The Consequences of Divorce-Related Relocation: A Scoping Review on the (Lack of) Knowledge of the Topic

Abstract

This scoping review aims to provide a systematic overview of the empirical literature on the consequences of divorce-related relocation for children. Literature in English and Dutch focused on divorce-related relocation within countries was screened. The 17 empirical studies, based on 10 independent samples and addressing the consequences of divorce-related relocation, were coded, and analyzed. The results of the included studies, with due caution given the quality of the studies and variation in the data, seem to suggest that divorce-related relocation might possibly have a short-term negative impact on psychological-, relational- and behavioral consequences. The few observations on financial-, physical health- and educational consequences made it difficult to draw conclusions. Extensive empirical research on this topic should be conducted, preferably longitudinal and including a comparison group. This could provide further insight into the short- and long-term consequences of divorce-related relocation for children and the possible interconnectedness of these consequences.

Keywords:

• relocation
• divorce
• scoping review
• family law

The consequences of parental divorce for the children involved have been the subject of research for many years (Amato, 2010; Van Dijk et al., 2020). Parental divorce impacts the children involved, but reactions vary greatly (Amato, 2000; Garriga & Pennoni, 2022). Overall, children of divorced parents have been found to score lower on several psychological-, relational-, behavioral-, financial-, physical health- and educational consequences in the long- and short-term (e.g., Douglas, 2020; Frisco et al., 2007; Tullius et al., 2022).

Divorce may cause multiple changes in a child’s life, ranging from practical changes, such as a parent moving out of the house, to more far-reaching changes such as the possibility of increased conflict between parents or the loss of contact with a parent. Another divorce-related change in the child’s life may be the consequence of a parent’s wish to move to another place of residence with the child(ren) after divorce, which may lead to a so-called “relocation dispute” if the other parent does not agree with the move (Taylor & Freeman, 2010). Since both parents generally have good reasons for their stance with regard to the relocation, these disputes are very difficult to resolve and may easily result in legal proceedings.

Divorce-related relocation with one or both of the parents may have a variety of adverse consequences for the children involved. While a stable and secure family environment protects children, relocation can be harmful, and those negative consequences can be magnified in families that are not intact (Austin, 2008; Werner & Smith, 2019). The age of a child is important in this context, as children go through different developmental stages (Verhulst, 2021). When a child experiences a divorce-related relocation with a parent, leaving the other parent behind, the relationship with the nonresident parent can be impaired (Mercer, 2006).

Judges all over the world are faced with divorce-related relocation cases, and they struggle how to assess these cases, which are generally regarded as among the most difficult in family law (Stahl, 2016). How these cases are judged differs per jurisdiction, depending on the importance of contextual factors taken into account and the amount of discretionary power given to judges (George, 2014; Terry et al., 1998). Legal experts have debated for decades how these cases should be assessed, while judges struggle to make decisions that serve the best interests of the child (Austin, 2008; Henaghan, 2011), as there appears to be little scientific and empirical consensus on the effects of divorce-related relocation, even though the impact on the children could be substantial. Political- and other interests also play a role in these cases, because they have a significant societal impact (George, 2014). To enable informed decision-making in court that serves the child’s best interests, gaining more insight into the consequences of divorce-related relocation is imperative.

This scoping review aims to provide an overview of the current knowledge and to map out the consequences of divorce-related relocation for children involved, based on literature in English and Dutch. In general, scoping reviews are conducted to explore the breadth and depth of the existing literature, identify, and summarize the key sources, provide information for future research, and identify or address gaps in the knowledge (Tricco et al., 2016). Scoping reviews are frequently used in the medical- and social sciences because the research process is transparent, valid, reproducible, and reliable (Assendelft et al., 2003; Peters et al., 2021). This method is, however, less common in the legal field, which makes this research innovative and valuable for the development of systematic research methods since it will provide an overview of the current state of affairs and identify possible gaps in the literature using a systematic research method.

This scoping review focuses on the effects of divorce-related relocation and how this empirical knowledge is considered in legal guidelines and rulings. The following research question is addressed: how is the impact on children of divorce-related relocation taken into consideration in judicial choices? The literature included consists of 150 sources and this article focuses on 17 empirical sources focusing on with the consequences of divorce-related relocation for children to establish an outline of the available empirical literature and map out missing knowledge. The focus and research question of this article is: what are the consequences of divorce-related relocation for the children involved? This is answered comprehensively by including the reported consequences for the involved parents, based on the assumption that the consequences for children are interconnected with their social environment.

Method

Search strategy

This scoping review was conducted in collaboration with information specialists from the university library of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), who are specialized in the implementation and use of systematic research methods. In consultation with them, the guidelines of the PRISMA statement were chosen and, when needed, adjusted to be suitable for legal research (Tricco et al., 2018).¹ A comprehensive search was performed in the bibliographic databases Scopus (via Elsevier), Web of Science Core Collection (via Clarivate), APA PsycInfo (via Ebsco) and the International Bibliography of Social Sciences (via ProQuest) on the 9^th of August 2021, in collaboration with the information specialists from the X. The terms “divorce” and “relocation” and “children” or “legislation” were used as index terms or free-text words.² The search was performed without date or language restrictions and duplicate articles were excluded.³

Inclusion- and exclusion criteria

To be included in the scoping review, papers had to meet certain content-related and practical eligibility criteria. First, the article had to focus on divorce-related relocation in families with children until the age of 18. They could focus either on the impact of the relocation on the children involved or on the applicable law, legal rulings, or guidelines on this subject, as both subjects are necessary to answer the overall research question. Second, they had to focus on (internal) relocation within a country, and not on international relocation. International relocation and related topics such as emigration and parental child abduction are subjects that fall outside the scope of this review. Articles that focused on the separation of families due to military actions and articles focused on the impact the of relocation of a child on their grandparents were also excluded. Finally, due to practical language barriers, the articles had to be written in English or Dutch. Based on the criteria described above, a detailed scoping review protocol was written in advance and validated by the research team and the information specialists. The protocol describes a content introduction, the relevance of the research, the research questions, methodological choices, the eligibility criteria, the used databases, the search strategy, and the process of source selection.⁴

Study selection

Several steps were followed to screen and select the studies that were included in the scoping review. First, the results from the databases were screened on a title-abstract level (TA-screening), comparing them to the eligibility criteria. Next, a full text-screening was conducted, in which the full articles were read and compared to the eligibility criteria. The 101 papers that met the criteria were included in the review. Snowballing added 49 further articles to the review, which were also screened and coded using the coding scheme. Snowballing entails using the reference list of a paper and the citations to the paper to identify additional papers (Wohlin, 2014).

To increase the reliability of the research, a second screening was conducted by another researcher, hereafter referred to as the “second screener.”⁵ This screener was involved in two phases of the screening process, both the TA-screening and the full text-screening. In the phases of the second screening, the results were discussed and thereafter a Cohen’s Kappa was calculated. The Cohen’s Kappa of the TA-screening and full-text screening both indicated, after the two screeners discussed their choices, an almost perfect level of agreement between the two screeners (0.94 and 0.95) (McHugh, 2012).

Sample of studies

The study selection and data extraction resulted in the inclusion of 150 articles in the scoping review. To answer the research question of this article, which is focused on the consequences of divorce-related relocation for the children involved, this selection was narrowed down to studies that used an empirical method to investigate the consequences of divorce-related relocation for children. Only 17 of the 150 articles met this criterion; these 17 articles are the basis of the results section below. See Table A1 in the appendix for the definition of relocation used, and other specific descriptive features of the included studies. The empirical studies were all retrieved via social scientific databases, which are depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Study selection flowchart with a focus on the social scientific articles, from which the 17 empirical studies were derived.

Data extraction

The data from these 17 studies were extracted in two ways. First, the relevant aspects of the studies were coded in Atlas in accordance with a coding scheme that was established in several test rounds in collaboration with the research group.⁶ The coding scheme covered publishing information of the study, the research question, the answer to the research question, the type of study, the method used, and the conclusions drawn. This was useful to gain an impression of the core aspects of the included studies.

Next, the measures covering the consequences were coded using a data-extraction sheet, divided into different domains, and coded with a 0 (no effect from divorce-related relocation on the child), a −1 (a negative effect from divorce-related relocation on the child) or a 1 (a positive effect from divorce-related relocation on the child). The domains were based on the measures bottom-up and consist of psychological-, relational-, financial-, physical health-, behavioral- and educational consequences.⁷ For each domain, an overall effect was generated by combining all (neutral, negative and positive) scores, and the term of the effect was coded. Based on the literature, an effect was categorized as short-term if it was measured in the first three years after the divorce, a period seen as the crisis period during which people have to get used to the immediate practical changes (Chase-Lansdale & Hetherington, 1990; Lansford et al., 2006). If an effect was measured after these three years, it was categorized as long-term.⁸

To increase the reliability of the research and validate the researcher, part of the coding process in Atlas T.I. was also conducted by a second screener.⁹ As the coding was conceptual, a liability measure could not be computed, but the two coding’s were compared and discussed by the two researchers. After the discussion, the researchers reached an agreement on the used codes, a process that was valuable to confirm and justify the choices that were made during the coding process.

Results

The descriptive information of the 17 included studies, published between 2002 and 2018, are depicted in Table A1 in the appendix. The consequences of divorce-related relocation in the 17 studies were based on 10 independent samples, as some samples were used in multiple studies.¹⁰ The 17 studies on which the results as discussed in this section are based, used varied and mixed methods with possible methodical caveats and shortcomings. Additionally, the data are so varied that it is not really possible to draw clear conclusions. It is not known to what extent negative effects are related to individual situations or occur at group level and no causal relations can be identified on the basis of the data. These shortcomings should be kept in mind while interpreting the results and are more elaborately discussed in the discussion and conclusion. Three of the samples were recruited using random selection (probability sampling) and the other seven consisted of convenience samples (non-probability sampling). In almost all cases the mother was the one who desired to relocate or actually relocated. The specific information about the samples in the studies can be found in Table A1.

Central to the scoping review are the consequences of relocation in the context of divorce for the children involved. In order to describe and summarize the outcomes of the included studies, the consequences were grouped per life domain. We distinguish between the consequences on psychological-, relational-, behavioral-, financial-, physical health- and educational functioning of children.¹¹ Among the 163 observations covering the consequences for children and parents in the 17 studies,¹² most observations covered psychological (40%) and relational consequences (36%), followed by behavioral (12%) and financial consequences (7%). Consequences on physical health (2%) and educational functioning (2%) were among the least studied outcomes. In the results section, consequences are described separately for each of these domains, by first addressing the consequences for children, and then discussing the potential consequences for each of the parents. A distinction is also made between short- and long-term impact if the included studies allow to do so. In six studies (35%) the term was not mentioned clearly, four focused on the short-term (23,5%), four on the long-term (23,5%), and in three studies (18%) both short- and long-term effects were measured.

Psychological- and emotional consequences

The psychological domain, with a total number of 66 observations, was addressed in all but one study (6)¹³ and covers the consequences of divorce-related relocation on the mental- and emotional functioning of individuals, like general life satisfaction, worry and stress, internalizing problems and views or desires of individuals.

Overall, the results of the included studies, with due caution given the quality of the studies and variation in the data, seem to suggest that divorce-related relocation might possibly have a negative impact on the psychological- and emotional functioning for the children and parents involved. This finding was contrasted by observations in five studies, suggesting that a positive association exists, indicating that the relocation after divorce was related to positive psychological- or emotional consequences (9; 10; 13; 14; 15). Four studies that made use of interview data, based on two different samples, furthermore stated that the majority of the children seemed relatively happy and liked where they lived after a while (9; 10; 13; 15). While some took longer or had more difficulty to settle than others, all of them made new friends, and most reported good experiences in their new location (9; 10; 13; 15). Two studies, on the other hand, reported not to have found an effect on a number of psychological consequences: divorce-related relocation seemed not associated with shyness of the child (2), personality inventory outcomes and the satisfaction with life (16).

Divorce-related relocation is suggested to be associated with negative consequences for mental well-being, as two studies contradicted the findings of the interview-studies described above and reported that the number of moves and separations of parental figures were correlated with an increase of adjustment problems for the child (1; 5). In some relocation situations children reported less general life satisfaction (5) and scored worse on multiple measures of psychological symptoms than children who did not experience a relocation after divorce (16). Children experienced more inner turmoil and distress from divorce when a relocation had occurred, worried more over college expenses (5) and were more likely to be currently taking psychotropic medication for a mental health problem (16). Furthermore, children who experienced a divorce-related relocation were found to have more internalizing problems, although this faded when children grew older (17) and it was reported that divorce-related relocation was associated with an increased risk of major depression until the age of 14, but not thereafter (3).

Divorce-related relocation was also associated with psychological- and emotional consequences for parents. When lawyers and court-procedures were present in a relocation dispute, many parents expressed strong dissatisfaction about the delays they faced. They reported in the short-term that they found the court process and the burden of legal costs highly stressful and felt that the adversarial nature of the proceedings had a detrimental impact on the relationship with their ex-partner (9; 11). Parents who were denied permission to relocate, mostly mothers, reported that it was hard to adjust to and accept the outcome and they felt like their civil rights had been infringed (9), however, the majority did adjust and were able to move on with their lives. Some even said a few years later that in hindsight it was better for the children that the move had not happened (13). The parent who stayed behind, mostly the father, reported to find the situation quite difficult. Fathers spoke about the uncertainty and distress they experienced when they became aware of the ex-partner’s relocation plans, feelings that increased when the application to relocate was successful and the child was actually relocating with the other parent (9).

Relational consequences

The relational domain, with a total number of 59 observations, was addressed in all but one study (3) and covers the consequences of divorce-related relocation on the way people are connected, like the quality of relationships, feelings someone has toward another person and relational levels of conflict.

Overall, the results of the included studies, with due caution given the quality of the studies and variation in the data, seem to suggest that divorce-related relocation might possibly have a negative impact on relational consequences for the children and parents involved. Children who had relocated away from one parent reported to feel less close and connected to both parents years after the divorce than children who had not moved (4; 16), and this seemed related to the ability to adjust to a move (14). Some children did not miss their father that much, but others did (13; 14) and those who did reported they eventually grew accustomed to not seeing this parent (9; 10). The extent of missing a nonresident parent was associated with age, as many younger children who moved were missing their father very much (15).

The relocation, moreover, seemed to be associated with the quality of the relationship between children and their parents, as it was shown that children who did not move, reported a better quality of relationship with their parents and saw them as role models more than children who moved (5). The move was also associated with how much a child felt they mattered to their parents in the short-term, as a negative association was found between the time a child spent with their father and the feeling of anger toward him in the long-term, as less time spent together was associated with more anger (4). This was similar with regard to anger toward a parent, mainly the mother, who tried to undermine contact with the nonresident parent (4).

Lastly with regard to the children, six studies focused on the relationship of children with peers (1; 2; 5; 14; 15; 17). A recurring theme in the interviews with children was the importance of friendships, a factor that made moving more difficult, and conversely if children did move, establishing new friendships was important in feeling settled again (14; 15). On the one hand no association between divorce-related relocation and platonic- and romantic relationship choices of children was found (5), but other research did find an association between the involvement with delinquent peers, an effect that faded in the long-term (17).

Besides the effects regarding the children, the quality of the relationship between parents seemed also associated with a potential relocation. A study stated that relationships between parents before the separation was of better quality when neither parent moved than in any of the other move-away situations (5) and most parents reported very poor or abusive interparental relationships after the relocation (7; 8). The level of parental conflict was thus higher when a move had occurred and no decline in either frequency or severity of conflict was found (6). Parents reported that non-removal orders contributed to a rapid deterioration in interparental relationships (9), but this was contrasted by research that did not find an association between a relocation and the parental relationship quality in the long-term (17).

The nonresident parents, mostly fathers, reported in interviews that the contact with their child was impacted by the move (12), as for most fathers contact diminished over time in both the short- and long-term (13). Already within a few months after the relocation, several nonresident fathers reported problems with the contact-arrangements (11), opposed to research stating that the relocation was rarely the end of a parent-child relationship, and if contact ended, this was due to other factors like violence, mental health problems, and/or substance abuse of a parent (7; 8).

Behavioral consequences

The behavioral domain, with a total number of 20 observations, was addressed in nine studies (1; 2; 5; 6; 7; 8; 12; 16; 17) and covers the consequences of divorce-related relocation on the behavior of individuals, like delinquent behavior and externalizing problems. At first, the findings on possible domestic violence (categorized as behavior of the parents) are described.

Overall, the results of the included studies, with due caution given the quality of the studies and variation in the data, seem to suggest that divorce-related relocation could possibly have a negative impact on behavioral consequences regarding the children involved.

Multiple studies reported the possible presence of domestic violence (6; 7; 8; 12; 16; 17), which was operationalized differently in the various studies included. Domestic violence was assessed from both the perspective of the parent (7; 8; 12; 17) and the perspective of the child (6; 16; 17). In these studies, domestic violence was primarily defined as violence between parents, with one study also addressing domestic violence toward the child (16). Two studies did not describe a relation between relocation status and the presence of domestic violence in the long-term (6; 17), contradicted by an interview-study in which three of the 15 mothers reported events related to domestic violence (12) and it was found that when mothers moved, children reported more frequent physical violence than when neither parent moved (6). Children who experienced a divorce-related relocation were more likely to have experienced childhood verbal or emotional abuse and domestic violence (16) and issues around family violence and child abuse were present in the majority of litigated cases in both the short- and long-term (7; 8).

Besides the presence of domestic violence, divorce-related relocation seemed associated with behavioral consequences in regard to children. In one study no association between move-away status and substance abuse scales was found (5), although in later research it was found that relocation was associated with more drug use by children in the short-, but not the long-term (17). In other research relocation was associated with more juvenile justice involvement and a larger degree of externalizing problems in the short-term, effects that faded for older children (17) and were confirmed by the fact that children who experienced a divorce-related relocation were more likely to report having an arrest history than children who relocated in an intact family-setting (16). There was more hostility evident in children whose father relocated without them than in those who relocated with their mother (5) and children with a relocation history were more likely to report having a history of self-harming behaviors and suicide attempts (16). Lastly, children whose families relocated in the context of divorce had lower levels of participation in extracurricular activities (2).

Financial consequences

The financial domain, with a total number of 11 observations, was addressed in nine studies (1; 4; 5; 9; 11; 13; 15; 16; 17) and covers the financial consequences of divorce-related relocation for individuals such as the parental contribution to college expenses and the income of a parent. Overall, the results of the included studies, with due caution given the quality of the studies and variation in the data, seem to suggest that divorce-related relocation could possibly have a negative impact on financial consequences for the individuals involved. The domain, however, consists of a limited number of observations, so the conclusions should be interpreted tentatively.

An association was found between divorce-related relocation and the amount of financial support children received from their parent, as fathers contributed less in the long-term when children did not live with them at least a substantial amount of time, and mothers contributed less when children did not live with them for a majority of the time (4). Other research reported that father’s voluntary support for college dropped off noticeably when the child relocated with their mother, and this financial loss was not compensated by the mother (5). The costs of the relocation dispute were very high for most parents, especially when the case was resolved by a judge (11; 13) and, as they reported, caused serious financial impediments for some (9).

The costs of travel were also very high after a relocation and sometimes were a significant impediment to contact (11; 15). Besides these financial effects, no effects were found with regard to income levels of children and their parents (16) or on mother’s family income (17).

Physical health consequences

The physical health domain, with a total number of four observations, was addressed in four studies (5; 13; 15; 16) and covers the consequences of divorce-related relocation on the well-being of the body and general physical health of individuals. Overall, the observations in the included studies, with due caution given the quality of the studies and variation in the data, seem to suggest that divorce-related relocation could possibly have a negative effect on physical health consequences, although the limited number of observations makes it difficult to draw conclusions.

On the one hand lower general physical health in children who moved with their mother than in children who did not move was found (5), contrasted by other research that did not find any differences between these groups on health-related consequences (16). It was also found that fathers whose children moved away reported on average the least improvement in stress levels and health problems four to five years after the relocation. Gender differences seemed to play a role here, while the relocating mothers on average showed greater improvement in stress levels but had more elevated scores to begin with (13; 15).

Educational consequences

The educational domain, with a total number of three observations, was addressed in two studies (1, 16) and covers the performances that indicate the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals, specifically in school, college, and university, like the highest level of education obtained. One study that included educational outcomes did not report on the educational consequences (1), indicating no difference was found, and the other study reported to have found no effect on these outcomes (16). As this domain contains few observations though, it is difficult to draw conclusions.

Additional findings

Descriptive observations of the included studies were mapped and some of the results are worth mentioning, although they do not focus on empirical consequences for the people involved. First of all, children who had experienced a divorce-related relocation were on average older when their parents got divorced and were more likely to have had a child themselves during the longitudinal research, than children who did not experience a divorce-related relocation (16). Furthermore, no significant differences were found between the groups regarding current and past SES-scores (16), but there was a high prevalence of alleged mental illness, drug-, or alcohol addiction (7; 8) and of domestic violence (6; 7; 8; 16) among parents in relocation cases. This may be related to the finding that most of these parents had pre-separation relationships with high conflict and/or abuse prior to the divorce and relocation (7; 8), possibly indicating that families who experience a divorce-related relocation differ in regard to these risk factors from families who do not relocate. This fact might lead to the conclusion that “relocation-cases” are divorce cases in which there is a high prevalence of risk-factors.

Discussion

This scoping review aimed to answer the research question what are the consequences of divorce-related relocation for the children involved? The empirical consequences reported in 17 studies, based on 10 independent samples, conducted between 2002 and 2018 in the USA, Australia and New Zealand were divided in consequences on the psychological-, relational-, behavioral-, financial-, physical health- and educational functioning of children, and intertwined with that, also for their parents.

Overall, the studies suggest that divorce-related relocation might possibly have a short-term negative effect on the children and parents involved, especially on psychological-, relational- and behavioral functioning, although it seems to be different per situation and case and it is difficult to draw general conclusions based on the limited research that was conducted. A factor that appears to be of importance with regard to the child’s ability to adjust after a relocation, is the quality of contact and relationship with the nonresident parent, a finding that was associated with age, as many younger children who moved missed their nonresident parent a great deal. This finding could potentially be explained in the context of attachment, as especially for children at a young age contact with a parent is important to build a healthy attachment with this parent (Mercer, 2006).

For behavioral consequences, an indication for short-term effects appeared to be present, although it is difficult to draw conclusions for the long-term, since some effects had faded when measured again later. Just one sample was examined multiple times with a longitudinal method, in which parents and children were interviewed over a four-five year period after the relocation (11; 12; 13; 14; 15). Since the other studies did not include longitudinal research, the long-term implications of the consequences found cannot be estimated; reported effects may have diminished or faded in the long term. Furthermore, the included studies report on observations that are based on associations, and it cannot be concluded that the consequences found are solely the result of the divorce-related relocation. All this means that the results of this review should be perceived tentatively, they do not imply that divorce-related relocation always has a negative impact on the children involved and should not be interpreted in that way.

Limitations

Although a comprehensive bibliographic search was conducted, only 17 relevant studies based on 10 independent samples from three countries were found, which is considered to be a relatively small number of studies. It is likely that the different circumstances in the three countries influence the empirical results, since countries vary, for example, with regard to their legal system and practicalities like their size. Additionally, the used variables in the studies were sometimes limited and insufficient, as some domains consisted of few observations, even though these consequences are of considerable importance. The methods used in the included studies consisted mainly of mixed designs, using an (semi-structured) interview method and conducting surveys. Furthermore, the definition and specifics of the relocations included in the articles differed. Three of the samples were based on a convenience sample consisting of students (2; 4; 5; 6), which could cause a significant difference between the sample and the “general population” and may distort the results (Peterson & Merunka, 2014). Besides that, the sample sizes and sampling methods differed, and multiple studies reported difficulties in gathering enough participants and the information given in some studies was not complete and extensive.¹⁴

Implications and suggestions

It should be noted that the studies do not clearly identify particular negative impact most or all of the time. The data are so varied that it is not really possible to draw a clear conclusion. For example, it is not known to what extent negative effects are related to individual situations or occur at group level. Based on the data, no causal relations can be identified, as most data are correlational. Empirical consequences for the children involved could also be caused by other factors, for example by domestic violence, which is present in a substantial number of relocation cases, according to the studies. Furthermore, the outcomes observed in the included studies lack contextualization, rendering it unclear to what degree these effects exhibit significant divergence from those prevalent in the general population.

All in all, a number of suggestions for future research regarding relocation cases can be derived from this review. First of all, more extensive empirical research on this topic should be conducted, preferably including a comparison group. Longitudinal research would be particularly valuable in this context, since there are indications for short-term consequences, but it is unclear whether these consequences persist in the long-term. Secondly, it would be valuable to gain insight into the interwovenness of the domains used in this review, as the consequences in the different domains may influence and potentially reinforce each other. Furthermore, longitudinal and comprehensive empirical research could provide further insight into the short- and long-term consequences of divorce-related relocation for children, and the possible interconnectedness of these consequences.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that judges and other professionals from all over the world are faced with divorce-related relocation cases on a regular basis and this particular area of research is sometimes highly gendered and politically driven, there is still very little empirical knowledge about the consequences of relocation in the context of divorce for the children involved. This paper systematically mapped out and bundled the available heterogeneous scientific knowledge on these consequences, by using the method of a scoping review. This leads to the conclusion that, with the exception of particular indications for short-term consequences on certain life domains, the lack of knowledge on this topic urges scientists to conduct proper empirical research on this topic in the future.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 More information about PRISMA can be found on http://www.prisma-statement.org/.

2 Including synonyms and closely related words.

3 The full search strategies for the first mentioned databases can be found in the supplementary information.

4 The protocol has not been published but is accessible and can be requested from the author via e-mail ([email protected]).

5 This second screener was an experienced student-assistant from the department. The contact details of this student-assistant are known by the research group, but not mentioned here regarding privacy reasons.

6 More information about ATLAS.ti can be found on https://atlasti.com/.

7 ‘Bottom-up’ in this context means that the variables in the studies shaped the ideas for the different domains, and thus the choice of domains is based on the data in the literature.

8 This distinction can be subject for discussion and the included studies use different terms. Based on the mentioned literature this choice was made.

9 This second screener was another person than the second screener in the screening process. This second screener was a colleague from the VU, a PhD-student. The contact details of this colleague are known by the research group, but not mentioned here regarding privacy reasons.

10 Which studies used the same sample can be found in Table A1, indicated by the footnotes and different colors.

11 The data-extraction sheet can be requested by sending an e-mail to the author via ([email protected]).

12 The distribution of measures per domain can be found in Table A2 in the appendix.

13 The numbers refer respectively to the included studies, which can be found in Table A1 in the appendix.

14 The specifics and descriptive information on the sample details of the 17 included studies can be found in Table A1 in the appendix.

15 Research 5 and 6 are based on the same sample: “Psychology Department Study,” as research 6 re-analyses the data of 5.

16 Research 7 and 8 are based on the same sample: “Parents with Contested Court Order.”

17 This information was not explicitly available in the study.

18 Research 9 and 10 are based on the same sample: “100 New Zealand Families sample.” The focus is different, while 9 focuses on the parents and 10 on the children of the sample.

19 Research 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are based on the same sample: “5-year prospective longitudinal study,” although the focus in some studies is different. Research 12 focuses on the mothers whose relocation application was denied and who did not move because of this. Research 14 focuses on the experiences of the children involved and reports on survey-data that is not used in the other research. The focus of research 15 seems to lie in the long-term consequences and experiences after the relocation dispute. The latter is not, however, explicitly mentioned in the research, but is derived from the data by the author.

20 This information was not explicitly available in the study. What is said is the following: “Relocation cases in Australia are just a subset of the general body of disputes on parenting matters. For this reason, there is no need to provide a clear definition of what a relocation case is.”

21 This information was not explicitly available in the study.

22 These two studies reported on the same observations and data.

Appendix A

Conducted bibliographic search Results databases 9^th of August 2021.

Database	Results
Web of Science	2308
APA PsycInfo	2294
Scopus	2736
IBSS	1141
Total	8479
After deduplicating	5954

Table A1. Descriptive information of the 17 included studies.

	Sample	Definition of relocation	Research method & category	Research observations
1. Adam & Chase-Lansdale, 2002; USA	Families in Communities Study: 267 African American female adolescents and their female caregivers living in one of three high poverty neighborhoods in a large Midwestern city (Randomized block quota technique – probability sampling)	The total parental separations, as well as separations from mother and father figures, from longstanding and temporary caregivers, and during early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence were examined	Data were collected as part of the Families in Communities (FIC) study by professional survey interviewers with caregivers and adolescents. Most adolescents (95%) completed self- administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires (Quantitative)	The characteristics of adolescents’ current households, welfare in the household, the level of economic pressure, number of residential moves, the number of parental separations & adolescent perceptions of current relationships, educational outcomes, internalizing and externalizing problems, and sexual behavior
2. Norford & Medway, 2002; USA	High School Students Sample: 408 high school students (242 female and 166 male) in grades 10, 11 and 12 in a medium-size South-eastern city and 67 related mothers completed a telephone survey (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	Students who had changed schools	Online survey with students and a telephone survey with several mothers (Quantitative)	The construct of social adjustment as reflected by students’ perceptions of social support and participation in extracurricular activities, depression, the number of prior moves to a new school, the main reason for the move, and the date of last move, demographic and background information, student mobility questionnaire, stressful events scale, shyness scale, family cohesion scale, Reynolds adolescent depression scale, social support appraisals scale (friends subscale), extracurricular activities survey, high mobility attitude scales
3. Gilman et al., 2003; UK	National Collaborative Project: 1089 participants were interviewed (retrieved from National Collaborative Perinatal Project) (Stratified random sample –probability sampling)	Residential instability was based on the number of moves since birth as reported by participants’ mothers during the age 7 interview	A stratified random sample of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project (NCPP) was drawn, and surveys were conducted by trained interviewers (Quantitative)	Demographic measures, childhood SES, Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) and family history of mental disorders
4. Fabricius, 2003; USA	Arizona Psychology Sample: 829 Psychology students (485 female and 344 male) from Arizona State University (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	Parents moving away after divorce, thereby separating children from one parent	A survey was conducted and compared with a comparison group of families which neither parent ever moved away (Qualitative)	Children’s living arrangements, post-divorce parent-child relationships, college financial support and parental relocation after divorce
5. Braver et al., 2003; USA^15	Psychology Department Study: 602 Psychology students from a large Southwestern state University in the fall of 2001 (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	One of the parents moves more than one hour’s drive away from the other parent after their divorce	A survey was conducted and compared with a comparison group of families which neither parent ever moved away (Quantitative)	Financial and emotional support from parents, personal distress and adjustment, social relations, substance abuse, and psychical health
6. Fabricius & Braver, 2006; USA	Psychology Department Study: 602 Psychology students from a large Southwestern state University in the fall of 2001 (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	One of the (divorced) parents moves more than one hour’s drive away from what used to be the family home	Surveys were administered in a large southwestern state university (Quantitative)	How often children had witnessed a parent hitting, questions on parental conflict and domestic violence
7. Behrens et al., 2009; Australia^16	Parents with Contested Court Order: 38 parents (11 mothers and 27 fathers) who had a decision about relocation made by the Federal Court of Australia (FCA), the Family Court of Western Australia (FCWA) or Federal Magistrates Court (FMC) between 2002 and mid-2005 (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	We identify a relocation case as one in which separated parents are in dispute about the geographical place of residence of their child or children	In-depth semi-structured interviews were with parents who had a contested court order in relation to relocation. Besides, a detailed analysis and coding of the population of judgments in relocation cases for the same period was conducted (Qualitative)	Parents’ accounts of circumstances: prior to the relocation dispute, around the time of the relocation dispute and after the relocation dispute
8. Behrens & Smyth, 2010; Australia	Parents with Contested Court Order: 38 parents (11 mothers and 27 fathers) who had a decision about relocation made by the Federal Court of Australia (FCA), the Family Court of Western Australia (FCWA) or Federal Magistrates Court (FMC) between 2002 and mid-2005 (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	N.A.^17	In-depth semi-structured interviews with parents who had a contested court order in relation to relocation (Qualitative)	Parents’ accounts of circumstances: prior to the relocation dispute, around the time of the relocation dispute and after the relocation dispute
9. Taylor et al., 2010; New Zealand^18	100 New Zealand families sample: 114 parents (73 mothers and 41 fathers) from 100 families and 44 children (23 female and 21 male), aged 7-18 years, from 30 families during 2007-2009 (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	Families where a parent has relocated (or sought to relocate) with the children and that move would have a significant impact on contact arrangements with the other parent	Semi-structured interviews and a demographic questionnaire at the end of the interview, the most face-to-face and some over the telephone, via e-mail or with Skype. The parents were interviewed twice (Qualitative)	Details of the separation, relocation (case) and contact/residence arrangements. Parents completed a questionnaire about the parental relationship and the child’s social and emotional development
10. Gollop & Taylor, 2012; UK	100 New Zealand families sample: 44 children (23 female and 21 male), aged 7-18 years, from 30 families during 2007-2009 (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	Families where one parent had relocated (or sought to relocate) and the move would have a significant impact on contact arrangements with the other parent	Interviews with children and young people (Qualitative)	The children’s living arrangements; knowledge and understanding about separation; current and past contact and arrangements and how they felt about these; experiences of moving; advice they would give other children and parents
11. Parkinson et al., 2010; Australia^19	5-year prospective longitudinal study: 80 parents (40 mothers and 40 fathers) and 19 children between mid-2006 and early-2012 from all over the country, interviewed within a few months of the resolution of the relocation dispute (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	N.A.^20	Participants were interviewed three times over a 4–5-year period after the relocation dispute was resolved, in this study only the first two interviews were conducted (Qualitative)	Reasons for relocation, outcomes of the cases, rate of settlement, financial impact of disputes, how the cost of travel affects both resident and nonresident parents, and problem with contact following relocations
12. Parkinson & Cashmore, 2013; Australia	5-year prospective longitudinal study: 15 mothers who did not move because the relocation was denied, from a sample of 80 parents (40 mothers and 40 fathers) between mid-2006 and early-2012 from all over the country (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	Relocation cases involve disputes that arise between parents when one parent who has primary or shared custody of the children wants to move a long way from the current residence, and where such a move will adversely impact the other parent’s opportunity to spend time with the children	Participants were interviewed three times over a 4–5-year period after the relocation dispute was resolved (Qualitative)	The General Health Questionnaire, and the Ahrons Acrimony scale, the Ahrons Content of Co-parental Interaction and the Ahrons Quality of Co-Parental Communication, histories of domestic violence and whether they had sought restraining orders
13. Parkinson & Cashmore, 2015; Australia	5-year prospective longitudinal study: 80 parents (40 mothers and 40 fathers) between mid-2006 and early-2012 from all over the country, interviewed within a few months of the resolution of the relocation dispute (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	Any proposed move of a substantial distance, which makes it harder for a nonresident parent to spend time with, and to be involved in, the life of the child, considering the financial circumstances of the parents and the practical difficulties of travel	Participants were interviewed three times over a 4–5-year period after the relocation dispute was resolved (Qualitative)	The reasons for relocation, the costs of the disputes, parents’ reaction to the outcome and how children did fare after the relocation
14. Cashmore & Parkinson, 2016; Australia	5-year prospective longitudinal study: 33 children (15 female and 18 male), from 20 families, were interviewed and 22 participants (18 female, 3 male and 1 other) completed the online survey (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	When one parent wishes to take the children to live a long way from the other parent	Interviews with children together with supplementary data from an online survey of children who travel to visit their nonresident parent (Qualitative)	Children were asked about their views on the relocation, their relationships with each of their parents, and how well they were adjusting to the various changes in their lives
15. Parkinson & Cashmore, 2018; Australia	5-year prospective longitudinal study: 80 parents (40 mothers and 40 fathers) and 33 children between mid-2006 and early-2012 from all over the country, interviewed within a few months of the resolution of the relocation dispute (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	N.A.^21	Participants were interviewed three times over a 4–5-year period after the relocation dispute was resolved (Qualitative)	Information about the relocation dispute (cost, settlement, and impact). A General Health Questionnaire, the Ahrons acrimony, conflict scales, and the Strengths and Difficulties Scale. Children were asked about their views on the relocation, relationships with their parents, and how well they were adjusting
16. Koller, 2016; USA	MTurk survey: 701 participants (338 female and 363 male) with a mean age of 32.8 years between June-August 2004 (Convenience sample – non-probability sampling)	Children who relocated with a primary custodial parent away from a partial or noncustodial parent post-divorce	An online survey was conducted via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (Mturk) program (Quantitative)	Demographic measures, information about the divorce, experiences of the relocation and psychological and health measures
17. Stevenson et al., 2018; USA	Parents and Youth longitudinal Study: 81 adolescents (43 female and 38 male) with a mean age of 12.5 at the first wave and 22 at the last wave, from the Parents and Youth Study (PAS), a longitudinal investigation (Stratified random sample –probability sampling)	A child’s separation from their biological fathers of at least one hour’s drive away either because their mothers relocated with them, or their fathers moved away from them	Data obtained by trained interviewers from mothers and youth at 5 moments in time (Quantitative)	Behavioral and mental health problems, including involvement with the juvenile justice system, risky sexual behaviors, drug use, involvement with delinquent peers, aggression, delinquency, and symptoms of depression and anxiety

Table A2. The distribution of measures per domain.

Study	Measure	Domain
1. Adam & Chase-Lansdale, 2002	Adjustment index (combination of multiple measures)	Psychological/emotional
	Internalizing problems	Psychological/emotional
	Neighborhood problems	Psychological/emotional
	Kin- and nonkin support	Relational
	Quality of maternal relationships	Relational
	Quality of paternal relationships	Relational
	Quality of peer relationships	Relational
	Externalizing problems	Behavioral
	Sexual behavior	Behavioral
	Caregiver on welfare	Financial
	The level of economic pressure on the family	Financial
	Dropout-rates	Educational
	Educational outcomes	Educational
2. Norford & Medway, 2002	High mobility attitude scales	Psychological/emotional
	Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale	Psychological/emotional
	Shyness scale	Psychological/emotional
	Family Cohesion scale	Relational
	Social Support Appraisals Scale, Friends Subscale.	Relational
	Extracurricular Activities Survey	Behavioral
3. Gilman et al., 2003	Age at depression onset	Psychological/emotional
	Lifetime diagnosis of major depressive episode	Psychological/emotional
	Two measures of the subsequent course of the disorder were obtained	Psychological/emotional
4. Fabricius, 2003	The best living arrangements at different ages	Psychological/emotional
	The desired time to spend with the father in contrast with the actual time	Psychological/emotional
	The living arrangements they wanted	Psychological/emotional
	Agreement between parents about living arrangements	Relational
	Anger about interfering behavior toward other parent	Relational
	Anger toward father	Relational
	Anger toward mother	Relational
	Closeness to father	Relational
	Closeness to mother	Relational
	Reasons I did not live with dad more	Relational
	Undermining the Relationship to the Other Parent	Relational
	Parents’ financial support for children’s college expenses	Financial
5. Braver et al., 2003	Current adjustment levels	Psychological/emotional
	General life satisfaction	Psychological/emotional
	Inner turmoil and distress from divorce	Psychological/emotional
	Worry over college expenses	Psychological/emotional
	How well parents get along	Relational
	Platonic relationship choices	Relational
	Regarding the mother/father as positive supporter and role model	Relational
	Romantic relationships choices	Relational
	Hostility	Behavioral
	Substance abuse subscales	Behavioral
	Parental contribution to college expenses	Financial
	General physical health	Physical health
6. Fabricius & Braver, 2006	Frequency of parental conflict	Relational
	Severity of parental conflict	Relational
	Domestic violence after divorce	Behavioral
	Domestic violence ever	Behavioral
7. Behrens et al., 2009 & 8. Behrens & Smyth, 2010 ^22	Advice for other parents and reflections about experiences	Psychological/emotional
	Parents’ and children’s well-being after the relocation dispute	Psychological/emotional
	Degree of conflict between parents	Relational
	Gatekeeping behavior	Relational
	Patterns of parenting after the relocation dispute	Relational
	Patterns of parenting prior to relocation dispute arising	Relational
	Quality of parent-child relationship after relocation	Relational
	Quality of relationship with other parent after to relocation dispute arising	Relational
	Quality of relationship with other parent prior to relocation dispute arising	Relational
	Allegations of violence or abuse if present	Behavioral
9. Taylor et al., 2010	Advice for others	Psychological/emotional
	A child’s social and emotional development	Psychological/emotional
	Experiences of the traveling when moved	Psychological/emotional
	Experience and understanding of any professionals involved	Psychological/emotional
	Feeling about contact arrangements	Psychological/emotional
	Impact of the relocation and/or relocation dispute	Psychological/emotional
	Knowledge and understanding about their parents’ separation	Psychological/emotional
	Satisfaction with legal process	Psychological/emotional
	The impact of an unsuccessful request	Psychological/emotional
	The impact of a move on the parent who stays behind	Psychological/emotional
	What helped or hindered	Psychological/emotional
	Anger toward parents	Relational
	Impact of the relocation dispute	Relational
	Missing the other parent	Relational
	Nature of the parental relationship	Relational
	Relationship issues	Relational
	Current situation - financial	Financial
10. Gollop & Taylor, 2012	Adjustment to relocation	Psychological/emotional
	Advice for other children and parents	Psychological/emotional
	Children’s voice in the matter	Psychological/emotional
	Current and past contact and residence arrangements and how they felt about these	Psychological/emotional
	Experiences of moving if applicable	Psychological/emotional
	Experience and understanding of any professionals involved	Psychological/emotional
	Experience with traveling	Psychological/emotional
	Knowledge and understanding about their parents’ separation	Psychological/emotional
	Knowledge of and involvement in the relocation decision	Psychological/emotional
	Contact with nonresident parent	Relational
	Missing nonresident parent	Relational
11. Parkinson et al., 2010	Burden of travel	Psychological/emotional
	Stress due to legal costs	Psychological/emotional
	Problems with contact following relocations	Relational
	How the cost of travel affects both parents	Financial
	The financial impact of relocation disputes	Financial
12. Parkinson & Cashmore, 2013	Factors affecting maternal adjustment	Psychological/emotional
	Happiness of mother	Psychological/emotional
	Overall adjustment to not moving	Psychological/emotional
	Feelings of hostility from mother to father	Relational
	Impact of move on father-child relationship	Relational
	The father’s degree of involvement with, and responsibility for, the children	Relational
	The level of toxicity in the father-mother relationship	Relational
	Domestic violence	Behavioral
13. Parkinson & Cashmore, 2015	Consequences for fathers of children who moved away	Psychological/emotional
	Consequences for mothers who remained with their children	Psychological/emotional
	Feelings about traveling due to the relocation	Psychological/emotional
	How the children did fare	Psychological/emotional
	Parents’ reactions to the outcome	Psychological/emotional
	Feelings of missing the father	Relational
	Impact of move on father-child relationship	Relational
	The costs of the dispute	Financial
	General health	Physical health
14. Cashmore & Parkinson, 2016	Adjusting to new location	Psychological/emotional
	How children coped with travel between parents who live some distance apart	Psychological/emotional
	Saying goodbye to the family home	Psychological/emotional
	Their views on relocation	Psychological/emotional
	Their views on separation	Psychological/emotional
	Timing of the move	Psychological/emotional
	Relationships with friends	Relational
	Their relationships with each of their parents	Relational
15. Parkinson & Cashmore, 2018	Children’s behavior and adjustment (SDQ)	Psychological/emotional
	How well they were adjusting to the various changes	Psychological/emotional
	Impact of the relocation (dispute) on fathers	Psychological/emotional
	Impact of the relocation (dispute) on mothers who were allowed to move	Psychological/emotional
	The children’s behavior and adjustment	Psychological/emotional
	Views on the relocation	Psychological/emotional
	Assessment of co-parenting	Relational
	Cooperation and conflict scale	Relational
	Relationship with each parent	Relational
	Relationships with friends	Relational
	The costs of the relocation dispute	Financial
	General health	Physical health
16. Koller, 2016	Personality Inventory	Psychological/emotional
	Psychological well-being	Psychological/emotional
	Psychotropic medications for mental health	Psychological/emotional
	The satisfaction with life	Psychological/emotional
	Contact with partial custody parent	Relational
	How connected with mother and father	Relational
	Levels of conflict in families of origin	Relational
	Been arrested/convicted a crime as an adult	Behavioral
	Self-harming behaviors or suicide attempts	Behavioral
	Verbal, emotional, or physical abuse	Behavioral
	Current annual income	Financial
	Health survey	Physical health
	Highest level of obtained education	Educational
17. Stevenson, Fabricius, Braver & Cookston	Long-term Internalizing problems	Psychological/emotional
	Short-term Internalizing problems	Psychological/emotional
	Long-term Involvement with delinquent peers	Relational
	Long-term Perceived mattering to mother	Relational
	Long-term Perceived mattering to nonresident father	Relational
	Mother-biological father relationship quality	Relational
	Mother-stepfather nonviolent conflict	Relational
	Perceived mattering to stepfather	Relational
	Short-term Involvement with delinquent peers	Relational
	Short-term Perceived mattering to mother	Relational
	Short-term Perceived mattering to nonresident father	Relational
	Long-term Drug use	Behavioral
	Long-term Externalizing problems	Behavioral
	Long-term Juvenile justice involvement	Behavioral
	Mother-stepfather intimate partner violence (IPV)	Behavioral
	Risky sexual behavior	Behavioral
	Short-term Drug use	Behavioral
	Short-term Externalizing problems	Behavioral
	Short-term Juvenile justice involvement	Behavioral
	Association relocation and family income	Financial