FORMER SPOUSE INTERACTION - NORMATIVE GUIDELINES AND ACTUAL BEHAVIOR

In this study the normative aspect and the actual frequency of contact of the relationship between former spouses were explored. Data obtain ed through in-depth interviews from parents and nonparents indicated t hat respondents held different guidelines than the perceived societal ones, and the respondents' actual behavior was in agreement with their own norms. The majority of parents and nonparents reported some level of contact between themselves and their former spouses. Former wives and former husbands in the same dyad gave nearly identical responses t o normative questions as well as to questions pertaining to frequency of contact, however, they disagreed on the involvement of noncustodial parents in coparenting behavior.