Who gets custody? Current perspectives of social work students

Abstract

Society and the American family are changing, leading to an increasing amount of single parent households. This study investigated the attitudes of social work students regarding non-traditional child placement by surveying 23 participants at a small mid-western university. It was hypothesized that the students would have more of a negative feeling toward the non-traditional child placement versus the traditional child placement (which refers to the child being placed in the custody of the biological mother). Results indicated that there was no significant negative attitude towards the non-traditional child placement situation and that custody is generally viewed as equal. Findings did not support the hypothesis and literature in that more of a negative attitude would be placed on the non-traditional child placement. Implications for practitioners is the need to be educated on child custody practices to continue a trend of equality.