Although directly opposed to each other, both groups use rhetorical strategies that include horror stories, numeric estimates, and implied social consensus. Interviews with leading activists indicate that private troubles are transformed into public issues via personal initiative and symbolic representation. The authors believe many public issues, such as child support, are essentially private troubles that are converted into symbolic representations of larger social problems. The acceptance of child custody and child support as social problems is linked to private troubles in several ways. Personal horror stories acting as modern myths typify the problem, symbolize complex events, and provide a way to understand the issues in personal terms. Custody and child support reform also reflect private troubles in the individual histories of activists who champion legal reforms. In general, the private troubles of divorcing mothers and fathers have been transformed into social movements using rhetorical strategies. It is concluded that child custody and support reforms are likely to be adopted if they are incremental, attract little media attention, and are consistent with professional concerns and prevailing ideologies. 74 references