ARE WE ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS ABOUT ATTACHMENT?

Everett Waters is involved in a wide range of longitudinal research projects and educational programs that advance the Bowlby‐Ainsworth tradition of attachment study. His empirical and theoretical knowledge is far reaching. Here, Waters explores the family law field's hopes and expectations of attachment theory, identifies a number of myths about attachment theory that may influence divorce decision making, and challenges why we ask the questions we do. His views encourage hardened supporters and detractors of attachment theory alike to identify a middle ground where the essence of attachment knowledge might best inform family law practices in divorce and separation matters.     

德国婚后扶养制度研究

根据德国2008年修订后的有关法律,离婚配偶可以因为照顾共同子女、年老、疾病、失业、收入差距、接受教育等原因请求扶养费,也可以基于公平原则请求扶养。公平原则不仅本身可以作为扶养费请求权的基础,同时也是确定扶养费具体数额的标准。扶养费必须满足权利人全部的生活需要,同时兼顾婚姻中的生活状况。提供扶养费的前提是保证义务人自身的供养,以免其本身成为扶养请求权的权利人,同时还要扣除权利人本身的收入。如果扶养义务人同时向多人承担扶养义务,应该按照法律规定的顺位,优先满足未成年子女的扶养费。为了实现个案中的公平原则,德国2008年立法改革对于扶养请求权设定了限制,包括时间上的限制和数额上的限制。此外,为了达到公平的目的,法律规定了8种重大不公的情况,在这些情况下,扶养义务人可以免除其扶养责任。     

ASSESSMENTS FOR POSTSEPARATION PARENTING DISPUTES IN CANADA

There is controversy in Canada about the use of assessments by mental health professionals to assist in the resolution of postseparation disputes between parents about their children. Although the principles developed by the Supreme Court of Canada to govern the admission of expert evidence in criminal law cases provides guidance for judges in family law cases, in deciding whether to order an assessment or admit expert evidence, family law judges must also take account of the child-related context. Mental health professionals can provide valuable information that would otherwise be unavailable when making prospective decisions about children. Court-appointed assessors also have a significant institutional role in the family law cases that has no equivalent in the criminal law context. Assessors are important not only for the relatively rare cases that go to trial, but they also play a central role in helping to resolve the much larger number of cases that are settled.     

A PRACTITIONER'S PERSPECTIVE ON UNIFIED FAMILY COURTS: CASE STUDIES

As a summary of simple examples demonstrating practical advantages of a family court, this article relates a few experiences from the perspective of a family law attorney who practices regularly in the Fulton County Family Division in Atlanta.     

刑事法律亲情体恤之法律效益——基于我国现行刑事法律亲情法律地位缺失的思考

从表面上看,提高法律效益与亲情体恤是相互矛盾的,似乎要提高法律效益就得以牺牲亲情体恤为代价。事实与之正好相反,缺乏亲情体恤的法律是最没有效益的。法律只有充分体现亲情体恤才有可能获得社会成员的普遍认同、信仰与遵循,法律调整的实际状况和结果才能反映或体现创制法律的社会目的,也就是法律才能产生预期的效益。     

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN EUROPEAN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS: WHY ARE FAMILY PRACTICES SO DIFFERENT FROM LEGAL THEORIES?

Debates about child custody following parental separation often have been framed in terms of a battle between the competing rights of different family members. In the United States, advocates of mothers’ rights square off against proponents of fathers’ rights, with each side claiming to truly represent children's rights. Of course, not all advocates lay claim to children's rights in contact and custody disputes merely as a tactical maneuver. Some experts believe that children are entitled to (and benefit from) their own, independent legal advocate in custody cases. In theory, at least, the position that children lay claim to a third set of independent rights is strongly held in Europe, more strongly than in many U.S. states, because of the adoption of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Europe, but not in the United States. In this article, we examine children's rights in custody disputes from a European perspective, particularly children's legal right to contact with their parents, as well as the children's right to be heard in custody and contact disputes. We find that, despite differences in legal theory, tradition, and family demographics, European countries ultimately face a familiar reality: Custody and contact disputes are, in reality, more about renegotiating family relationships than they are a matter of a mother's, father's, or child's rights.     

Social context,family process,and Turkish boys’ pathway to incarceration: an application of the age-graded theory of informal social control

Although the juvenile delinquency problem in Turkey has become increasingly visible in the last decade, existing research on Turkish youth convicted of delinquency is still in its early stages. The purpose of this study was to apply the age-graded theory of informal social control that was developed by Sampson and Laub to the Turkish context, and to explore the role of family processes that lead young men to prison. Data are from in-depth interviews with 30 convicted juveniles in a juvenile prison. Data analysis highlighted the negative effects of specific family processes such as youth’s lack of attachment to their parents, which may result from harsh or erratic methods of discipline, and low levels of parental monitoring. The findings suggest that it is essential to implement family-oriented interventions to prevent and control serious delinquency.     

CHILD‐FOCUSED AND CHILD‐INCLUSIVE DIVORCE MEDIATION: COMPARATIVE OUTCOMES FROM A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF POSTSEPARATION ADJUSTMENT

This study compared outcomes over 1 year for two groups of separated parents, who attended two different forms of brief therapeutic mediation for entrenched parenting disputes. The two interventions each targeted psychological resolution of parental conflict, enhanced parental reflective function, and associated reduction of distress for their children. The child‐focused (CF) intervention actively supported parents to consider the needs of their children, but without any direct involvement of the children, while the child‐inclusive (CI) intervention incorporated separate consultation by a specialist with the children in each family, and consideration of their concerns with parents in the mediation forum. Repeated measures at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year postintervention explored changes over time and across treatments in conflict management, subjective distress, and relationship quality for all family members. Enduring reduction in levels of conflict and improved management of disputes, as reported by parents and children, occurred for both treatment groups in the year after mediation. The CI intervention had several impacts not evident in the other treatment group, related to relationship improvements and psychological well‐being. These effects were strongest for fathers and children. Agreements reached by the CI group were significantly more durable, and the parents in this group were half as likely to instigate new litigation over parenting matters in the year after mediation as were the CF parents. The article explores the potential of CI divorce mediation to not only safely include many children in family law matters related to them, but also to promote their developmental recovery from high‐conflict separation, through enhanced emotional availability of their parents.     

IS THE APPROXIMATION RULE IN THE CHILD'S BEST INTERESTS?

In an effort to develop clear and uniform standards for the allocation of custodial responsibility, the American Law Institute has proposed a number of reforms. For example, under the approximation rule, the proportion of time parents spent with their children performing direct caregiving functions prior to the divorce would be reflected in the proportion of custodial time allotted to each parent after divorce. Much of the rationale used to justify the approximation rule is explicitly or implicitly based on attachment theory ( Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980 ). This article discusses the assumptions and implications of the approximation rule from the standpoint of attachment theory.