Abstract
This study aimed to examine how divorced parents comprehend the time they spend with their children and to explore the phenomenon of “Disneyland parenting” that emerges during this process. Using a qualitative research design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 divorced parents (10 mothers and 6 fathers) and evaluated using thematic analyses. Our findings revealed that parents developed a range of emotional and practical strategies while structuring the limited time spent with their children. Parents organized this time by balancing their children’s needs with everyday constraints such as fatigue, workload, and financial limitations. Furthermore, the parents tended to relax disciplinary rules and planned leisure-oriented activities in an effort to alleviate feelings of guilt caused by the divorce and to make the limited time spent together as enjoyable as possible. This tendency corresponded to the concept of “Disneyland parenting”. However, the present study indicates that such attitudes were not exclusive to fathers; similar emotional motivations could also be observed among mothers. In conclusion, post-divorce parenting emerged as a dynamic process that extended beyond caregiving responsibilities—representing an effort to balance emotional compensation, moral concerns, and practical limitations. Understanding this complex process can offer valuable insights for parents, families, family counselors, and policymakers.
Keywords
References
- Amato, P. R., Meyers, C. E., & Emery, R. E. (2009). Changes in nonresident father–child contact from 1976 to 2002. Family Relations, 58(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00533.x
- Amato, P. R. (2010). Research on divorce: Continuing Trends and New Developments. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 650–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00723.x
- Arditti, J. A. (1995). Noncustodial parents: Emergent issues of diversity and process. Marriage and Family Review, 20(1–2), 283–304. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v20n01_13
- Baum, N. (2003). Divorce process variables and the co-parental relationship and parental role fulfillment of divorced parents. Family Process, 42(1), 117–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2003.00117.x
- Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431691111004
- Bergström, M., Fransson, E., Modin, B., Berlin, M., Gustafsson, P. A., & Hjern, A. (2015). Fifty moves a year: Is there an association between joint physical custody and psychosomatic problems in children? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 69(8), 769–774. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2014-205058
- Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent–child attachment and healthy human development. New York, NY: Basic Books.
- Cano, T., & Gracia, P. (2022). The gendered effects of divorce on mothers’ and fathers’ time with children and children’s developmental activities: A longitudinal study. European Journal of Population, 38(5), 1277–1313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-022-09643-2
- Cano, T., Perales, F., & Baxter, J. (2019). A matter of time: father involvement and child cognitive outcomes. Journal of Marriage and Family, 81(1), 164–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12532
- Cheadle, J., Amato, P., & King, V. (2010). Patterns of nonresident father involvement. Demography, 47(1), 205–226. https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.0.0084
- Craig, L, & Mullan, K. (2011). How mothers and fathers share childcare: A cross-national time-use comparison. American Sociological Review, 76(6), 834–861. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122411427673
- Craig, Lyn, Powell, A., & Smyth, C. (2014). Towards intensive parenting? Changes in the composition and determinants of mothers’ and fathers’ time with children 1992–2006. The British Journal of Sociology, 65(3), 555–579. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12035
- Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113(3), 487–496. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.113.3.487
- Elam, K. K., Sandler, I., Wolchik, S., & Tein, J.-Y. (2016). Non-Residential Father–Child Involvement, Interparental Conflict and Mental Health of Children Following Divorce: A Person-Focused Approach. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(3), 581–593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0399-5
- Flaquer, L., & Cano, T. (2020). La paternidad en España: La implicación paterna en el cuidado de los hijos. Madrid, Spain: Ministerio de Igualdad / Gobierno de España.
- Furstenberg, F. F., & Cherlin, A. J. (1991). Divided families: What happens to children when parents part. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Glenn, E. N., Chang, G., & Forcey, L. R. (1997). Mothering, ideology, experience and agency. Anthropology and Medicine, (4), 107–107. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315538891
- Gözün Kahraman, Ö., Özyürek, A., & Puspitasari, I. (2024). Farklı kültürlerden ebeveynlerin ‘aile’ ve ‘çocuk’ metaforları: Türkiye ve Endonezya örneği [‘Family’ and ‘child’ metaphors of parents from different cultures: The case of Türkiye and Indonesia]. Değerler Eğitimi Dergisi, 22(47), 33–60. https://doi.org/10.34234/ded.139834
- Harding, M., & Newnham, A. (2015). How do county courts share the care of children between parents? Reading & Warwick. United Kingdom: University of Reading & University of Warwick.
- Haux, T., McKay, S., & Cain, R. C. N. (2017). Shared care after separation in the United Kingdom: Limited data, limited practice. Family Court Review, 55(4), 572–585. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12305
- Hsin, A. (2009). Parent’s Time with Children: Does Time Matter for Children’s Cognitive Achievement? Social Indicators Research, 93(1), 123–126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-008-9413-6
- Kağıtçıbaşı, Ç., & Ataca, B. (2017). Çocuğun değeri ve aile değişimi: Türkiye’den otuz yıllık bir portre [Value of children and family change: A three-decade portrait from Turkey]. Sosyoloji Dergisi, (35), 77–101.
- Kalil, A., Ryan, R., & Chor, E. (2014). Time investments in children across family structures. The ANNALS of the American. Academy of Political and Social Science, 654(1), 150–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716214528276
- Kalmijn, M. (2020). Feelings of guilt in the family. In M. Kalmijn, & J. Mortelmans (Eds.), Divorce in Europe: New insights in trends, causes and consequences of relation break-ups (pp. 351–370). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature.
- Keleş, F. B., Kesici, Ş., & Ak, M. (2024). A perspective on parenting attitudes in the context of acceptance and commitment therapy: Examination of two works from the field. Research on Education and Psychology, 8(2), 310–329. https://doi.org/10.54535/rep.1519850
- Kielty, S. (2006). Similarities and differences in the experiences of non-resident mothers and non-resident fathers. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 20(1), 74–94. https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebi033
- King, V. (2003). The influence of religion on fathers’ relationships with their children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(2), 382–395. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00382.x
- Lamanna, M. A., Riedmann, A., & Stewart, S. D. (2017). Marriages, families, and relationships: Making choices in a diverse society. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
- Maccoby, E. E., & Martin, J. A. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: Parent–child interaction. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4. Socialization, personality, and social development (pp. 1–101). New York, NY: Wiley.
- Morrison, D. R., & Coiro, M. J. (1999). Parental conflict and marital disruption: Do Children Benefit When High-Conflict Marriages Are Dissolved? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61(3), 626. https://doi.org/10.2307/353565
- Pepin, J. R., Sayer, L. C., & Casper, L. M. (2018). Marital status and mothers’ time use: Childcare, housework, leisure, and sleep. Demography, 55(1), 107–133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0647-x
- Poole, E., Speight, S., O’Brien, M., Connolly, S., & Aldrich, M. (2016). Who are non-resident fathers?: A british socio-demographic profile. Journal of Social Policy, 45(2), 223–250. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279415000653
- Shaw, W. (2018). Non-resident fatherhood: A qualitative study of fathers’ experiences [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
- Spera, C. (2005). A review of the relationship among parenting practices, parenting styles, and adolescent school achievement. Educational Psychology Review, 17(2), 125–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-005-3950-1
- Stewart, S. D. (1999). Disneyland dads, Disneyland moms? how nonresident parents spend time with absent children. Journal of Family Issues, 20(4), 539–556. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251399020004006
- Stewart, S. D. (2003). Nonresident parenting and adolescent adjustment: The quality of nonresident father involvement matters. Journal of Family Issues, 24(2), 217–244. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X02250096
- Stewart, S. D., & Menning, C. L. (2009). Parenting apart: Patterns of childrearing after marital disruption. Journal of Family Issues, 30(8), 1101–1123. https://doi.org/10.2307/352332
- Turkish Statistical Institute [Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu]. (2024). Evlenme ve boşanma istatistikleri, 2024. https://data.tuik.gov.tr
- Violi, D., Kwok, C., Lewis, P., & Wilson, N. J. (2022). Nonresident fathers’ voice: marginalized, disempowered, and silenced. American Journal of Men’s Health, 16(4), 15579883221115594. https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883221115594
- Wynns, S. L., & Rosenfeld, D. (2003). Father figures in Disney animation: Patriarchal authority and its discontents. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 31(2), 81–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/10417940309373253
- Zurcher, J. D., Brubaker, P. J., Webb, S. M., & Robinson, T. (2019). Parental roles in “The circle of life”: Representations of parents and parenting in Disney animated films from 1937–2017. Mass Communication and Society, 23(1), 128–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2019.1616763
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Clinical Psychology, Family Psychology |
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Submission Date | October 28, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | December 12, 2025 |
| Early Pub Date | December 17, 2025 |
| Publication Date | December 17, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 Issue: Advanced Online Publication |
Aim & Scope
The aim of REP is to be a focal point for international and interdisciplinary original scientific studies in the fields of education, and psychology and to produce qualified discussions. Therefore, it is expected that the studies to be held in the journal have both statistical significance and original discussions which illuminate topics of education sciences. Studies in the REP should fill a gap in the literature of education and psychology and provide a basis for new research.
REP publishes research that employs quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods and has a strong theoretical framework, and has the potential to impact educational practices. The process of selecting articles for publication prioritizes essential factors such as originality in terms of topic and methodology, educational relevance of the content, and clarity of presenting the information. The journal provides valuable information to a wide range of professionals in the field of education, including school counselors, psychologists, teachers, educational policymakers, administrators, and scholars.
The scope of REP includes the following main topics:
• Educational Psychology
• Educational Management
• Early Childhood Education
• Special Education
• Foreign Language Education
• Social Sciences Education
• Medical & Health Education
• Science Education
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Assessment and Evaluation in Education
• Psychological Counseling and Guidance
• Mathematics Education
• Fine Arts Education
• Sport and Education
• Education and Training in Higher Education
• Emerging and Best Practices
• Design and Technologies
• Education History
• Sociology Education
• Systems and Technologies in Education
• Philosophies of Education and Educational Approaches
• Portals and Virtual Learning Practices and Cases in Education
• Psychology Education
• E-learning Technologies
• Developmental Psychology
Author Guidelines
Formatting and Content Requirements for Manuscripts
Basic Citation Formats Reference Examples
It is obligatory for the publication association that the articles (Article Template) to be sent to Research on Education and Psychology (REP) have the following format characteristics.
Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
EDITORIAL POLICIES
The publication process at REP is the basis of the improvement and dissemination of information objectively and respectfully. Therefore, the procedures in this process improves the quality of the studies. Peer-reviewed studies are the ones that support and materialize the scientific method. At this point, it is of utmost importance that all parties included in the publication process (authors, readers and researchers, publisher, reviewers and editors) comply with the standards of ethical considerations. There is no submission fee for publishing in REP. Currently, there are no Author Processing Charges (APCs) required.
Peer Review Policy
REP operates a strictly blind peer review process in which the reviewer’s name is withheld from the author and, the author’s name from the reviewer. The reviewer may at their own discretion opt to reveal their name to the author in their review but our standard policy practice is for both identities to remain concealed. Should an article/manuscript be considered suitable for review, it is reviewed by two reviewers.
Editorial Procedure
All articles are initially reviewed by the Editor. Secondly, the statistical and technical quality of the articles is checked by experts. Only those articles that meet the standards of the journal, and fit within its aims and scope, will be sent to reviewers. Authors of articles can expect a decision normally within three working days as to whether or not their article will be sent to the reviewers or instead be rejected at this stage. Should the decision be to ‘desk reject’ it at this stage, authors can be assured of a supportive response that offers feedback that is constructive and helpful in nature. REP recognizes that authors are keen to get a decision as soon as possible, and reviewers are asked to return their decisions to the Editor within four weeks so that the decision can be sent to authors within that timeframe. At that stage, authors get one of the four standard decisions, that is, ‘accept, as is’, ‘conditional accept, but minor changes are required’, ‘conditional accept, but major changes are required’, or ‘reject’. Finally, the language of accepted articles is checked.
Authorship
All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.
Acknowledgements
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.
Funding
REP requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
Editors, acknowledging that there may be conflicting interests between reviewers and other editors, guarantee that the publication process of the manuscripts will be completed in an independent and unbiased manner
Protection of Research Participants
All investigators should ensure that the planning conductand reporting of human research are in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013 (www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinkiethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-humansubjects/). All authors should seek approval to conduct research from an independent local, regional, or national review body (e.g., ethics committee, institutional review board). If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the local, regional, or national review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. Approval by a responsible review body does not preclude editors from forming their own judgment whether the conduct of the research was appropriate. Informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt that anonymity can be maintained. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are de-identified, authors should provide assurance, and editors should so note, that such changes do not distort scientific meaning. The requirement for informed consent should be included in the journal’s instructions for authors. When informed consent has been obtained, it should be indicated in the published article.
Plagiarism
REP take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice.
PUBLISHING POLICIES
In the scope of REP publishing ethics, all stakeholders are expected to carry out the following ethical responsibilities. The following ethical duties and responsibilities have been set up as open access, taking into account guidelines and policies published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). REP is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standardsfor Authors..
Ethical Responsibilities of Authors
* Authors should present their results honestly and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation.
* Authors should adhere to publication requirements that submitted work is original, is not plagiarised, and has not been published elsewhere.
* Authors should strive to describe their methods clearly and unambiguously so that their findings can be confirmed by others.
* Authors should take collective responsibility for submitted and published work.
* The authorship of research publications should accurately reflect individuals’ contributions to the work and its reporting.
* Authors bear the responsibility to inform the editor of the journal or publisher if they happen to notice a mistake in their study which is in early release or publication process and to cooperate with the editors during the correction or withdrawal process.
* During the review process of their manuscripts, author(s) may be asked to supply raw data. In such a case, author(s) should be ready to submit such data and information to the editorial and scientific boards.
* Author responsibilities given in a study (e.g.: adding an author, reordering of author names) whose review process has begun cannot be changed.
* Funding sources and relevant conflicts of interest should be disclosed.
* Appropriate approval, licensing or registration should be obtained before the research begins and details should be provided in the report (e.g. Institutional Review Board, Research Ethics Committee approval, national licensing authorities for the use of animals).
Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers
* Reviewers should be objective and conduct the reviews with privacy.
* Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based only on scientific content, without regard to ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, religious belief, or political philosophy of the authors.
* Reviewers should only accept the studies related to their field.
* Reviewers dispose the manuscripts they have reviewed in accordance with the principle of confidentiality after the review process. Reviewers can use the final versions of the manuscripts they have reviewed only after publication.
* The review should aim to be constructive and polite and should not include offensive language.
* The submissions accepted for review should be processed within the specified timing and in compliance with the ethical principles.
* In the case of conflict of interests, the submission should be rejected and the editor-in-chief should be notified.
* The identity of the authors should be reached and the submissions of the authors whose identities are revealed should be rejected.
* No information related to the rejected submissions should be shared or made public.
Ethical Responsibilities of Editors
* All editors ensure the editorial independence. They should only evaluate manuscripts for their scientific content without regard to ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy of the authors, or personal influences from association staff or volunteer leaders.
* Editors must provide a fair double-blind peer review of the submitted articles for publication. They should ensure that all the information related to submitted manuscripts is kept confidential before publishing.
* Editors are responsible for the contents and overall quality of the publication. They should publish errata pages or make corrections when needed.
* The editors should ensure the progress within the specified timing of the process.
* The editors should ensure that the processes are realized within the ethical principles.
Unethical Behaviour
Should you encounter any unethical act or content in REP apart from the ethical responsibilities listed above, please notify the journal by e-mail at editor.journalrep@gmail.com
ETHICS COMMITTEE APPROVAL
"Ethical committee approval document" is requested for the articles uploaded in February 2020. The following sample statement should be added to the end of the article (chapter before the references) to be uploaded to the journal:
"I declare that the research was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. There is no conflict of interest in the research. The study approved by Social and Humanities Research and Publication Ethics Committee of Necmettin Erbakan University. The authors received no financial support for the authorship, research, and/or publication of this article."
Plagiarism Policy
In accordance with its publishing policies, REP oblige each study that has undergone the "Blind Review Process" to be detected for plagiarism to protect the integrity of the study. Therefore, all manusicripts are detected for plagiarism.
The plagiarism detection is done by iThenticate software. Plagiarism ratio (excluding references) is at most 10%. Studies exceeding this ratio is rejected by the editors.
Copyright Policy
The manuscripts submitted to REP for publication should be original studies that were not published before or not submitted to anywhere else for publication.
Authors who submit their studies to REP should acknowledge that they have to transfer the copyright of their studies to journal REP. The editorial board of the journal is authorized to publish the study.
Those authors who will submit their studies to REP have to fill in the "Copyright Agreement Form". Wet signature is required. The signed form should be scanned and uploaded to the system via file upload option.
Price Policy
There is no submission fee for publishing in REP. Currently, there are no Author Processing Charges (APCs) required.
Indexes
Citation Indexes
Other Indexes
Journal Boards
Editor-in-Chief
Editor
Abdulkadir Haktanir, Ph.D., is an associate professor and doctoral program coordinator in the Department of Counselor Education at Kean University. Dr. Haktanir has clinical experience in school settings and mental health settings. He worked as a full-time school counselor in a K-12 school in Turkey and as a counselor and coordinator at Necmettin Erbakan University’s Eregli counseling center. He has national and international experience teaching in school counseling and core counseling courses in counselor education programs. Dr. Haktanir is an active scholar with 25+ peer-reviewed publications in esteemed journals, two book editorships, and five book chapter contributions. He directly contributed to the Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Association’s latest code of ethics and is recognized as an author. In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he received four awards: Exemplary Research and Practice Award- Doctoral Level (2017), an award presented by the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling- a division of the American Counseling Association; and the Most Impactful Scholar in Social Sciences, presented by Necmettin Erbakan University (2020, 2022, and 2023). Currently, he is an associate editor for Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development journal. Dr. Haktanir’s current research interests include DBT, adolescent mental health, trauma, and suicide risk assessment and prevention in school settings.
All the articles published in REP are licensed with "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License"