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Research Agenda

This Research Agenda has been prepared by the members of the ARACY funded Well Being of Children Following Parental Separation and Divorce Research Consortium; Prof Thea Brown, Dr Adiva Sifris, Dr Alan Campbell, Dr Becky Batagol, Dr Danielle Tyson, Assoc Prof Dale Bagshaw, Dr Daryl Higgins, Dr Elspeth McInnes, Ms Jo Cavanagh, Professor Leon Piterman, Dr Jan Coles, Assoc Prof Margarita Frederico, Ms Miriam Locke, Ms Sam Page, Mr Simon Curran; and Ms Alison Lundgren, Project Officer.

The Resarch Agenda was prepared in resonse to current issues and areas of need, which were supported by or highlighted in the Literature Review.

 Central theme underpinning research: Children's Voices in Decisions That Affect Them

Including:

  • Underlying conceptions and assumptions about childhood
  • Obstacles posed by ethics committees for research involving children
  • The development of tools to obtain the views of children
  • Differentiating children's voices according to age and stage of development

 

Topics to which the above framework could be applied:

  1. Children's mental and physical health following parental separation and divorce
  2. Loss and grief experienced by children with respect to an absent parent and/or loss of contact with grandparents
  3. The impact of family violence, substance abuse and parental disability on children's mental and physical health pre and post parental separation
  4. Recognising the diversity of child development expertise and understanding across the family law sector, how this impacts on post-separation parenting decisions and where there might be benefit in the development of educational or resource materials
  5. The experience of children with a disability pre and post parental separation and divorce
  6. The impact of Court ordered contact on children's well being following parental separation and divorce
  7. Evaluating programs for children

 

There are several projects already underway:

Family Violence and Family Law (A joint project involving Monash University, University of South Australia and James Cook University)

Creating Capable Commnuities (Family Life)

Assessment of Risks of Child Homicide from Parents with Depression Following Separation (Monash University)

Court Ordered Children's Contact (Monash University/Warwick University)

Shared Parenting Viewed through the lens of Parental Involvement in Children's Schooling (Monash University)