GRANDPARENT VISITATION RIGHTS |
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| Authors: | Ross A Thompson Mario J Scalora Susan P Limber Lynn Castrianno |
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| Institution: | Ross A. Thompson is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Nebraska and Associate Director of the Center on Children, Families, and the Law.;Mario J. Scalora is Research Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Nebraska and Director of Training of the Center on Children, Families, and the Law.;Susan P. Limber and Lynn Castrianno are advanced doctoral students in the Department of Psychology at the University of Nebraska. |
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| Abstract: | In recent years, legislators in all fifty states have given grandparents rights to petition for visitation privileges with grandchildren that can be enforced over parental objections. Grandparent visitation rights reflect an effort to protect meaningful relationships children enjoy with nonparental caregivers, enlist the assistance of extended family when the child's nuclear family is disrupted, and defend the interests of grandparents themselves. This psycholegal analysis explores the direct and indirect consequences of grandparent visitation statutes for family functioning. Statutory provisions are summarized, and the effects of these statutes are evaluated in light of what is known about the role of grandparents in child development, how courts evaluate children's "best interests" in grandparent visitation disputes, and how these statutes can alter family functioning in informal ways. The authors conclude that there are risks as well as benefits to children and families in grandparent visitation statutes, and suggest directions for procedural and statutory reform. |
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