The impact of divorce education programs on co‐parental conflict: Review of programs with parent follow‐up reports

• Published date: 01 July 2024
• Author: Erin Guyette,Steven M. Harris
• Date: 01 July 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12797

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The impact of divorce education programs on

co-parental conflict: Review of programs with

parent follow-up reports

Erin Guyette | Steven M. Harris

Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Correspondence

Department of Family Social Science,

University of Minnesota, 1985 Buford Ave,

St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA.

Email: eguyette@umn.edu

Abstract

Divorce education programs are often required for divorcing

or separating parents with minor children to aid in emotional

and practical adjustment. However, there is very little con-

sensus between programs or the evaluation process of pro-

grams to demonstrate effectiveness or long-term outcomes.

While some short-term evaluations have shown significant

results, the identification of programs that demonstrate

long-term effects on co-parenting relationships is still miss-

ing. Identifying what programs exist with long-term out-

comes can help pinpoint what content or structure of

programming is impactful on families in divorce transitions.

To address this research gap, a systematic review of the lit-

erature was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines to

identify what specific and existing divorce education pro-

grams have a follow-up report of a minimum of 3 months

and demonstrate a reduction of co-parental conflict. Sixteen

programs were identified that have at least a minimum

3-month parent follow-up report; only four of these pro-

grams demonstrated statistically significant reductions in

co-parental conflict. A discussion and critique of the pro-

gram evaluation articles are within this review.

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12797

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which

permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no

modifications or adaptations are made.

© 2024 The Author(s). Family Court Review published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association of Family and Conciliation

Courts.

542 Family Court Rev. 2024;62:542–561.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre

KEYWORDS

divorce, interparental conflict, intervention for divorcing parents,

parenting after divorce, programming and curricula development

and evaluation

Key Points for the Family Court Community

Reviewing the existing divorce education programs with

posttest data of 3 or more months can help identify:

•Specific divorce education programs that have shown

lasting reductions in co-parental conflict. Legal and men-

tal health professionals can refer these programs to their

divorcing clients.

•Where current divorce education programs need to expand

to reach more diverse populations, utilizing new theoretical

approaches, advancing measurement, and developing delib-

erate study designs focused on program effectiveness.

•Points of collaboration and common elements across

programs to increase uniformity and effectiveness in

divorce education programs.

INTRODUCTION

Divorce education programs are provided for families experiencing divorce or separation in the hope of healthy

post-divorce adjustment for all family members. Former spouses experience unique challenges such as living in sepa-

rate homes, post-divorce acrimony, dissatisfaction with the legal outcomes of the divorce, and feelings of grief and

pain from the dissolution of their marriage (Fischer et al., 2005; Jamison et al., 2014; Russell et al., 2016). Most of

these former spouses must continue to parent together to raise their children. Divorce education programs provide a

variety of information and tools to assist families in their divorce transition such as conflict resolution skills, healthy

communication practices, and co-parenting techniques (Schramm et al., 2018).

Research has continuously shown how divorce has a lasting impact on children, such as greater levels of exter-

nalizing and internalizing behaviors, lower academic achievement, and more problematic social relationships than

children without divorced parents (Frisco & Williams, 2003; Lansford, 2009; Sun & Li, 2002). It is widely believed

that fewer adjustment problems are associated with cooperative co-parenting as this has been identified as a primary

factor distinguishing children adjusting healthily compared to those who develop more serious and long-term prob-

lems (Emery et al., 2005; Kelly, 2012).

Divorcing parents are frequently mandated by the court to attend a divorce education program in the interest of

ensuring that children of divorce experience a healthy transition and encourage healthy co-parenting behaviors

between parents (Schramm et al., 2018). In the United States, 48 states have some form of divorce education pro-

gramming available for divorcing parents of minor children and 34 states mandate program attendance (Mulroy

et al., 2013, Ferraro et al., 2020). Mandating programs as part of the legal divorce process may be seen as a preventa-

tive approach to avoid negative outcomes or an intervention when the family has been in conflict before the legal

proceedings. In addition to the mandated attendees, legal and mental health professionals may recommend divorce

education programs as a resource to help family relationships.

GUYETTE and HARRIS 543