Men's flight from children in the U.S.: A historical perspective

Abstract

The increase in the proportion of children living in female-headed families implies that men's likelihood of living with their children has declined. However, this may understate men's coresidence with children, as many female family heads live with other men, either with their fathers or in cohabiting relationships. Many of the absent fathers of these children live with children, their younger siblings or with stepchildren. Sex differences in living with children may not have increased as much as have female-headed families. In this paper, we examine patterns of coresidence with children under age 15 over the period 1880 to 1990 in the U.S., using the Integrated Public Use Samples (IPUMS) of the U.S. Census. We distinguish between “own children” and other children, and compare men and women. We examine the extent to which men and women's living with children is a function of age, marital status, education, and farm residence. Our results are as follows: (1) Recent declines in male coresidential parenthood are simply extensions of the trend from 1880 onwards, rather than any new crisis in family life; (2) The long-term historical decline in parenting is quite similar for both men and women, with only a slight divergence towards fewer men engaged in coresidential parenting of an own child; (3) Coresidential parenting of children other than own children is somewhat higher among males, although differences were larger prior to 1950; and (4) The historical declines in fatherhood are associated with increasing non-farm residence and proportions unmarried. Fatherhood nevertheless continues to occupy a central, but more compact, role in the lives of American men.