1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« In this study, we attempted to assess the attitudes of judges of the Superior Court of Quebec who were located in Montreal with regard to joint physical custody and access (visitation). Thus, in the present study, we gathered information from judges regarding their preferences for various custody and visitation arrangements. We also wanted to examine the factors which were considered in making these decisions. » (p. 43)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
« The subjects in this study were judges of the Superior Court of Quebec, located in Montreal. At the time of the study, there were 95 judges in this juridiction. » (p. 43) « Questionnaire were sent to all 95 Superior Court judges in Montreal. 20 judges returned questionnaires, although not every judge responded to every item. 9 judges sent responses indicating that they do not hear custody cases. Based on the original 95 questionnaires which were sent, the response rate for returned questionnaires was 21%. » (p. 45)

Instruments :
« A questionnaire was constructed to measure the judges’ preferences with regard to physical custody arrangements, visitation schedules, and factors considered in making these decisions. » (pp. 43-44)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« Judges of the Superior Court of Quebec located in Montreal were surveyed with regard to their attitudes dealing with custody and visitation issues. The most preferred physical custody arrangements were ’School Year With One Parent and Summer With the Other Parent’ and ’Continuous Custody by One Parent’. The remaining arrangements which were considered were ’Alternative Six Months’, ’Alternate Months’, ’Alternate Weeks’, and ’Split Week’ with regard to visitation schedules, clear preferences were not apparent. ’Less Than One Weekend Per Month’ was the least preferred of the options. There were no differences among ’More Than Every Weekend’, ’Every Weekend’, ’Every Other Weekend’, and ’One Weekend Per Month’ when asked to rate the importance of 13 factors which are considered in custody decisions, the highest ratings were given to factors dealing with parent-child relationships and the family unit. The lowest ratings were assigned to the preferences of younger children. » (pp. 39-40)