Objective: The study aimed to explore which factors influence intergenerational contacts between adult children and their separated parents, focusing on childhood characteristics.

Background: Children from separated families have less frequent contact with their parents compared with peers from intact families. Yet few studies have examined the heterogeneity in intergenerational contact within separated families.

Methods: Data were based on Swedish Level of Living Survey. Using linear probability model, the first analysis showed that intergenerational contacts vary depending on family type (n = 2,500). The study then explored variations in contacts within separated families (n = 472).

Results: The findings show that previous frequent contacts with the nonresident parent were positively correlated with current father–child contacts.

Conclusion: Separation has long‐term consequences on intergenerational contacts, and these are partly predicted by childhood characteristics.

Implications: The findings suggest, for example, that alternate living (i.e., children living spending equal time with their parents after separation) may contribute to a more equal distribution of the contact between children and their separated parents even in adulthood and help narrow the gender gap in intergenerational contacts within separated families.

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore how different forms of conflict in childhood and parental separation additively and interactively predict self-rated health (SRH) in adulthood. Furthermore, a subsample analysis investigated how different family conflicts predict SRH in adulthood within the group of separated families, controlling for post-separation circumstances.

Background: Previous research shows that adult children from separated families have worse health compared to peers from intact families. Additionally, inter-parental conflicts are closely associated with parental separation and known to negatively influence children's health. Few studies have taken a broader perspective on conflicts and included conflicts beyond the inter-parental subsystem, such as within other family subsystems, into their analysis.

Methods: Data were based on Swedish Level of Living Survey (LNU). Using linear probability modelling the first analysis shows that SRH in adulthood varies depending on family type and the occurrence of conflict in childhood (n = 6,638). The study then explored variations in SRH within separated families (n = 934).

Results: The results show that adult children from separated families and families with different types of conflicts have worse SRH compared to their peers in intact families and families with no conflicts.

Conclusion: Parental separation has long-term consequences on children's SRH and this relationship is partly predicted by parent-child conflicts.

Implications: The results underline the importance of considering children's involvement when studying the separation process and its outcomes. They also suggest that interventions to help parents and children through a separation would benefit from a focus, not only on inter-parental conflicts but also, on parent-child conflicts, as well as parents' role modelling to prevent children from experiencing negative long-term health outcomes.

Objective: The aim of the study was twofold. First, to examine if children’s perception of their parent-child relationship is influenced by a parental separation and second, to investigate if children’s perception of their relationship with parents is influenced by their living arrangements post-separation. 

Background: Previous findings indicate that children living in shared residence generally fare better across several life domains compared to children living in sole parental households. There is, however, limited knowledge of how children’s relationships with both parents develop after parental separation during childhood.

Methods: Using a ‘here-and-now’ approach and children’s own reports, the data includes two cross-sectional waves (2000 and 2010) of the child survey (Child-LNU) that accompanies the Swedish Level-of-Living Survey (LNU). The analytical sample consisted of 2,064 children (10-18 years) in both intact and separated families, while a subsample of only separated families comprised 455 children.

Results: The results show that (1) children in separated families were less likely to turn to both parents when worried (emotional support) compared to children in intact families. Additionally, they were less likely to report that they get along very well with both parents. Analyses with children from separated families only showed that (2), children living in shared residence arrangements did not differ significantly from children in intact families, whereas children in sole parental residence fared worse regarding both emotional support from, and relationship quality with, both parents. In-depth analysis of the subsample on separated families showed that children in shared residence arrangements were more likely to maintain a good relationship with both parents after separation compared to children in sole parental residence.

Conclusion: Shared residence enables children to maintain a relationship with both parents after separation, both regarding the dimension of perceived emotional support and by obtaining relationship quality, which was on par with the parental relationships of children in intact families. The results especially underline the importance of fathers’ involvement post-separation, as they historically were the non-resident parent.