When children become invisible in parental conflict
Divorce itself does not necessarily place a child at serious risk. Many parents can cooperate after separation and create a new but still safe and predictable environment. The situation changes when divorce turns into long-term parental conflict.
In such cases, the child may become invisible within the adult dispute. Parents focus on accusations, court proceedings and proving their own version of the truth, while the child's needs are gradually pushed into the background.
A child cannot end the conflict, leave it, or influence its course. They may face pressure, manipulation, loyalty conflicts, uncertainty or the disruption of their relationship with one parent. At that point, divorce becomes a matter of child protection.
Child protection social workers are not there to decide which parent is the better carer. Their task is to recognise whether the conflict is beginning to harm the child and what support or protection is needed. The earlier the risk is identified, the greater the chance of preventing serious consequences.
The social worker as detective: Finding the child behind parental conflict
Identifying a child at risk because of parental conflict is not simple. During assessment, social workers must combine many sources of information: parental conflict, its impact on the child, parental competences, parents' ability to cooperate, risk and protective factors, and circumstances affecting safety and healthy development (MPSV, 2020; Höhne et al., 2024; Pemová et al., 2024; Matoušek, 2018; Jůzová Kotalová et al., 2019).
In practice, social workers must ask not only how intensely parents argue, but how the conflict affects the child's everyday life. Can the child speak about both parents without fear? Are the child's needs being overshadowed by the parents' need to win?
The purpose of assessment is to understand how the child experiences the situation, whether their needs are being met, and whether protective or risk factors are present. The key question is: Is this child really safe?
What happens to children when conflict continues?
Children are the most vulnerable participants in high-conflict divorces. They do not have the same power as adults, cannot end the conflict, and often cannot clearly name what is happening to them. Yet they live with its consequences every day.
Research shows that the more intense the conflict between parents, and the more the child is drawn into it, the greater the negative effects on the child's quality of life may be (Sorek, 2019). Long-term exposure to conflict increases the risk of mental health difficulties (Velemínský Sr. et al., 2017; Auersperg et al., 2019) and may even lead to traumatic experiences (Schaan et al., 2019).
Children respond to conflict in different ways. Some may internalise it through anxiety, sadness or emotional tension, while others may externalise it through irritability or difficulties with emotional regulation (Xuan et al., 2018). A child harmed by conflict may therefore be quiet and compliant rather than visibly 'problematic'.
This is why children cannot wait. Risk must be identified early.
Why recognising risk is so difficult
If early identification is so important, we must ask what makes it difficult in practice. This question was addressed in my research among child protection social workers in the Czech Republic.
The findings showed that assessment barriers cannot be reduced to parental conflict alone. Social workers described interconnected obstacles: low parental cooperation, court involvement, legal representatives, difficult cooperation with other professionals, expert reports, and organisational and systemic conditions in child protection.
The interviews showed that social workers often do not lack information. On the contrary, they must quickly process contradictory information from parents, children, schools, courts, psychologists and other professionals. The challenge is to assess which information genuinely indicates risk to the child.
These findings are consistent with international studies. Sudland (2020) describes work with high-conflict families as demanding, frustrating and emotionally exhausting. Polak and Saini (2019) also highlights stress, workload pressure, limited methodological support and the need for specialist knowledge in work with high-conflict parental disputes.
The similarity between Czech findings and international literature suggests that this is not a local problem. Risk recognition in high-conflict divorce requires professional experience, system support, methodological guidance, time and good interdisciplinary cooperation.
Can we recognise every child who needs help?
If family assessment is so complex, a central question follows: do social workers have sufficient tools to help them identify risks as early as possible?
In health care, psychology and social services, screening tools are a routine part of professional work. They are not a final diagnosis and do not replace the professional. They help identify people who may be at increased risk and need deeper assessment. A similar role is possible in child protection.
Research suggests that professional judgement alone may not always be sufficient in high-conflict divorce cases. Bernardini and Jenkins (2002) notes that specific tools can better predict parents' behaviour during divorce and custody proceedings. This does not weaken professional experience; it strengthens it through a structured, evidence-based procedure.
A screening tool should not decide for the social worker. Its purpose is to structure early attention to hidden risk areas, such as domestic violence, manipulation, serious parental mental health difficulties, substance misuse, neglect of the child's needs, or disruption of the child's relationship with one parent.
Screening also helps unify the questions professionals ask. When the system becomes absorbed by the parental dispute, structured screening can return attention to the child: what the child needs, what protects them, and what may place them at risk.
Screening is therefore not a mechanical checklist. It is a tool that can help ensure that no child's vulnerability remains overlooked.
What can we learn from international practice?
The need for more systematic assessment is not only Czech. In many countries, screening and assessment tools have been developed to help professionals identify risks in separation or custody disputes.
In our scoping review of tools used to assess families in parental disputes (Vašinová et al., 2025), we identified several international screening and assessment tools. They differ in focus, scope, target group and purpose, including tools for courts, mediators, psychologists and family services.
The analysis also showed that there is no single universal solution. Some tools focus on parental conflict, others on domestic violence, parental competences, child safety or family functioning. Their shared aim is to provide structured support for risk identification and evidence-based decision-making.
International experience also shows that screening tools work best within a broader support system. They cannot protect the child on their own, but they can indicate when deeper assessment, interdisciplinary cooperation or specialised help is needed.
Children cannot wait
High-conflict divorces will remain among the most complex areas of child protection. No single tool can remove all obstacles. Every family has its own story, and every child may experience conflict differently.
For this reason, social workers need better support in decision-making. Alongside screening tools, it is important to strengthen methodological guidance, interdisciplinary cooperation, professional training and working conditions that allow enough time for complex cases. Even the best tool cannot replace a qualified social worker or a well-functioning system, but individual experience alone may not be enough when information is incomplete, contradictory and risks are hidden.
Children in high-conflict divorce often do not ask for help themselves. Adults around them must therefore recognise their vulnerability in time. Children cannot wait until the system sees their risk too late. Protection begins with early recognition.
References
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Bernardini, S. C. and Jenkins, J. M. (2002). An Overview of the Risks and Protectors for Children of Separation and Divorce. Government of Canada. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/fl-lf/divorce/2002_2/index.html
Höhne, S., Barvíková, J., Křečková Tůmová, N., Paloncyová, J. and Frömmelová, T. (2024). Dítě v rodičovském konfliktu II: Rodičovství před a po rozchodu. Praha: RILSA. https://www.rilsa.cz/projekty/dopady-miry-rodicovskeho-konfliktu-na-dite-a-role-jakou-v-nich-hraje-konkretni-forma-porozvodoveho-usporadani-pece/
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Xuan, X., Chen, F., Yuan, C., Zhang, X., Luo, Y., Xue, Y. and Wang, Y. (2018). The relationship between parental conflict and preschool children's behavior problems: A moderated mediation model of parenting stress and child emotionality. Children and Youth Services Review, 95, 209–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.10.021
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Mgr. Petra Vašinová is a doctoral student at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. Her research focuses on high-conflict divorce, child protection practice and risk assessment in families experiencing parental disputes.