1. Objectifs

Intentions :
This study «had three interrelated objectives: (1) to describe who are the litigants in Ontario and Quebec who go through the family justice system, both those with a lawyer and are self-represented; (2) to document the psycholegal and informational services that they used; and, (3) to describe their views and experiences of the services used as they navigate the family justice system at Time 1.» (p. 535)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«In Ontario, recruitment included litigants in the Ontario Court of Justice […] and the Superior Court of Justice/Unified Family Court […]. In Quebec, participants were recruited in the Superior Court of Justice […].» (p. 535) «The total sample of litigants in Ontario and Quebec were n = 1,539. In Ontario there was n = 865 (387 males and 478 females) and in Quebec there was n = 674 (282 males and 392 females) […].» (p. 537)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

Analysis reveal that: «[t]he majority of litigants were at the court for a dispute over parenting issues concerning their children, 79.3% in Ontario and 64.6% in Quebec; child support was also often an issue in Ontario (40.9%) and Quebec (44.2%). […] Slightly more litigants reported having a child with special needs (e.g., ASD spectrum, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, ADHD) in Quebec (n = 127/533, 23.8%) than in Ontario (n = 132/727, 18.2%).» (p. 538) Moreover, the «mean age of the youngest child in Ontario and Quebec was 7 years of age, which is similar to other studies finding that disputes about parenting occur more often when children are younger […]. They were significantly more cases where mothers had sole custody or primary care in Ontario (74.3%) than in Quebec (65.0%), and more shared custody (at least 40% of time with each parent) arrangements in Quebec (18.9%) than in Ontario (12.8%). […] Significantly more Quebec litigants (86%) had a lawyer than in Ontario (37%), which may result in more favorable views of litigants in that province about treatment by court staff and judges. It is important to note that Legal Aid for low income family litigants is more much available in Quebec than Ontario […], and the finding of lower rates of self-representation in family cases in Quebec than Ontario has been reported in previous studies […].» (p. 545-546)