Mothers without Custody and Child Support

Abstract

Mothers without custody are a population of single parents about which little is known. Data drawn from a 1983 US self-selected sample of 517 mothers were analyzed to learn about 1 aspect of their lives: their child support payments. The mean age of the 517 mothers was 38.9 years and the mean number of years without custody was 3.95 years. 26% had split custody with at least 1 child 18 years old and under living with them and another 7% had split custody if children over 18 still living with the mother are included. Slightly less than 5% of the mothers had remarried. 66% had had their custody arrangement legalized and 61% had custody when the marriage 1st ended. About 50% said a step-mother was currently involved in raising the children living elsewhere. The mean annual income of the mothers was $16298. 14.3% said they paid some child support. The amounts of child support paid ranged from $1 to $125 per week with $50 being the most common amount paid. When the number of children being raised elsewhere is included the mean amount of support per child was $28.67. Mothers who paid support 1) earned a higher annual income $19210 than mothers who did not $15620; 2) were less likely to be living with one of their children of any age; and 3) tended to describe themselves as being more involved with their children living elsewhere. Some mothers pay support because they are required to by the court; some pay so that they can stay more involved with the children. Most mothers are not paying child support for financial reasons sometimes because the judge or the father did not reguire it.