Reasons for disputes in high conflict families

Ongoing high conflict disputes between parents about the arrangements for children after parental separation are costly for parents and for the court system, and damaging to children. This study involved 80 parents (45 families) who attended a contact orders program following disputes over contact, mostly by court order; 20 parents participated in an in-depth interview. The key issue in the disputes for these parents was concern about the child’s safety and well-being in the care of the other parent, with over half the children involved under the age of 5 at separation. A second issue was children’s resistance to contact, especially on overnight stays and where the child was not close to that parent. Other issues such as the presence of new partners and disputes over money appear to have inflamed the dispute but were not the key reported reasons for the dispute.