TRIBAL WARFARE: THE INVOLVEMENT OF EXTENDED KIN AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS IN CUSTODY AND ACCESS DISPUTES*

• Published date: 01 June 1986
• Date: 01 June 1986
• Author: Linda E. G. Campbell,Janet R. Johnston
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.174-1617.1986.tb00124.x

TRIBAL WARFARE:THE INVOLVEMENT

OF

EXTENDED KIN AND SIGNIFICANT

OTHERS

IN

CUSTODY AND ACCESS DISPUTES*

Janet

R.

Johnston and Linda

E.

G.

Campbell**

Background

The impact

of

divorce on the network of

kin relationships is a phenomena that is

only beginning to be examined. Despite the

hope that divorce and remarriage can be an

integrative social process by bridging dif-

ferent kin networks through children (Hein-

rich, 1972; Ahrons, 1979; Kaslow and Hyatt,

1982), the major findings to date indicate

that during separation and divorce, the ex-

tended family network is split in two. The

divorcing spouses continue or increase their

contact with their own kin (consanguines)

and markedly decrease contact with the

ex-spouses kin (affines), (Anspach, 1976;

Spicer and Hampe, 1975). Though the pres-

ence of children increases the likelihood

that both sets of kin will remain involved,

who has custody will influence whose kin

the children will see most frequently, i.e.

mothers’ or fathers.’ Moreover, at remar-

riage, children are likely to be integrated

into the new spouses’ kin network. Thus

the kin of the non-custodial parent are likely

to be eliminated unless efforts are made to

prevent this (Anspach, 1976; Furstenberg,

1979; Ahrons and Bowman, 1981).

During and after divorce, what amount

of support is given by extended kin and

what is the effect of that support? A num-

ber of studies have yielded some puzzling

findings. Weiss (1975) and Goode (1956)

found high levels

of

economic and social

support from extended kin, but the impact

of

that help was obscure. In fact, Goode

observed that when friends and kin were

either highly positive or highly negative

about the divorce, and hence involved in

*

Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Conference of

AFCC, May 22-25,1985, in Vancouver, Canada.

**

Janet

R.

Johnston, Ph.D. and Linda

E.

G.

Campbell,

Ph.D., Child and Family Divorce Counseling Serv-

ice, Children’s Hospital of San Francisco, Califor-

nia.

1

the conflict, adjustment was poor. Separat-

ing spouses seemed to do best when kin

were neutral or uninvolved

.

In a well de-

signed study comparing low income and

moderate income divorced and married

mothers, Colletta (1979) found that divorced

women received assistance mainly from

their families of origin. Those with low in-

comes received the most help (25% shared

accommodation and 83% received help with

housework, child care and finances). De-

spite these higher levels

of

support, these

women were less satisfied with the help

they received and this was directly reflected

in

more punitive child rearing practices. In

another study, Spanier and Hanson (1981)

found that support from and interaction with

extended kin either are unrelated or nega-

tively related to the adjustment to marital

separation.

Although ethnic groups are more likeiy

to have larger and more integrated networks

of extended kin, they are ambivalent about

the support received from them (Keefe et

al., 1979; Mindel and Habenstein, 1976). In

a cross-cultural investigation of social sup-

port and well-being (Cabezas, 1982), it was

found that Mexican-Americans, foreign born

Chinese, Phillipino, and American Indians

turned primarily to their extended kin at the

time of divorce or breakup of relationships.

With the exception of the American Indians,

they all reported low levels of support (both

practical and emotional). With no exception,

they all reported

low

levels of life satisfac-

tion and poor health compared to the norm.

On the other hand, Japanese and American

born Chinese, who had lower rates of di-

vorce and breakups, turned to non kin at

these times for help. In general, these

groups had higher levels of life satisfaction

and better health status, more comparative

to whites. Black Americans, who had high

incidence of breakups, turned primarily to

CONCILIATION COURTS REVlEWlVOLUME

24,

NUMBER 1/JUNE

1986

kin and were intermediate in social support,

life satisfaction and health.

In general then, we have findings that

considerable help

is

usually forthcoming

from relatives and others at the time of

divorce and after, but this help is not asso-

ciated with enhanced emotional adjustment,

improved health, more satisfaction or bet-

ter role functioning as parents. This is in

marked contradiction to the large body of

accumulating research that shows social

support, in general, to be a buffer between

life stress and both psychological and physi-

cal health (Kessler et al., 1985; Mueller, 1980;

Berkman and Syme, 1979). What is signifi-

cantly different about social support given

by kin? Two explanations have been offered:

First, those that rely on extensive help from

kin are perhaps more needy and psychologi-

cally troubled than those who do not

(Col-

letta, 1979). Second, help from kin is a mixed

blessing because it comes with a price:

counter demands, obligations, interference,

criticism and disapproval (Spanier and

Hanson, 1981; Keefe et al., 1979).

This study uses the clinical method to

explore the dynamics of the involvement of

kin and significant others during one kind

of post-divorce problem: disputes over the

custody and care of children. Intervention

implications and strategies for the media-

tion of entrenched custody disputes are con-

currently presented. This paper is one of a

series describing impasses to custody and

visitation disputes. While it focuses on the

external social impediments to a settlement,

others describe interactional and intrapsy-

chic levels of impasse. (Johnston et al.,

1983; 1985a; Campbell et al., 1985a; 1985b).

Study Population

Our observations are drawn from a study

of 80 divorcing families whose parents were

contesting the custody and access arrange-

ments for their 100 children (aged

6

months-

12 years). The families were referred for

counseling from the local family courts in

the San Francisco Bay Area, when brief

mandatory mediation had not settled their

differences, or when despite a mediated

settlement, the parents were still in conflict.

These parents had been engaged

in

fairly

long term, at times chronic, disputes over

their children (average duration 1 year

5

months; range 1 month-8 years); half had

repeated litigation spanning a number of

years. Though the parents had been sepa-

rated on the average two years three

months, they were having difficulty reach-

ing a stable post-divorce settlement (only

29% had final divorce decrees).

In terms of racial and ethnic origins,

these families were remarkably diverse:

64%

white, 8% Black, 13% Hispanic (Mexican,

Central and South American), 8% Asian

(Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian) and 7%

other (e.g. Phillipino, American and Asian

Indian, Iranian). One third of the sample

were ending a mixed racial marriage. In

terms of occupational status,

30%

rated 4

on the Hollingshead seven factor index

(clerical, sales and technical workers). The

rest were evenly distributed among the re-

maining six categories, ranging from major

professionals to unemployed. Despite this

range in occupational status, as a group

the parents were low income, (median in-

come for fathers was $14,400 p.a. and for

mothers was $10,800 p.a.) mostly because

only

55%

were employed fulltime; 13%

worked part-time and 32% were unem-

ployed. This employment status was equally

true for men and women. In sum, this group

of divorcing parents was of multi-ethnic

origin, economically stressed and severely

entrenched in disputes.

Involvement of significant others

What significant others were involved

in the daily lives of these parents? One

indicator is the people with whom the par-

ents resided.

As can be seen in Table

1,

approximately

one fourth of fathers and mothers were liv-

ing with a new partner. Almost another one

third of the mothers and one fifth of fathers

were living with extended kin. These signifi-

cant others not only shared accommoda-

tion but helped with preparing meals, mar-

keting and household chores, babysat and

2