexity and heterogeneity of Irish society. For example, in the 1995 divorce referendum there was far greater support for the introduction of divorce legislation in the Dublin area and other large urban centers (Woods & O'Shea, 1997). Similarly, while figures for attendance at weekly Mass have declined (Tovey & Share, 2000), Laffan (1997) questions whether there has been a significant decline in religious practice throughout Ireland. On the other hand, an Irish Times/MRBI poll in late 1997 found that only a fifth of Catholics said that they followed the teaching of the Church in making 'serious moral decisions', with 78% saying that they 'followed their own conscience'. More than half disagreed with the Church's position on divorce. It is not clear, in other words, that the apparent trend toward secularisation had wrought sufficient change, or that such change has sufficiently permeated Irish society, as to create meaningful differences in social attitudes, and therefore, in children's experiences of marital separation. And what of social attitudes to separation and divorce in particular? It is worth bearing in mind that there were high levels of public opposition to the removal of the ban on divorce (49% of voters), and that we have no evidence that this portion of the population has shifted from this view.

Demographic Context

The demography of Irish society is also an important feature of the current social context for children's experience of parental separation and divorce. Again, the trend appears to be towards increasing variation in family forms (McKeown & Sweeney, 2001), reflecting the trend across most western societies, where the numbers of one-parent and step-parented families are rising (Eggebeen, Snyder & Manning, 1996; Haskey, 1994). There is also an apparent increase in marital separation. Census data indicate that in the decade 1986 to 1996 the numbers of separated persons doubled, from 37,200 in 1986 to 87,800 in 1996 (Final Report of The Commission on the Family, 1998)(3). Expressed as a percentage of those ever-married (excluding widows), 3.3 % of men were separated/divorced in 1986, compared with 7.1% in 1996. For women the percentages were 2.1% for 1986 and 5% for 1996. Increases can also be seen in raw figures on the numbers seeking judicial separation in 1996 (1,215) compared with the number seeking either divorce or judicial separation in 1999 (4,911). In one analysis, Fitzgerald (1999) predicts that the Irish divorce rate will rise to 15-20% in the next few years.

It is possible that with separation, divorce and single parent families more common now than previously, children will experience their effects differently than previously. At the same time the increase in numbers of parents who are never married but cohabit, and of single parent (never married) households children may find that their situation is less of a social aberration than may previously have been the case in the past. These figures should not, however, blind us to certain realties. First, we do not know whether these figures reflect real change in the numbers of couples separating--legal provision has made it possible for couples to formalise and gain legal sanction for their family arrangements where once they may have separated informally. Second, the numbers are still relatively small compared to other jurisdictions. In other words, these trends are more tentative than they first appear.

Policy Context

As we have already mentioned, Irish policy in relation to families is notable for its absence (Kiely, 1995; McKeown & Sweeney, 2001), and responsibility for families has been spread across several government departments, at least until relatively recently. This is also true in terms of policy in relation to children, with the exception of the Child Care Act 1991 (4). In the last two decades there have been some important changes, and we will highlight two specific developments that may have significance for children's experiences of parental separation. Taking these developments chronologically, family policy has, in the last decade received greater attention. The Commission on the Family was set up in 1995 to identify policy needs. The Commission emphasised the importance of support for family and for marriage, but also recognised increasing heterogeneity of family forms and lifestyle. Among its many recommendations, the Commission pointed to the need 'to promote continuity and stability in family life', both through support for marriage and reconciliation, and through support for families where parents have decided to separate. To this end, monetary support has been provided for some services that offer specialised support for couples (marriage and relationship counselling; family mediation service) and for children of separated parents. In recent weeks the Family Support Agency has been set up to bring cohesion to implementation of family policy and to support for service provision. Yet family policy remains largely implicit (reflected in funding decisions) and rhetoric-based.

The second area that we want to highlight is the recent emergence of raised levels of consciousness about children's issues and rights (Greene & Moane, 2000) and especially the attempt to develop a coherent policy strategy in respect of children, which is laid out in the National Children's Strategy (2000). One of the Strategy's key objectives is to give children a greater voice in matters that concern them and to identify needs on the basis of their subjective experiences, an emphasis which mirrors policy trends in the UK. The Strategy has received widespread public and political support and at the same time children's issues, and children's experiences of childhood, have become more politicised. As yet, however, much of the work in this area is still at the level of well-intentioned rhetoric. It is as yet unclear what processes will take the language about 'consulting children' from rhetoric to practice, so that it is meaningful for children. While there has been some increase in activity at policy levels therefore, the implementation of effective policies is yet to occur and the implications for children experiencing family change remains unclear.

To summarise our points about the Irish context; on the surface it appears that Ireland has recently emerged from a strongly traditional phase, where legislation, policy and social attitudes were closely in line with the conservative views of the Catholic Church on family affairs, and that a new secular, liberal and demographically heterogeneous Irish society has been created in its stead. This analysis has some truth, but is overly simplistic, and disguises continuities in terms of the separation of parents as well as in social attitudes and lifestyle. It is certainly a society in flux, but because it is so, it is difficult to predict with any certainty how it may influence children's experiences of their parents' separation and divorce.

The Present Study

Approach and method

Our interest was mainly in what happens with children when parents cease to live together, when what was previously experienced as a single family unit divides. Because of the nature of Irish legislation all children experience a period when their parents are separated and not divorced, since separating couples must by law be living apart initially for a period of four of the five years before the application for a decree of divorce. The study explores the experiences of children in two age groups, 8-10 years (middle childhood) and 14-16 (adolescents). It takes a developmental perspective, looking across the two age groups to infer developmental patterns in the nature and impact of the separation process. In this paper, however, the main emphasis is on children in the younger age group although in the presentation we hope to be able to draw some comparisons will be drawn with the older group of children.

Families were contacted through a range of schools and agencies. The aim was to create a sample that reflected diversity of family background and experience rather than to attempt to create a representative sample. The mainly qualitative approach sought to achieve insights into the separation process and changes in family life, as children subjectively experience them. It was extremely difficult to gain access to children for the study. We had hope to include a mix of children with and without experience of support from specialised services but this proved impossible, although we pursued many different routes to attempt this. Most of the children in the younger age group had attended the Rainbows service (5).

Changes in everyday family life

In this section of the paper we provide some preliminary, and therefore tentative findings from our study, focusing on the ways in which children described changes in daily family life and relationships.

Custody and parenting

All of the younger children in the study were living with their mothers (6). While this was a decision that they typically had no role in, children tended to say that they were happy to live with their mothers and visit their fathers. In many families, while children said that their fathers had previously been quite involved with childcare, children saw living with their mothers as the only realistic option. Some were blatantly pragmatic; they were confident that their mothers had the capacity to provide the care they needed.

R ...so your mum and dad didn't say 'who would you like to live with?

C But I know who I would

R Who, who's that?

C My mam, because my dad couldn't really…my dad can't even dress me. When I was small he used to put on my pyjamas back to front

(Claire, aged 9)

Children were careful to make clear in the interviews that they loved each parent equally although they were happy to live with their mothers. Most children also strongly and unequivocally declared that they would not wish to be asked to make a decision about which parent to live with, although, as we will see, they differed in their evaluation of how well these arrangements were working for them.

Contact with non-resident parent

Many of the children had ongoing regular contact with their non-resident parent. In most families the arrangements were quite regulated, in that visits were scheduled and children had clear expectations regarding access. Typically children perceived these arrangements as working well, in that contact with the non-resident parent was regular and not subject to disappointing cancellations in most cases.

In most cases all family members continued to live in or around the Dublin area, and this facilitated continued regular contact. Some families, either fathers, or mothers with children, relocated to other regions of the country, or to the UK, following the separation, but even in these situations children traveled regularly to visit their non-resident parent and were for the most part satisfied with this arrangement. For some children who commuted regularly (weekly) within Ireland the traveling was something of a strain, but children saw it as necessary to afford them the time with their parent and did not wish to change the arrangement as that might mean a decrease in contact with that parent.

For some children the contact arrangements were not so straightforward or satisfactory. Two children were particularly concerned with the arrangements for seeing their father on holiday occasions (7).

'We're never going to see my Dad on Christmas, only Christmas eve'

(Hannah, aged eight)

Another child, Ryan, said that he was happy with the actual arrangement to see his dad every weekend and Mondays and Thursdays, but appeared disappointed and confused that he rarely saw him on weekends. Although he was happy to be living with his mother, and said he 'sees why' he has to live with her, he also wants to live with his father, saying towards the end of the interview 'I'd prefer to be with my dad really'.

One child, Siobhan, was clearly grieving for the loss of her father, with whom she had no contact.

While children's experience of contact with non-resident parents varied then, there was a clear pattern of salience to children of maintaining contact. This had a bearing on their overall response to the separation and their perspectives on how their lives had been affected. Children who experienced a sense of losing contact, or for whom there was no contact with their fathers, were markedly unhappy, and in some cases distressed. It appeared that children could accept the separation and find it to be positive for their family if positive contact with non-resident parents could be sustained. When children were not happy with these arrangements there were usually one of the following factors at play:

• The separation took place suddenly, with one of the partners leaving unexpectedly
• Children did not have a clear sense of what was going on
• Children worried about the welfare of the non-resident parent
• Children had the sense that they were not a priority for their non-resident parent

In addition to expressing the importance of continued contact with parents, children showed, through their narratives about their own experiences, high levels of awareness of the potential for their own behaviour in relation to contact to affect their parents. They were especially concerned with issues of fairness and of equal treatment of their parents. Above all, they were concerned that they might hurt their parents' feelings and strove to protect them from being hurt, even if this meant not being truthful about their wishes.

C I see my dad on Sundays and sometimes I get upset because I think I'll hurt my dad's feelings when I can't see him or something. I always try to.

R Ok cause sometimes you can't see him

C Yeah., cause I have something on and I really want to go to it.

(Claire, aged nine)

Contact with extended family

There was striking continuity in children's contact with their extended families, even when parents' relationships continued to be acrimonious. Children who tended to spend a good deal of time with grandparents, aunts and uncles prior to the separation continued to do so afterwards, generally on both sides of the family. This can be partly explained by the fact that some fathers moved back in with their own parents (or to their original community); that children spent a good deal of time regularly with their fathers, and that some of that time was spent visiting relatives; that parents tended to live within manageable distance from each other, and also that many families had originally lived within reasonable distance of their own families of origin, so that continuing to visit grandparents, for example, was not a great additional burden for parents.

Moving house

Only a small number of children changed home, since most continued to live with their mothers in their family homes. For those who did, however, this change was important, and one to which some children had considerable difficulty adjusting. Jack, a ten year old boy, was still distressed, after two years, about having had to move to an adjacent community and to a smaller house. He had not changed schools, but one large road separated his old neighborhood from the new one.

R: Now, you moved house didn't you, was that difficult?

C: yeah

R: Why was it difficult ..any reasons in particular?

C: Because it was a big house and I liked all the friends I had and …there were lots of things to do

(Jack, aged 10)

Changes in caregiving

Some children pointed to changes in daily life as being difficult, but not so much for them personally as for their mothers. Jack, for example, felt that his mother was under more pressure now, with the sole care of three children.

R: When your mum and dad separated, did things change in the house like who did what?

C: yeah

R: What kind of things changed?

C: Ehm.. we did a lot more work like setting the table and … there was more pressure on my mum.

R: How did you know that?

C: Well, my dad could calm her down and he'd be able to … like sometimes my mum couldn't get Aoife dressed and me and Meabh were downstairs and my dad could make us our cereal and help us

R: So it was little bit harder because of that?

C: yeah

R: … are those things still difficult for you?

C: yeah, still things like that are difficult

(Jack, aged 10)

Jack later pointed out that this pressure on his mother affected him indirectly, since he felt that his relationships with her had suffered somewhat as a result of her having less time and to feeling under strain.

Overall it appeared that children experienced a good deal of continuity in terms of caregiving; their mothers had previously been their main caregivers and this continued to be the case. In some cases mothers who had previously worked at home began to work outside the home, and several children mentioned that money was less available that previously.

Relationships with parents

There were also significant signs of continuity with regard to parent-child relationships, in the sense that there was a greater likelihood that relationships were good when they had previously been good. There were also some notable exceptions. Some children felt closer to their non-resident parent although they no longer saw them everyday or shared a house with them, although as these quotes form 10 year old twins Sean and Sarah illustrate, there can be individual variation even within families in how this is experienced and understood by children.

R Do you think … it's a made a difference to how you've got on with your mum?

C No, not really. Not really, I always got on with her.

R Ok. How about with your dad?

C He kind of like spoils you now 'cause like if you ask him for anything now, he'll like, give it to you.

R Ok, so he likes to give you everything he can.

C Yeah.

R Ok, and is that nice?

C: Well he's just trying to win me over and stuff.

(Sean, aged 10, twin)

R Do you think the change, has it made any difference to how you get on with your mum?

C Eh yeah, we get on more now than we did before

R And what about with your dad Sarah, has it made any difference to how you got on with your dad?

C Yeah

R Tell me about that

C He used, we're just closer and he used, he just is, I don't know, and he just tells me, he says he misses me and everything. I know he does, he does.

(Sarah, aged 10, twin)

One important factor, mentioned by a number of children, is the importance of the opportunity to spend individual time with parents, both resident and non-resident.

R: how do you think your, your parents' separation, how has that affected your relationship with your mum?

C: well it hasn't really, its just made us closer

R: ok, ok, and would you say its affected your relationship with your dad?

C: Yep. I, em, I'm able to talk to him now, because I wouldn't be able to see him that much because he would just come in to work and then have dinner and go to bed

R: ok so you're actually able to have more time with him now?

C: ok

C: even though I see him just once a week, but I feel closer to him now

(Jackie, aged 11)

Some of the positive change appeared to be explained by the fact that fighting between parents in the home has ceased, and children could see their parents alone. Some children felt that once their parents had resolve their own conflict through separating, their behaviour towards them, the children, had improved.

My dad used to tell me to shut up and things … but since he's been away its made a huge difference; he's really nice to me, he always takes me out, its just better.

The absence of fighting in the home also appeared to children simply feeling more comfortable in their own homes following the separation, as they felt that the conflict had been resolved, at least to some extent.

R: did anything change?

C: em, well, there wouldn't …I would stay in the house long, more because I knew my dad wasn't there and there wasn't going to be arguments and stuff. And just me and my family are much happier

(Jackie, aged 11)

Thus, in situations where continuity of contact was possible there were, in some cases, marked improvements in parent-child relationships following the separation, and while children were still sad about losing the everyday contact with both parents in one home, they tended to favour the new family arrangements as preferable to living in a family with parents who argue, or who do not speak to each other.

New family members

Some children were concerned about new family members and others not. Some had already experienced getting to know and coming to terms with the reality of a parent's new partner. Some children had been surprised to find that they liked and enjoyed a parents' new partner, while in other cases they had not liked them and felt some resentment and anxiety about the implications of these new partnerships for the time that they spend with their parents and their relationships with them. Rebecca, for example, said that she had at one time worried about new relationships but was now feeling sure that this would not happen. The following quote illustrates her ongoing anxiety about the potential for such a change to occur

C: I worried that maybe my mum might get a new boyfriend and my dad might get a new girlfriend…

R: Ok

C: But my dad told me that he wouldn't

R: So now you don't worry about that?

C: No

(Rebecca, aged 9)

Rachel was not comfortable with her dad's new wife and had also had to adjust to her mother having a new partner, who lived with them. When asked about the changes in her life since the separation she talked mainly about the adjustment of being with her mum's new partner.

R Do you think since your mum and dad have decided to live apart, do you think it's made a difference in your house … what happens in the house?

C A bit

R Just give me a little example, how do you mean a bit?

C Not a lot, there's barely anymore screaming. Like I hate, I don't hate John, I like when he's in the house, but I hate when the two of them flirt and all this

R Ok, you don't like that. How long has John been living there Rachel?

C Nearly a year, on February the 7^th or something … it's a year

R Ok, and how did you feel about that in the beginning?

C Ok, fine

R Fine, no problem

C No problem at all

(Rachel, aged 9)

When asked later about her the main problem for her about her parents' separation she replied simply 'my dad's new wife'.

In spite of any anxieties about new family members, all children said that they did not ever worry that separation might mean that their non-resident parent would cease to continue to be their parent. Their confidence that their parents would continue to play this role in their lives may in part be explained by their contact with the Rainbows service, which emphasises this message for children.

Children's perspectives on family change

Children tended to feel that their families were different from other families, although some tried to play this down by saying that separation was now more common. Their sense of being 'apart' was reflected in their extreme reluctant to talk to others outside the family about their parents' separation or divorce, and several children said that they were 'embarrassed' to talk about it.

Many children said that their expectations about how their family situations would develop had changed a good deal since their parents had separated. Where many had originally expected that their parents' separation would be temporary now most saw it as permanent. Indeed many children had come to hold the strong belief that their parents could not live together and that their families functioned better under the new arrangements than previously, when parents lived together. It was clear that all children wanted an end to the conflict and that all wanted their parents to continue to interact with each other (even if on a very limited basis) in a civil and respectful manner. Children's descriptions of the process of the separation strongly suggest that both the conflict and the separation are difficult for them. Almost all expressed sadness about the end of their parents' relationship and of the division of the family, but not all felt regret about the separation. For children who did not have the kind of ongoing contact or relationship with their parent they wanted their response to the separation was more ambivalent.

Children's descriptions of the process of separation and how their family lives were often sophisticated. They reflected a meta-awareness of family life, in that children were able to express how they had come to revise their own views and understanding of what happened within their family and their expectations for the future as well as their role on the part they had played and potentially could play in actively affecting relationships and arrangements in the family..

Final Comments

In this paper we have mentioned some of the legislative, social and policy trends that indicate some change in societal views about ideal family life, but have cautioned against over-interpretation of the meaning of these quite tentative changes for the experiences children generally, or for the young children we interviewed.

Our findings, although at this stage preliminary, strongly suggest that children's experience of parental separation cannot be reduced to a simple statement of 'positive or 'negative'. Their experiences of events and relationships differed both across and within families, depending on an array of factors, including their relationships with their parents before the separation. Our data suggest that children can, and do, make considerable adjustments when parents separate, but that there is also scope for a great deal of continuity in family life. These findings also illustrate children's ability to conceptualise family life as organic and subject to multiple influences, including their own.

Given the social and cultural context, how might we explain these children's experiences of parental separation and what can we say about their experience of childhood? The conclusions we can reach about our findings in this study are limited by the lack of Irish baseline data on children's experiences of family life where such dramatic change is not taking place. Given that separation is still relatively uncommon, and divorce even more so, we believe that the changes in family life and issues faced by the children we interviewed sets them apart from their peers in some key respects. Certainly children themselves perceive this to be the case. In the context of even tentative steps towards a more heterogeneous and liberal society we may expect children's experience of parental separation and divorce to become more positive. At the very least we may expect children to experience less of a sense of being socially 'different' in a society in which separation and divorce are less of social aberration and receive less social censure.

We may also expect, in a society in which children's issues and rights are increasingly politicised, the formulation of concrete policies and support services for children of separated and divorced parents, and that these are based on an unpackaging of what it means to 'give children a voice' rather than on simplistic rhetoric. Likewise, we may expect and hope that a more active family policy environment may lead to a cohesive strategy for the support of post-separation and divorce parents to sustain positive relationships with their children.

Footnotes

(1) The removal of Article 41.3.2 allowed for the passing of The Family Law (Divorce) Act (1996), which was enacted in February 1997. Back

(2) Criticims followed revelations of abuse of institutionalised children and unmarried women in the past, and of sexual abuses of children by some Catholic clerics. Back

(3) These numbers reflect families in which parents were previously married, but do not include those where co-habiting (non-married) couples shared the parenting of the child as well as residing together and subsequently parted, and therefore the numbers of children affected by parental separation are likely to be greater than these figures suggest. Back

(4) The Child Care Act 1991 deals with the protection of children and was fully enacted by 1996. Back

(5) Rainbows is a school or a parish-based peer support group, facilitated by adults who do not have professional training as counsellors. Back

(6) We do not have conclusive information about legal custody arrangements since some families did not submit family background information while others did not clarify custody arrangements. Back

(7) Some interviews took place directly before Christmas. Back

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