Yea, looking more deeply at the source, all those numbers provided from various studies are from the early 80's or late 70's. I'm also wondering what the definition of 'sought custody' means in this context. If a man were to try and negotiate through a court system but find the battle winnable and drop out early does he still count? The very low rates of men actually 'seeking custody' makes me wonder about their unprovided definitions. Still, totally irrelevant information if you are trying to disprove a modern perception, as these social trends are decades old.
It is hard for me to comment on the second source, as the link seems to not work for me. Still, there is this little nugget from the page supposedly disproving these perseptions.
Old stereotypes die hard, though, and fathers’ rights advocates say neutral statutory language has done little to change the courts’ pro-mother leanings. Moms are granted custody in 85 percent of all cases, notes Dianna Thompson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based American Coalition for Fathers and Children. She says the expense of litigation and likelihood of losing discourages many dads from even fighting for custody.
However, statistics on custody awards can be deceiving, since most custody orders are uncontested or negotiated by the parties. A 1992 study of California cases showed that fathers were awarded primary or joint custody in about half of contested custody matters.
Well at least that was in my lifetime, so that is a plus, right? Once again, what is a contested custody matter? Does a party have to fight to the bitter end for it to count?
I'm left wondering how many of the five states mentioned still have maternal preferences, if any. Honestly so far all of this information is way past its expiry date. I'm left to wonder did the author not actually carefully read the information? Did they think nobody would do any fact checking? Do they not understand that social trends and laws might have changed since the 90's (Or even 70's in some cases)? Why am I being given information that is very misleading when you leave a date off?
The next myth on the chopping block is that fathers pay higher child support, and claims this is false. The link provided for this one looks like a government website that would be changed to reflect current trends, but no, it is a journal issue from the 1st September, 1994. Well a hand of applause, as we are getting a little closer to something relevant with each link! No really, your going to get food poisoning if you don't check the date. Is there really no more relevant information on the entire internet on this subject to link me to? Or is the more up to date stuff not fall in line with the conclusion?
On to fathers not spending as much time with their kids. The diagnosis? True! Men spend about half as much time with their children as women according to a 2007 report. But don't worry, that is changing, as it is up from 2.5 to 6.5 hours on average, and it only took 35 years to get there. Still not exactly 12.9, but getting there. Still, while this study was made in 2007, it is ranging from 1965 to 2000. I would love to see their data collection method.
Ok, breakfast time for me...
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Topic: Calm and Cool Progressive Discussion Thread (Read 1292336 times)