A Better Deal for Cohabiting Fathers? Union Status Differences in Father Involvement

Abstract

We use investment theory to study the trajectory of father involvement over time as a function of union status and union transition. Data on 4,311 mother-father pairs are from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study. Fathers who remain in a continuous co-residential union, who transition from cohabitation to marriage, or who transition from a non-coresidential state to a co-residential union experience the highest levels of father involvement. Fathers who are continuously nonresident exhibit the lowest levels of involvement. Cohabiting fathers exhibit higher levels of father involvement than married fathers. A positive coparenting relationship is associated with higher levels of involvement. We discuss the place of cohabiting families in light of our findings.