Key Research Findings on Interparental Conflict, Family Violence, and Parenting After Separation
Let us focus here on a 2024 Dr. Edward Kruk important article: Going Beyond the Gender Paradigm: A New Perspective on Interparental Conflict, Family Violence, and Fathering After Separation by Dr. Edward Andrew Kruk, published in New Male Studies (Vol. 13, Issue 2, 2024). Please read on to the end of this short piece. At the bottom of this page, you will find links to some of my writings and presentations on the Family Violence issue.
Recent research has looked at differences between inter parental conflict and family violence, patterns of intimate partner violence, and the implications for parenting arrangements after separation. This analysis largely draws from Dr. Kruk’s article where he looks at the issue of parenting time after separation when there’s family violence involved. Research demonstrates that children do best when they have strong relationships with both parents, but if there’s violence, that may create an unsafe or unsustainable environment.
Differentiating Between Interparental Conflict and Family Violence
In these discussions, we must understand that interparental conflict and family violence are distinct phenomena, and conflating the two makes it much harder to do what is best for the children involved. High-conflict relationships between parents often involve poor communication, repetitive disputes, and arguing over minor issues—but that doesn’t establish family violence.
Family violence includes patterns of abuse, including:
- Physical harm
- Psychological and emotional abuse
- Coercive or financial control
- Fear and intimidation
Scholars and family law lawyers in Ontario must understand the distinction between these categories before making risk assessments.
Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence
There’s a large body of research focused on intimate partner violence, and empirical research indicates that:
- Intimate partner violence occurs across myriad demographic groups.
- This form of violence may be reciprocal in many cases, rather than unidirectional.
- Severe and ongoing coercive control is a small subset of these cases.
- Stress-related, situational episodes of violence are significantly more common than continuous patterns of violence.
Research findings may skew results in a way that does not represent the general population. Findings from shelter-based populations or criminal justice samples are at risk of over-representing some types of intimate partner violence.
The research distinguishes between various types of family violence:
- Physical violence;
- Emotional and psychological abuse;
- Sexual abuse;
- Economic abuse;
- Use of legal processes to control or burden the other party.
When making decisions and assessing risk with regards to post-separation parenting arrangements, it’s important to consider the frequency, severity, and context of occurrences.
Parental Alienation
Dr. Kruk acknowledges the role of parental alienation in contentious splits as a form of abuse that disproportionately affects men and fathers. Parental alienation is:
- Unwarranted removal of a loving and capable parent from a child’s life;
- Mental condition causing a child to ally strongly with one parent while rejecting the other;
- Unsubstantiated based on the child’s actual relationship with the alienated parent and the parent’s treatment of the child;
- A form of emotional abuse with long-reaching ramifications for a child’s well-being and their relationship with both parents.
This is not just a problem affecting specific families and parents. It is a systemic problem created by a legal process that incentivizes adversarial positioning instead of cooperative parenting. The result is poor outcomes for both parents and children.
Because parental alienation is widespread and has profoundly negative effects on a child’s well-being, it’s important for family law professionals to recognize parental alienation as a type of both child abuse and intimate partner violence.
Intervention and Prevention Strategies
There are numerous intervention programs, but many are ineffective and outdated. The Duluth model, which relies on a power and control wheel, has been criticized in literature as ineffective. Legal interventions, such as mandatory arrest laws, have not decreased family violence; they have escalated it.
Further, victim services are largely skewed to female victims, with limited resources and guidance for men experiencing female-perpetrated intimate partner violence.
Prevention remains the most effective way to reduce intimate partner violence cases.
How Research Translates Into Recommendations for Policy and Practice
Every discussion regarding parenting time after separation should begin with an assessment of the children’s safety and the parents’ safety. While abuse must be treated seriously in family court, most parenting time fights are high-conflict—not abusive. Shared parenting remains the best option for most kids, and sole parenting time arrangements may increase conflict.
If abuse is proven, safety overrides the recommendation for shared parenting. Improved screening and training may lead to better outcomes for parents and children. An evidence-based approach remains essential when courts make parenting time decisions.
Polarization of positions and adherence to ideology prevents meaningful dialogue. The lack of dialogue leads us to an impasse position. Dr. Kruk advocates for the various sides truly communicating with each other so that we may have meaningful reform in three areas: legislative, policy, professional practice. Family violence impacts all genders and many children. We are faced with a public health emergency according to Dr. Kruk, who cogently argues for non-gender based dialogue.
Gene C. Colman video presentations and blog posts –
Family Violence
I appeared (18 January 2024) on an episode of “Families Divided”. My topic was “Family Violence Update: How are Canada’s Courts Addressing the Issue?”
Risk Factors in Family Violence – Gene C. Colman appeared at a Continuing Legal Education program on 13 November 2024. GCC first talks at 14:26 and then again at 17:46
Helping Clients Manage Intimidation From Their Ex
Surprising Family Violence Stats! It’s Not Simply Gender Uni-Directional
Court ruling tackles family violence, parenting time and relocation
Abusive marriage behaviour elicits damages award in Ontario Superior Court
