Number of Divorce Cases where Shared Care and Control is Awarded

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry is observing an increase in the number of divorce cases where shared care and control is awarded; and (b) whether the Ministry has looked into the studies that show that shared care and control is a better option for the benefit of the children as compared to sole care and control.

Over the past five years, there has been an increase in the number of civil divorce cases where shared care and control was awarded, from 161 cases in 2016 to 256 cases in 2020. This translates to an increase in the proportion of civil divorces with shared care and control orders made, from 5.6% in 2016 to 9.5% in 2020.

Regarding studies on shared care and control, an overseas scan of Western jurisdictions that have considered or legislated shared care and control, also referred to as "shared parenting time", found that there is no consensus on whether such an arrangement benefits the child. For example, in 2018, a study by Elizabeth Keogh, Bruce Smythe and Alexander Masardo found that in Australia, which legislated default "shared parenting time" since 2006, shared-time arrangements may work well for children where separated parents are able to cooperate and communicate in ways that avoid or contain conflict. This increases the longevity and quality of the relationship between the child and both parents, encouraging parents to maintain or establish a meaningful relationship in all aspects of the child’s life1.

However, the same study found there are also risks arising from shared-time arrangements, especially where (i) there are high levels of entrenched interparental conflict; (ii) where a parent has safety concerns; or (iii) where the child is an infant or very young. Where there are high levels of ongoing conflict, shared-time arrangements may be more damaging because children are likely to be “caught and used” in conflicts. Where there are safety concerns arising from issues, such as family violence, mental health, alcohol or substance abuse, child well-being could also be negatively affected in a shared-time arrangement.

Lastly, the appropriateness of shared-time arrangements for infants and young children remains highly contested2. An earlier study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies in 2009 showed that children in shared-time arrangements fared slightly better than those who were mainly in the care of one parent and spent some time with the non-resident parent on some measures, but the differences were small and largely disappeared after controlling for demographics and other characteristics3.

In terms of local studies, MSF’s 2020 Study on Co-Parenting Styles ("Co-Parenting Study") found that the cooperative co-parenting style is associated with positive child outcomes, such as less child behavioural and emotional problems and better school learning behaviour, compared to parallel co-parenting and single parenting. Cooperative co-parenting is characterised by parents who communicate frequently and collaborate with each other regarding their children’s matters and make major decisions about their children together. Parallel co-parenting is characterised by parents who tend not to communicate with each other and seldom make major decisions about their children together, but both continue to be involved in their children’s lives.

Lastly, single parenting is characterised by parents who do not communicate with each other and only one parent is heavily involved in their children’s lives.

Our finding corroborates those from overseas which show that children who experienced cooperative co-parenting exhibit fewer behavioural problems. The cooperative co-parenting style was, however, independent of whether there was sole or shared care and control.

Hence, there are no conclusive findings on the benefits of shared care and control both locally and overseas. Instead, research shows that cooperative co-parenting is associated with better outcomes for children and MSF will continue to support and encourage divorced parents to practise cooperative co-parenting to serve the best interests of their children.