The Consequences of Divorce-Related Relocation: A Scoping Review on the (Lack of) Knowledge of the Topic

Abstract

This scoping review aims to provide a systematic overview of the empirical literature on the consequences of divorce-related relocation for children.Literature in English and Dutch focused on divorce-related relocation within countries was screened.The 17 empirical studies, based on 10 independent samples and addressing the consequences of divorce-related relocation, were coded, and analyzed.The results of the included studies, with due caution given the quality of the studies and variation in the data, seem to suggest that divorce-related relocation might possibly have a short-term negative impact on psychological-, relational-and behavioral consequences.The few observations on financial-, physical health-and educational consequences made it difficult to draw conclusions.Extensive empirical research on this topic should be conducted, preferably longitudinal and including a comparison group.This could provide further insight into the short-and long-term consequences of divorce-related relocation for children and the possible interconnectedness of these consequences.The consequences of parental divorce for the children involved have been the subject of research for many years (Amato, 2010;Van Dijk et al., 2020).Parental divorce impacts the children involved, but reactions vary greatly (Amato, 2000;Garriga & Pennoni, 2022).Overall, children of divorced parents have been found to score lower on several psychological-, relational-, behavioral-, financial-, physical health-and educational consequences in the long-and short-term (e.g., Douglas, 2020;Frisco et al., 2007;Tullius et al., 2022).Divorce may cause multiple changes in a child's life, ranging from practical changes, such as a parent moving out of the house, to more far-reaching changes such as the possibility of increased conflict between parents or the

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