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Children's post-divorce living arrangements have become increasingly heterogeneous the past decades, because of the rise in shared residence and stepfamily formation. This study investigates how post-divorce living arrangements (i.e. the combination between residential arrangement and stepparent presence) are related to children's school engagement. The focus is put on different explanations of the relation between living arrangements and school engagement, namely financial resources, parent-child relationship, selectivity and stress. Structural equation models are performed on a sample of children with divorced parents from the Leuven Adolescent and Family Study data 2008-2011 (n=1,630). First, the results show that stepfamilies have higher financial resources than single-parent families, but these higher financial resources are not directly related to children's school engagement. Second, parent-child relationship is an important mediator between post-divorce living arrangements and school engagement. The results suggest that shared residence is related to a better father-child relationship and in this manner improves school engagement. The relation between stepparent presence and the parent-child relationship is less straightforward, and the findings suggest that the combination of residential arrangement, stepfather and stepmother presence should be taken into account. Third, children's socio-demographic characteristics, time since divorce and level of pre-divorce conflict function as selection mechanisms, as they are related to both postdivorce living arrangements and children's school engagement. Finally, the findings indicate that the complexity of multiple part-time residential figures is stressful to children. This may partially counterbalance the benefits of such systems, via the better parent-child relationship and the higher financial resources.

The increase in shared residential arrangements is driven by the belief that it is in the best interest of the child. The maintenance of contact between child and parents can mitigate negative consequences of separation. However, selection mechanisms may account for a positive relationship between shared residential arrangements and child outcomes. This study examines the association between children's residential arrangements and their school engagement, focusing on the parent-child relationship as a mediator and selection mechanisms. Structural equation models are performed on a sample of 973 secondary school pupils with separated parents from the Leuven Adolescents and Families Study (LAFS; 2008-2011). The results suggest that more parental time is related with a better parent-child relationship, and this leads indirectly to higher school engagement. However, shared residence may also have negative consequences for children and is certainly not the only residential arrangement in which children have a good relationship with both parents.