Assignment of custody after divorce: differences and similarities in the case of dissolutions of heterosexual and homosexual couples

Abstract

Custody assignment after divorce is an increasingly recurrent area of study. The literature on this topic has tended to consider the dissolution of only heterosexual couples. Therefore, this article examines the influence of certain social variables and detects potential differences or similarities between heterosexual and homosexual couples in Spain. Quantitative methodology was used, along with descriptive and multivariate analyses, with data from the Annulments, Separations and Divorces Statistics (ENSD) of the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE). The main conclusion reached is that shared custody is more commonly assigned in homosexual couples as compared to heterosexual ones. The number of children, the presence of conflict during the divorce proceedings and the specific Spanish autonomous community are variables that are key to understanding the assigned custody modality.