"Until Divorce Do Us Part" : A Study of Divorce Litigation and Subsequent Child Custody Dispositions

Abstract

The present research is being done in two stages. The first stage involves taking a complete census, or inventory, of approximately 3,000 divorce cases involving minor children (up to age 18). which are initiated every six months in Oakland County, Michigan The second phase of the research involves a more intensive longitudinal study of the legal processes and divorce-related familial outcomes experienced by 200. cases selected from the court caseload. This stage of the research will include a longer term follow up (at 18~ and again at 36 months after initial contact) of the children and parents of the 200 selected cases. Due to time constraints, this paper can deal only with the .first stage of this research project.