026: Science-Based Solutions For Co-Parenting Through Divorce with Dr. Karey O'Hara

Science offers us some intriguing perspectives on divorce’s impact on children. Today’s guest is using science to better understand and support parents and kids through the complexities of the experiences of loss.

 

On this episode of Children First Family Law, Krista welcomes Dr. Karey O’Hara, a psychologist and assistant research professor at Arizona State University with a focus on navigating the intersection between family law and psychology. Dr. O’Hara’s work mainly focuses on how parents and children cope and adapt when exposed to significant disruptions like death and divorce. She is studying the science of how to evaluate and gauge this impact and provide solutions that can be put into practice. Dr. O’Hara’s research is always paired with active collaboration with courts or other community programs to ensure her research is tested and disseminated to real people to create real change for parents and kids. She has much to teach us in the area of risk and resilience factors associated with children’s coping and adjustment following divorce, informing family court policy, and improving interventions to promote the well-being of court-involved families.

 

During Krista’s conversation with Dr. O’Hara, you’ll hear about parents’ powerful influence on their children, why it is critical to validate emotions during a divorce process, and the impact high-quality parenting – including love – can have on children’s outcomes. Dr. O’Hara shares the three components of high-quality parenting, what science can teach us about interventions in the real world to help children fare better in divorce, and her research program that provides insight into understanding behavior and emotion under stress. She outlines her work in programs for parents and kids, including Project Brain Team, which promotes mental health and coping strategies and skills in divorce. Finally, Krista and Dr. O’Hara discuss lessons from science about the human and emotional experience of divorce and co-parenting dynamics and their influence on children. They share why there is hope for kids even after divorce and that those outcomes are in the hands of their parents.

 

Divorce is often complicated and messy, and handling those emotions can be difficult for everyone involved. However, Dr. O’Hara’s research reinforces that finding solutions that work for everyone is possible and offers some tips for reducing the tension.

 

In this episode, you will hear:

 

• Dr. Karey O’Hara’s path to her work in family law and clinical psychology focused on children and families
• The powerful influence parents have on their children
• The risk of labels like “parental alienation” and their limited helpfulness for parents and children
• Validating someone’s emotions, which can bring down the emotional temperature
• Protective factors of parents in helping themselves and their children deal with stress
• The impact of high-quality parenting (including love) on children’s outcomes
• How high-quality parenting includes love, appropriate limits, and discipline
• Risk factors for children and parents under stress
• What science can teach us about interventions in the real world to help children fare better in divorce
• Dr. O’Hara’s research program insights into understanding behavior and emotion under stress and then translating that science into ways to deliver real solutions to actual people
• Her work in programs for parents and kids, including Project Brain Team, promoting  mental health and coping strategies and skills in divorce
• Lessons from science about the human, emotional experience of divorce and co-parenting dynamics and their influence on children
• Why there can be hope for children even after divorce
• The power of outcomes for kids is in the hands of their parents

Resources from this Episode

www.childrenfirstfamilylaw.com

Dr. Karey O’Hara: search.asu.edu/profile/3192762

Project Brain Team: sites.google.com/asu.edu/asu-projectbrainteam?usp=sharing

Patterns of intimate partner violence in a large, epidemiological sample of divorcing couples.

Coping in context: The effects of long-term relations between interparental conflict and coping on the development of child psychopathology following parental divorce

Does Shared Parenting Help or Hurt Children in High-Conflict Divorced Families?: Journal of Divorce & Remarriage: Vol 59, No 4

Validation of a Measure of Intimate Partner Abuse With Couples Participating in Divorce Mediation: Journal of Divorce & Remarriage: Vol 50, No 5

Adolescent-to-Parent Violence: Translating Research into Effective Practice | Adolescent Research Review

Parenting time, parenting quality, interparental conflict, and mental health problems of children in high-conflict divorce.

Psychological and Biological Processes in Children Associated with High Conflict Parental Divorce - Davidson - 2014 - Juvenile and Family Court Journal - Wiley Online Library

Evaluating Parenting Coordination Programs: Encouraging Results From Pilot Testing a Research Methodology: Journal of Child Custody: Vol 8, No 4

Longitudinal Effects of PostDivorce Interparental Conflict on Children’s Mental Health Problems Through Fear of Abandonment: Does Parenting Quality Play a Buffering Role? - O’Hara - 2021 - Child Development - Wiley Online Library

Contact With an Ex-Partner Is Associated With Psychological Distress After Marital Separation - Karey L. O’Hara, Austin M. Grinberg, Allison M. Tackman, Matthias R. Mehl, David A. Sbarra, 2020

Multidisciplinary partnership: Targeting aggression and mental health problems of adolescents in detention.

Human-centered design methods to achieve preparation phase goals in the multiphase optimization strategy framework - Karey L. O’Hara, Lindsey M. Knowles, Kate Guastaferro, Aaron R. Lyon, 2022

Understanding the perception of stakeholders in reducing adolescent-to-parent violence/aggression - ScienceDirect

The Development, Evaluation, and Implementation of Parenting‐Focused Prevention Programs in Collaboration with Family Court - O'Hara - 2021 - Family Court Review - Wiley Online Library

Measurement invariance across sexes in intimate partner abuse research.

Self-Compassion for Caregivers of Children in Parentally Bereaved Families: A Theoretical Model and Intervention Example | Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review

Enhancing the Focus: How Does Parental Incarceration Fit into the Overall Picture of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)? | Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

The Prospective Effects of Caregiver Parenting on Behavioral Health Outcomes for Children with Incarcerated Parents: a Family Resilience Perspective | Prevention Science

Interparental conflict and adolescent emotional security across family structures - O'Hara - 2024 - Family Process - Wiley Online Library

Enhancing daily affect in youth experiencing high‐conflict parental divorce: A multiple baseline trial of an online prevention program - O′Hara - 2022 - Family Court Review - Wiley Online Library

All states have different laws; be sure you are checking out your state laws specifically surrounding divorce. Krista is a licensed attorney in Colorado and Wyoming but is not providing through this podcast legal advice. Please be sure to seek independent legal counsel in your area for your specific situation. 

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