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Abstract

Family practitioners who provide divorce education programs should be aware that a child in a sole-custody household (especially one headed by the father) is highly likely to lack insurance coverage for access to health care services for healthy development. Examining 543 divorce records in New Hampshire, the author analyzed coverage across divergent family types following custody negotiations and found that a child in a sole-custody household was at higher risk for lacking coverage than was one in a shared-custody household. These results were confirmed by a chi-square test and logical regression statistical analysis. In a multivariate analysis, the author found that teenagers, children whose parents earned high incomes, and those with working mothers were likely to be covered, although the likelihood was lower in the case of daughters.

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Parental Custody Negotiations and Health Insurance Access for Children

Abstract

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