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Fifty moves a year: is there an association between
joint physical custody and psychosomatic problems
in children?
Malin Bergström,
1
Emma Fransson,
1
Bitte Modin,
1
Marie Berlin,
2,3
Per A Gustafsson,
4
Anders Hjern
1,5
1
Centre for Health Equity
Studies (CHESS), Stockholm
University/Karolinska Institutet,
Stockholm, Sweden
2
National Board of Health and
Welfare, Stockholm, Sweden
3
Department of Sociology,
Stockholm University,
Stockholm, Sweden
4
Department of Clinical and
Experimental Medicine, Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry,
Linköping University,
Linköping, Sweden
5
Clinical Epidemiology,
Department of Medicine,
Karolinska Institutet,
Stockholm, Sweden
Correspondence to
Malin Bergström, Centre for
Health Equity Studies (CHESS),
Stockholm University/Karolinska
Institutet, Stockholm 10691,
Sweden;
malin.bergstrom@ki.se
Received 14 October 2014
Revised 29 January 2015
Accepted 4 February 2015
To cite: Bergström M,
Fransson E, Modin B, et al.
J Epidemiol Community
Health Published Online
First: [please include Day
Month Year] doi:10.1136/
jech-2014-205058
ABSTRACT
Background In many Western countries, an increasing
number of children with separated parents have joint
physical custody, that is, live equally much in their
parent’s respective homes. In Sweden, joint physical
custody is particularly common and concerns between
30% and 40% of the children with separated parents. It
has been hypothesised that the frequent moves and lack
of stability in parenting may be stressful for these
children.
Methods We used data from a national classroom
survey of all sixth and ninth grade students in Sweden
(N=147839) to investigate the association between
children’s psychosomatic problems and living
arrangements. Children in joint physical custody were
compared with those living only or mostly with one
parent and in nuclear families. We conducted sex-
specific linear regression analyses for z-transformed sum
scores of psychosomatic problems and adjusted for age,
country of origin as well as children’s satisfaction with
material resources and relationships to parents.
Clustering by school was accounted for by using a two-
level random intercept model.
Results Children in joint physical custody suffered from
less psychosomatic problems than those living mostly or
only with one parent but reported more symptoms than
those in nuclear families. Satisfaction with their material
resources and parent–child relationships was associated
with children’s psychosomatic health but could not
explain the differences between children in the different
living arrangements.
Conclusions Children with non-cohabitant parents
experience more psychosomatic problems than those in
nuclear families. Those in joint physical custody do
however report better psychosomatic health than
children living mostly or only with one parent.
Longitudinal studies with information on family factors
before and after the separation are needed to inform
policy of children’s postseparation living arrangements.
BACKGROUND
During the past 20 years, it has become more
common for children in the Western world to live
alternatively and equally much with both parents
after a parental separation.
1–3
In Sweden, this prac-
tice of joint physical custody ( JPC) is particularly
frequent and has risen from about 1–2% in the
mid-1980s to between 30% and 40% of the chil-
dren with separated parents in 2010.
4
A possible
reason behind the increase may be Sweden’s active
policy for parental equality.
5
In 1974, Sweden, for
example, was the first country to allow mothers and
fathers to use paid parental leave, and since 1976
parents could continue having joint legal custody
after a separation. The proportion of Swedish chil-
dren born out of wedlock or to non-cohabiting
parents is low compared with other Western coun-
tries. In 2009, the share was 6%.
4
Other assumed
reasons behind the increase of JPC are women’s par-
ticipation in the labour force,
5
which is very high in
Sweden,
6
and changes in Family Law facilitating
JPC.
78
The frequency of JPC in, for example,
Belgium
9
and Australia
10
has increased substantially
after such legislative changes.
In international research, JPC has sometimes
been defined as children living “at least one third
of the time with each parent”
11
or included chil-
dren whose parents have joint legal custody in this
category.
12
Joint legal custody, however, does not
imply that the children necessarily live equal parts
of the time with the two parents. In Sweden, JPC is
so widespread that a more stringent categorisation
(50/50) is justifiable and has been applied in recent
publications.
13–15
In fact, the practice of JPC seems
to constitute a new norm for separating Swedish
parents, since 50% of recently split-up families
report their children spending half the time in each
parent’s home.
4
Furthermore, we have shown in a
previous study that over 85% of all Swedish chil-
dren aged 12–15 years live at least partly with both
their parents, regardless of whether they are coha-
biting or not.
13
Despite the high frequency of JPC
in Sweden, it is still possible that families with this
arrangement vary in their socioeconomic character-
istics from those with sole custody solutions.
Results from a recent longitudinal study indicate
that the more favourable socioeconomic situation
that used to characterise JPC families no longer
prevails as JPC has become more common,
9
but
other current research still suggests that parental
health and well-being differ between parents with
joint and sole care.
16
Several studies over a long period of time have
established that children with separated parents
show higher risks for emotional problems and
social maladjustment than those with cohabiting
parents.
17–19
One explanation for these increased
risks may be the actual experience of the separation
process and the emotional crisis possibly associated
with this. Parental separation may also expose chil-
dren to loss of social, economic and human
capital.
414
Other explanatory factors may derive
from characteristics typical of separating parents
such as lower relationship satisfaction and higher
Bergström M, et al.J Epidemiol Community Health 2015;0:1–6. doi:10.1136/jech-2014-205058 1
Research report
JECH Online First, published on April 28, 2015 as 10.1136/jech-2014-205058
Copyright Article author (or their employer) 2015. Produced by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd under licence.
conflict levels also before the separation.
4
The rising numbers of
children with JPC have concerned child clinicians as well as
researchers on the subject.
20 21
Child experts have worried
about children’s potential feelings of alienation from living in
two separate worlds,
20–22
increased exposure to parental con-
flict
12 22
and other stressors that JPC may impose on a child.
22
Such daily stressors may be long distances to school, friends and
leisure activities, lack of stability in parenting and home environ-
ment and a need to adjust to the demands of two different
family lives.
12 22
The logistics of travelling between their homes
and keeping in contact with friends has been stated as a draw-
back of JPC in interview studies with children.
23–25
Older ado-
lescents, in particular, indicated that they preferred to be in one
place.
23
The worries regarding children’s well-being in JPC are
enhanced by a simultaneous increase in children’s psychological
and emotional complaints and psychosomatic symptoms in
Scandinavia.
26 27
The higher frequency of such symptoms has
been interpreted as a sign of increased stress in children’s lives
28
and could hypothetically also be related to stressors imposed by
JPC. Already, stressful circumstances such as bullying,
28
eco-
nomic stress in the family,
29
peer and teacher relationships,
30 31
schoolwork pressure
31
and lack of emotional support from the
parents
32
have been shown to be related to psychosomatic
symptoms in Swedish adolescents. However, even if the relation-
ship between stress, psychological symptoms and psychosomatic
problems is established,
28
the mechanisms of how stress expos-
ure and recurrent pain are associated are not fully understood.
33
In this study, we wanted to investigate if the high frequencies
of JPC and of psychosomatic problems in Swedish schoolchil-
dren were related. We used a national sample of Swedish chil-
dren aged 12 and 15 years to compare psychosomatic problems
in children with JPC with those in nuclear families and living
mostly and only with one parent. We also wanted to study the
influence of two previously identified stressors: children’s paren-
tal relations and material resources, on psychosomatic problems
in relation to living arrangements.
METHODS
Data source
We used data from a national classroom survey, conducted in
2009, of psychosomatic symptoms in children aged 12 (grade 6)
and 15 years (grade 9). The survey was conducted by Statistics
Sweden under the mandate of the Swedish National Institute of
Public Health.
34
We were granted permission by the Swedish
National Board of Health and Welfare to use the data. For the
survey, 207 700 pupils were eligible and 172 391 (83%) agreed
to participate and were present in school when the survey was
conducted. Of these, we included 147 839 children who had
completed the outcome instrument on psychosomatic problems
and answered the questions on living arrangements, sex, age,
country of birth and the items in the covariates ‘parent–child
relations’and ‘material resources’.
Outcome measures
We used the PsychoSomatic Problems (PSP) scale as the
outcome measure. This instrument includes eight items on psy-
chosomatic problems in schoolchildren and adolescents.
35
The
eight questions concern the past 6 months and ask if the
respondent had difficulties (1) concentrating (2) sleeping; suf-
fered from (3) headaches (4) stomach aches; felt (5) tense,
(6) sad (7) dizzy and had (8) little appetite. The response alter-
natives are never, seldom, sometimes, often and always.
Analyses of the dimensionality of the scale justify that the sums
of scores are summarised across the items and transformed into
a linear interval scale and have shown acceptable reliability and
validity.
35
Cronbach’sαfor the scale was 0.87. Scores were
transformed to z-values with a mean value of 0 and an SD of 1
for the multiple linear regression analyses.
36
In table 2, we also
present proportions of children who reported that they ‘often’
or ‘always’suffered from the respective problems (these
response alternatives merged).
Categorical variable
Living arrangements were based on children’s answers in the
survey. The family arrangements were worded as follows:
nuclear family;“always together with both mother and father”,
JPC;“approximately equally much with mother and father, for
example one week with mother and the second week with
father”,mostly with one parent;“mostly with mother, some-
times with father”or “mostly with father, sometimes with
mother”and only with one parent;“only with mother”or
“only with father”. We merged the gender-specific alternatives
in the ‘mostly’and ‘only’categories since the numbers in the
categories ‘mostly’and ‘only’with fathers were too small to
allow for any meaningful statistical analyses.
Covariates
The covariates sex, age, children’s and parent’s country of
origin were obtained from the questionnaire. Domicile was
obtained from the National SIRIS database and categorised in
accordance with a categorisation provided by the Swedish
Association of Local Authorities and Regions. As potential med-
iators, we used sum scores of two subscales of subjective well-
being from the KIDSCREEN-52 instrument:
37
parent–child
relations (six items, eg, Have you been able talk to your parent(s)
when you wanted to?) and material resources (three items, eg,
Have you had enough money to do the same things as your
friends?). These scales were completed at the same time as the
PSP scale and the questions concern experiences from the previ-
ous week with response alternatives assessing either intensity
(not at all-slightly-moderately-very-extremely) or frequency
(never-seldom-sometimes-often-always). High scores indicate
more satisfaction. This instrument has shown acceptable reliabil-
ity and validity.
38
Cronbach’sαfor the parent–child relations
scale was 0.91 and for the material resources scale 0.89.
Statistical analysis
Linear multiple regression analyses, stratified by sex, were used
to calculate βcoefficients on z-transformed sum scores of psy-
chosomatic problems for the four living arrangements with
JPC as a reference group. In model 1, the confounders grade
(6 vs 9) and country of origin (Swedish vs foreign born) are
included. Model 2 includes the aforementioned confounders
and continuous scores from the covariate ‘material resources
scale’. In model 3, the confounders and continuous scores from
the covariate ‘parents–child relations scale’are included. Finally,
Model 4 is adjusted for all the aforementioned confounders and
covariates. Clustering by school was accounted for by using a
two-level random intercept model.
Interaction analyses demonstrated sex differences in psycho-
somatic symptoms in relation to all living arrangements, and we
therefore decided to perform the analysis separately for girls
and boys. There were no significant interaction effects for age
and JPC.
2 Bergström M, et al.J Epidemiol Community Health 2015;0:1–6. doi:10.1136/jech-2014-205058
Research report
RESULTS
Descriptive statistics
As shown in table 1, 69% of the 147 839 children lived in
nuclear families, 11% in JPC, 8% mostly with one parent and
13% only with one parent. The majority of those living mostly
or only with one parent lived with their mother. About every
sixth child in these arrangements lived with the father. Foreign
born children had similar rates of separated parents as Swedish
born children but JPC was more common for children with
both parents born in Sweden (12%) than if one (10%) or both
parents (2%) were foreign born. There were small differences in
living arrangements in relation to children’s sex and domicile,
but a larger proportion of the children aged 15 years lived with
only one parent, compared with children aged 12 years. The dif-
ferences were statistically significant at the <0.001 level.
Psychosomatic problems
As shown in table 2, children in nuclear families reported the
least problems in terms of mean values on all items and total
mean score. Children in JPC had slightly more problems, fol-
lowed by those living mostly with one parent. Children who
lived with only one parent reported most problems, in terms of
mean scores, on all items. Also, the proportion of children who
always or often suffered from different symptoms was highest
among the latter group. These patterns were similar for girls
and boys. For the sexes taken together, sleeping problems were
most frequent: 22% among those living only with one parent,
19% living mostly with one parent, 14% in JPC and 13% in
nuclear families (sexes taken together). Also, suffering often or
always from headaches was common: 19% among those living
with only one parent, 17% living mostly with one parent, 14%
in JPC and 12% in nuclear families (sexes taken together).
Girls suffered from more problems than boys both when the
PSP scale was analysed in terms of mean values and as a fre-
quency of symptoms. Sadness was the most frequent problem
for girls in all living arrangements, followed by sleeping
problems and headaches. For boys, sleeping and concentration
problems were most common. All these differences were statis-
tically significant at the <0.001 level.
Standardised βcoefficients for psychosomatic problems in
relation to living arrangements are presented in table 3. They
show that, compared with children in JPC, those living mostly
or only with one parent report more psychosomatic problems
than those in nuclear families. Adjusting for age and country of
origin had practically no effect on the outcome, which is why
the crude model is not presented. The βestimates for children
living mostly or only with one parent become weaker after
adjustment for satisfaction with material resources (model 2)
and parent–child relationships (model 3). Model 4 shows that
both boys and girls who live mostly or only with one parent still
have higher risks for psychosomatic problems than those in JPC,
when all the aforementioned variables are included. Also, the
lower risk for children in nuclear families, compared with JPC,
remains through all the models.
Overall, girls report more psychosomatic problems than boys.
Interaction analyses indicate interaction effects for psycho-
somatic problems and sex in all living arrangements. No differ-
ences for 12-year-old and 15-year-old children were found for
the associations between JPC and psychosomatic symptoms.
DISCUSSION
In this cross-sectional study, based on a national survey of nearly
150 000 Swedish children aged 12 and 15 years, children who
live equally much with both parents after a parental separation
suffered from less psychosomatic problems than those living
mostly or only with one parent. Children in JPC, however,
reported more psychosomatic problems than those in nuclear
families, as did the children in the two other postseparation
living arrangements. Our results show that children’s satisfaction
with their material resources and parent–child relationships
affects children’s psychosomatic health but cannot explain the
differences between children in the different living arrangements.
Table 1 Characteristics of children by family type
Intact family Joint physical custody Mostly one parent Only one parent
N Per cent n Per cent n Per cent n Per cent
Sample size 101 738 69 15 633 11 11 468 8 19 000 13
Girls 51 003 68 7610 10 5916 8 10 216 14
Boys 50 735 69 8023 11 5552 8 8784 12
Resident parent
Mother 9455 82 15 889 84
Father 2013 18 3111 16
Age (years)
12 48 348 71 7655 11 4984 7 6855 10
15 53 390 67 7978 10 6484 8 12 145 15
Location
Large city 31 224 68 5662 12 3167 7 6021 13
Small town 49 470 69 7663 11 5798 8 9054 13
Rural 20 938 70 2696 9 2495 8 3941 13
Children’s national origin
Swedish 93 908 69 15 319 11 10 982 8 16 507 12
Other 7830 70 314 3 486 4 2493 22
Parents’national origin
Both Swedish 75 384 70 13 220 12 8787 8 10 689 10
One Swedish 9957 58 1782 10 1669 10 3829 22
Neither Swedish 15 684 74 489 2 902 4 4098 19
Bergström M, et al.J Epidemiol Community Health 2015;0:1–6. doi:10.1136/jech-2014-205058 3
Research report
Girls reported more psychosomatic problems than did boys while
there were no age-related differences.
The pattern that children in JPC are in an intermediate pos-
ition between children in nuclear families, having the least, and
those in single care, having the most problems, is consistent
with previous findings from our group as well as other research
groups. This pattern has been established in relation to out-
comes such as satisfaction with life,
18
risk behaviour,
15 39
parent–child relationships,
11
school achievement,
19
well-being
13
and mental health.
16
Psychosomatic symptoms are related to stress,
28
but despite
the fact that two homes require adaptation to different neigh-
bourhoods and family climates, our results show lower risks for
psychosomatic symptoms for children in JPC than in single care
residency. This result confirms findings from more previous
small-scale studies. For example, Turunen
40
as well as Carlsund
et al
14
found lower risks of stress in JPC than in single residency
after controlling for family and child characteristics as well as
parent–child relationships. Also, an American study showed that
children in JPC had fewer stress-related illnesses and health pro-
blems than those living only with their mothers.
1
Ta k e n
together, this indicates that the potential stress from living in
two homes could be outweighed by the positive effects of close
contact with both parents. Although children in interviews have
brought up hassles of JPC,
23–25
most children also state that
close relationships with both their parents are more
important.
25 41
It is, however, possible that the difference in psychosomatic
health between children in nuclear families and JPC may, at
least partly, be explained by family factors associated with the
parents’separation or divorce. Separated parents more often
have psychological problems and poor economy than co-living
parents and may have had relationship problems and conflicts
also before the separation.
442
Such factors directly affect chil-
dren’s psychological health and symptom load
143
and could be
important for how families arrange custody and children’s
housing after the split-up.
19
In this study, children living with
only one parent reported the least satisfaction with their rela-
tionships to their parents, followed by those living mostly with
one parent. Children with JPC were slightly less satisfied with
their parent relations than those in nuclear families. This
pattern is in line with previous publications on children’s paren-
tal relations in different living arrangements.
442
Adding indicators of parent–child relationships and material
resources to models 2–4 in the regression analyses lowered the
Table 3 Two-level random intercept linear regression model:
standardised βcoefficients and CIs for psychosomatic symptoms in
relation to living arrangements (N=147839)
Nuclear families
Mostly with one
parent
Only with one
parent
βCI βCI βCI
Girls
Model 1 −0.18 −0.20 to −0.15 0.14 0.11 to 0.18 0.19 0.16 to 0.22
Model 2 −0.11 −0.14 to −0.09 0.09 0.06 to 0.12 0.10 0.07 to 0.13
Model 3 −0.09 −0.11 to −0.07 0.05 0.02 to 0.08 0.07 0.05 to 0.10
Model 4 −0.07 −0.09 to −0.05 0.04 0.01 to 0.07 0.05 0.02 to 0.08
Boys
Model 1 −0.11 −0.13 to −0.09 0.10 0.07 to 0.13 0.13 0.10 to 0.16
Model 2 −0.08 −0.10 to −0.06 0.06 0.03 to 0.09 0.06 0.03 to 0.09
Model 3 −0.06 −0.08 to −0.04 0.04 0.01 to 0.07 0.06 0.04 to 0.09
Model 4 −0.05 −0.06 to −0.03 0.03 −0.00 to 0.05 0.03 0.01 to 0.06
Joint physical custody (equally much with both parents) serves as the reference
category.
Model 1 is adjusted for age and country of origin, model 2 is adjusted as model 1
and for the child’s perception of own material resources. Model 3 is adjusted as
model 1 and for the child’s satisfaction with parents–child relations. Model 4 is
adjusted for all the previous variables. Clustering by school is accounted for by using
a two-level random intercept model.
Table 2 Frequency of psychosomatic problems by gender and family type
Psychosomatic problems
Nuclear family Joint physical custody Mostly with one parent Only with one parent
Z/mean Always/often Z/mean Always/often Z/mean Always/often Z/mean Always/often
Girls N=74 745
Total score 0.14 NA 0.33 NA 0.49 NA 0.53 NA
Concentration 0.02 11 0.14 13 0.29 18 0.35 21
Sleeping 0.06 16 0.17 18 0.30 23 0.36 26
Headaches 0.13 16 0.23 18 0.38 23 0.43 25
Stomach aches 0.17 12 0.30 14 0.42 18 0.48 21
Tense 0.12 13 0.23 15 0.35 18 0.38 21
Little appetite 0.11 11 0.24 13 0.38 18 0.44 21
Sad 0.23 16 0.42 22 0.54 27 0.61 29
Dizzy 0.06 11 0.18 13 0.32 18 0.40 21
Boys n=73 094
Total score −0.33 NA −0.21 NA −0.12 NA −0.10 NA
Concentration −0.16 9 −0.04 10 0.07 14 0.11 16
Sleeping −0.18 10 −0.11 11 −0.01 15 0.04 17
Headaches −0.25 8 −0.16 9 −0.08 10 −0.05 12
Stomach aches −0.29 5 −0.22 5 −0.16 6 −0.14 7
Tense −0.22 6 −0.16 7 −0.10 8 −0.07 10
Little appetite −0.23 5 −0.17 6 −0.11 7 −0.06 8
Sad −0.38 5 −0.30 6 −0.22 8 −0.19 9
Dizzy −0.19 6 −0.11 7 −0.02 9 0.01 10
NA, not available.
4 Bergström M, et al.J Epidemiol Community Health 2015;0:1–6. doi:10.1136/jech-2014-205058
Research report
associations between psychosomatic problems and living
arrangements considerably. These findings are consistent with
previous studies that have demonstrated a mediating effect of
parent–child relationships and material resources on the rela-
tionship between psychosomatic health and living arrange-
ments.
31 44 45
Positive relationships to parents have been found
to be more common in children in JPC than in single care, in
particular to the fathers.
13 32 46
Children’s satisfaction with
their material resources was included as a potential mediator
since economic stress has previously been shown to be asso-
ciated with psychosomatic symptoms in children
29
and is more
common among children with separated parents.
413
Also, these
conditions reduced the differences in psychosomatic health
between the living arrangements.
Girls in JPC reported more psychosomatic problems than
boys, as did girls living mostly or only with one parent. The
pattern of psychosomatic problems in relation to living arrange-
ments was, however, similar for both sexes. Since girls generally
report more psychosomatic ill health than boys,
26 27
the sex dif-
ferences in relation to living arrangements may possibly be
explained by our outcome variable rather than an actual worse
situation for girls after a parental separation. Earlier studies have
reached varying results regarding gender differences after paren-
tal separations.
47 48
In a previous study, we found no differences
for boys and girls on the effects of JPC on well-being.
13
Further
studies are thus needed to reveal if JPC and other postseparation
arrangements have a different impact on boys and girls.
Methodological issues
We had the advantage of using a national survey with a vali-
dated outcome measure on psychosomatic problems.
35
The
large sample size allows us to draw conclusions on the entire
population of Swedish children aged 12 and 15 years. This is a
considerable strength since previous studies have had high rates
of attrition
12
or suffered from small sample sizes, preventing,
for example, comparisons between JPC and single care.
14
The national sample also ensures inclusion of families with
different background characteristics. In her reviews, Nielsen
11
argues that JPC families today have less social, economic and
relationship advantages compared with single care families, but
there is still a risk that families with different postseparation
arrangements differ in ways that affect children’s psychosomatic
health. In Sweden, it is estimated that around 14% of separating
parents have conflicts regarding custody and children’s housing
4
and about 2% have their custody disputes resolved in court.
49
Despite the strength on a total population sample, our data
are limited regarding contextual variables that may affect chil-
dren’s health. We included measures on children’s material
resources and parent relationships but lack other types of infor-
mation on the families’socioeconomic situation and the level of
parents’cooperation or conflict. Children’s reports of satisfac-
tion with these aspects may possibly reflect their own personal-
ities and coping strategies rather than the actual strain on the
family. The lack of objective data on the families’situations is an
important limitation since such factors are associated both with
children’s living arrangements and directly with their psycho-
somatic health.
18 50 51
Another limitation is the lack of information on when the
children had experienced the parental separation. Ideally, the
results of this study should be confirmed by studies with a longi-
tudinal design and access to information on psychological as
well as socioeconomic family factors.
Finally, we consider our categorisation of JPC as a strength.
In the survey, the alternative JPC was worded “approximately
equally much with mother and father, for example one week
with mother and the second week with father”, which indicates
that the JPC category actually includes children who spend 50%
of their time with each of the parents. Nearly 8% of the partici-
pants choose the category “living mostly with one parent”,
which implies that children’s actual housing after a parental sep-
aration is not entirely black or white with respect to everyday
contact with the parents. Our categorisation thus gives a more
nuanced picture than studies where only the single care and JPC
categories are included,
39
where JPC includes children living
30% or less with one parent
111
or where the JPC category even
includes families with joint legal custody but primary residency
with one parent.
12
Implications
Children who share their time between the parent’s respective
homes after a separation experience less psychosomatic pro-
blems than those living mostly or only with one parent. Their
satisfaction with their material resources and parent–child rela-
tionships is important for their psychosomatic health but cannot
explain the differences between children in different living
arrangements. Longitudinal studies with information on family
factors before and after the separation are needed to inform
policy of children’s postseparation living arrangements.
What is already known on this subject?
The practice of joint physical custody, that is, children spending
equal time in the respective homes of their separated parents,
has become more frequent in Western countries over the past
decade. At the same time, there has been an increase in
self-reported paediatric psychosomatic symptoms. Child health
experts have argued that joint physical custody imposes stress
on children.
What this study adds?
In a Swedish national sample of children aged 12 and 15years,
we found that children in joint physical custody suffered from
less psychosomatic problems than those living mostly or only
with one parent but reported more symptoms than did those in
nuclear families.
Acknowledgements The authors thank the Swedish National Board of Health
and Welfare for granting them permission to use the data.
Contributors MBe conceived the study, participated in the design and drafted the
manuscript. BM provided expertise regarding the data source, interpretation of the
data and the statistical analysis. EF participated in the design of the study and
interpretation of the data. MB provided expertise regarding demography and the
data source and participated in the interpretation of the data. PAG provided
expertise regarding child psychiatry and participated in the interpretation of the data.
AH participated in the design of the study, provided expertise regarding the data
source, performed the statistical analyses and interpretation of the data and helped
to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding This study was funded by Länsförsäkringsbolagens Forskningsfond.
Competing interests None.
Ethics approval Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Bergström M, et al.J Epidemiol Community Health 2015;0:1–6. doi:10.1136/jech-2014-205058 5
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