Joint physical custody of children in Europe: A growing phenomenon

Abstract

BACKGROUNDLarge-scale cross-country comparisons of children's physical custody (which parent the child lives with after separation) are dated and limited in the age range of children considered. OBJECTIVEWe document the level of sole and joint physical custody (JPC, both equal and unequal) for children in European countries using data from 2021. METHODS This article uses a new module on the living arrangements of children from the EuropeanUnion Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey. Our final sample comprises 9,102 children from 17 European countries. Analysis is descriptive. RESULTSOne in eight children in separated families has equal JPC arrangements; another 8.2% spend at least one-third of their time with each parent (but not exactly half-time), so 20.7% have some type of JPC. Direct comparisons with previous estimates show a doubling of the prevalence of JPC in less than 20 years. Substantial cross-national variation exists: In the Northern European countries,