POST-SEPARATION PARENTING IN THE FACE OF COVID-19

Abstract

High-conflict divorce (HCD) and high-conflict co-parenting (HCC) occur when one or both parents experience a prolonged psychological and emotional impasse, marked by anger, distorted thinking, and impaired communication, manifesting in coercive dynamics and chronic litigation. Although systemic, relational, and individual factors influence conflict chronicity, research remains largerly quantitative, overlooking parent’s lived experiences. This interpretive phenomenological study explored how six North American mothers over 30 experienced HCC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings suggest that despite protective factors such as social support, adaptive coping, and financial resources, fear of authority and systemic legal barriers persisted across participants’ intersectional differences, as all experienced gender-based coercive maltreatment by their ex-partners across interpersonal, familial, and legal contexts. Notably, despite the oppression they faced, participants demonstrated resilience through therapy, and efforts in their advocacy for court reform, challenging pathologizing narratoves common in HCC literature. Results of this study highlight the need trauma-informed, intersectional, and systemic approaches in research and practice to better understand and address HCC dynamics in family law and co-parenting contexts.