Father Contact Research Articles

The mental load in separated families

Objective: This paper asks how evolving contact and gendered working lives, gendered identities, and conflict and parental relationships influence cognitive labour in separated families.
 Background: The fact that the often-invisible work of planning, researching, and executing decisions concerning children and household maintenance is borne by women/mothers, receives growing research attention, yet, the bulk of this research focuses on the gendered division of the mental load in intact families. Given the high prevalence of separated families with high levels of father contact, more work is needed to understand how cognitive labour is divided by parents residing in separate households.
 Method: This paper draws on 31 semi-structured interviews of separated parents, including 7 former couples. Interviews were sampled from a nationally representative longitudinal survey, Understanding Society, professionally transcribed and thematically analysed with Nvivo.
 Results: Analysing the interviews reveals both continuity and change in the division of the mental load following separation. For some families, gendered identities and working lives continue to justify an unequal division of the mental load, even when children spend large amounts of time solely with fathers. In others, conflict can reduce communication between parents, either increasing fathers cognitive labour through parallel parenting or decreasing it when fathers are excluded from decision-making altogether. Finally, separation can present a turning point where working lives and identities are re-evaluated, and the mental load can be negotiated anew.
 Conclusion: We provide new evidence that the mental load remains gendered even among those practicing a relatively "modern" family form of shared care post-separation, while highlighting possibilities for variation and change.

Being born to a single mother in France: trajectories of father’s involvement over the first year of life

This paper characterises families where the father is not living (or not living permanently) with the child from around birth, and identifies the drivers of the evolution of father contact over the first year of life across different types of household. We use a recent, nationally representative cohort of children born in France in 2011, Elfe (the Etude longitudinale française depuis l’enfance), and latent clustering techniques to identify different groups of households characterised by non-residential fatherhood. We show that non-residential fatherhood from around birth is not a marginal phenomenon in France, and it corresponds to a heterogeneity of situations, describing both advantaged and low involvement fathers, as well less disadvantaged but involved groups. Over the first year of life, most non-resident fathers managed to keep in contact with their child, including relatively disadvantaged groups such as migrant and young parents, although groups characterised by low father involvement shortly after birth lost contact. On the other hand, among a group of very involved non-resident fathers who were in a relationship with the mother, we observed high levels of contact and indeed co-residence when the child was one year of age. A number of channels emerged to explain the correlations between our latent groups and father contact at one year: notably, father engagement around birth, especially whether the father formally recognised the child. Trajectories of father–child involvement and of parental relationships are therefore at least as important as socio-economic conditions to understand future father contact.

Being born to a single mother in France: trajectories of father’s involvement over the first year of life

This paper characterises families where the father is not living (or not living permanently) with the child from around birth, and identifies the drivers of the evolution of father contact over the first year of life across different types of household. We use a recent, nationally representative cohort of children born in France in 2011, Elfe (the Etude longitudinale française depuis l’enfance), and latent clustering techniques to identify different groups of households characterised by non-residential fatherhood. We show that non-residential fatherhood from around birth is not a marginal phenomenon in France, and it corresponds to a heterogeneity of situations, describing both advantaged and low involvement fathers, as well less disadvantaged but involved groups. Over the first year of life, most non-resident fathers managed to keep in contact with their child, including relatively disadvantaged groups such as migrant and young parents, although groups characterised by low father involvement shortly after birth lost contact. On the other hand, among a group of very involved non-resident fathers who were in a relationship with the mother, we observed high levels of contact and indeed co-residence when the child was one year of age. A number of channels emerged to explain the correlations between our latent groups and father contact at one year: notably, father engagement around birth, especially whether the father formally recognised the child. Trajectories of father–child involvement and of parental relationships are therefore at least as important as socio-economic conditions to understand future father contact.

Quantity versus quality of nonresident father involvement: Deconstructing the argument that quantity doesn’t matter

ABSTRACTOver the last few decades, numerous studies have examined the impact of nonresident fathers on the well-being of their children, including two meta-analyses. Such research consistently has demonstrated that when nonresident fathers are involved with their children in positive ways, their children benefit substantially; however, studies also have found that the amount of nonresident father contact, in and of itself, typically is not associated with children’s well-being. Some scholars, practitioners, and policymakers have framed the nonsignificant associations between contact and child well-being as an argument against joint physical custody. This paper examines why such reasoning is flawed, and why both quality and quantity of nonresident father involvement are necessary to consider when wanting to promote the well-being of children.

Non-Residential Father-Child Involvement, Interparental Conflict and Mental Health of Children Following Divorce: A Person-Focused Approach.

Variable-centered research has found complex relationships between child well-being and two critical aspects of the post-divorce family environment: the level of non-residential father involvement (i.e., contact and supportive relationship) with their children and the level of conflict between the father and mother. However, these analyses fail to capture individual differences based on distinct patterns of interparental conflict, father support and father contact. Using a person-centered latent profile analysis, the present study examined (1) profiles of non-residential father contact, support, and interparental conflict in the 2years following divorce (N=240), when children (49% female) were between 9 and 12years of age and (2) differences across profiles in concurrent child adjustment outcomes as well as outcomes 6years later. Four profiles of father involvement were identified: High Contact-Moderate Conflict-Moderate Support, Low Contact-Moderate Conflict-Low Support, High Conflict-Moderate Contact-Moderate Support, and Low Conflict-Moderate Contact-Moderate Support. Concurrently, children with fathers in the group with high conflict were found to have significantly greater internalizing and externalizing problems compared to all other groups. Six years later, children with fathers in the group with low contact and low support were found to have greater internalizing and externalizing problems compared to children with fathers in the high conflict group, and also greater internalizing problems compared to children with fathers in the low conflict group. These results provide insight into the complex relationship among non-residential fathers' conflict, contact, and support in child adjustment within divorcing families.

Patterns in Child–Father Contact after Parental Separation in a Sample of Child Witnesses to Intimate Partner Violence

Despite the well-documented negative consequences for children experiencing violence perpetrated by their fathers against their mothers, little is known about how characteristics of exposure to violence are related to child–father contact after parental separation. In this study, we (a) describe contact patterns between children and fathers after parental separation and (b) analyze links between patterns of violence and contact in a sample of child witnesses to intimate partner violence in Sweden. Information about 165 children (aged 3–13 years) was obtained from their mothers, who had been subjected to violence by the child’s father. In 60 % of the cases, the parents had joint custody. Results suggest that children without contact with their father have witnessed more violence than children with contact. However, when they do have contact, previous violence against the mother does not correlate either with amount or type of child–father contact. Instead, high socioeconomic status and negotiation skills correlated positively with amount of contact.

Parents Apart: Differences Between Unmarried and Divorcing Parents in Separated Families

With 2 in 5 births in the United States occurring outside of marriage, parents who were never married to each other are entering the family court system in increasing numbers. This study draws on data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine how the circumstances of unmarried parents who are living apart 5 years after having a child together compare to those of previously married parents, as well as important variations among unmarried parents. Our results show that unmarried parents are younger, have fewer children in common, are more likely to have children with other partners, and are more likely to report paternal incarceration than previously married parents. Unmarried parents who did not have a close relationship at the time of their child's birth had the weakest connections 5 years later, reporting lower levels of nonresident father contact, parental relationship quality, paternity establishment, and in‐kind support than other parents living apart. Key Points for the Family Court Community An increasing number of separated parents were never married to each other, and these parents may have different needs and experiences than divorcing parents when they come into contact with the family court system. Unmarried parents living apart have more barriers to father involvement and co‐parenting than previously married parents who live apart. Unmarried fathers who did not have a close relationship with mother at the time of the birth have weaker connections to mothers and children 5 years later.

Observed coparenting and triadic dynamics in African American fragile families at 3 months' postpartum.

This report examines coparenting and triadic interactions in 19 unmarried, first-time African American families as fathers, mothers, and 3-month-old infants navigated the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP; E. Fivaz-Depeursinge & A. Corboz-Warnery, ). Parents in 10 of the 19 families reported coresidence at the time of the 3-month assessment, and the other 9 sets of coparents lived apart. All participating families had taken part in a prenatal intervention emphasizing the importance of father engagement in children's lives, and in all families, parents reported episodic to regular father contact with the children at 3 months. Analyses of LTP sessions revealed that 9 of the 19 families exhibited high levels of coparenting solidarity-cooperation and family warmth accompanied by low levels of coparenting competition and disengagement. Among the remaining 10 families, competitiveness (verbal sparring, interference) and/or disengagement (repeated, episodic absenting by one or both parents from the ongoing interaction) signaled strain and challenges to solidarity. Differences between the higher and lower solidarity groups were found in father-reported relationship rapport. However, coresidentiality versus noncoresidentiality of the parents did not distinguish high- from low-solidarity groups. A case analysis of one family's triadic session is presented to elucidate the rich potential for clinical intervention in triadic work with fragile family systems. Implications of the study and its findings for theory, research, and clinical work with unmarried fathers and families, along with limits of the study design and generalizability of findings, are discussed.

Nonresident Father Involvement With Children and Divorced Women's Likelihood of Remarriage.

Although remarriage is a relatively common transition, little is known about how nonresident fathers affect divorced mothers' entry into remarriage. Using the 1979-2010 rounds of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979, the authors examined the likelihood of remarriage for divorced mothers (N = 882) by nonresident father contact with children and payment of child support. The findings suggest that maternal remarriage is positively associated with nonresident father contact but not related to receiving child support.

Father Contact Following Union Dissolution for Low-Income Children in Urban South Africa

Black fathers in South Africa face enormous challenges remaining involved in their children’s lives as a result of very high levels of unemployment and union instability. We use data from the Birth to Twenty (Bt20) cohort study to describe trajectories of father contact in the lives of children who have experienced a parental union dissolution and examine the influence of life stage of child at time of union dissolution and mother’s entry into new union on nonresidential contact with fathers. We find that, in the first 5 years after dissolution (1) children who were in the 3 to 5 life stage at time of dissolution face substantially higher odds of having no contact compared with those who were in the 0 to 2 group and (2) children who were in the 6 to 11 group experienced lower odds of intermittent contact. Mother’s entry into a new union increases the odds of having no and intermittent contact.

Unpacking Court Divorce Decrees, Children’s Outcomes, and Three Unconfounded Determinants: An Evidence-Based Look

This article examines evidence on 3 determinants of the outcomes of children of divorce that are shaped but neither confound or are confounded by court decrees for custody and parenting time: father contact or involvement, high interparental conflict, and domestic violence. This evidence is brought to bear in an analysis that contrasts predictions based on the rationales for sole maternal versus joint custody and explores implications for judicial decision making. It is found that the best-interests-of-the-child standard better serves children in contested cases when this evidence is taken into account. A call is made for rebuttable presumptions for joint custody and commensurate parenting time except when parent-perpetrated violence or other patterns of abusive behavior are substantiated. Steps for judicial reform are proposed.

She said, he said: Comparing mothers' and fathers' reports on the non-resident father's contact with his children

Analyses of contact frequency between non-resident fathers and children have often been based on samples of non-resident fathers or resident mothers only. It is well established that non-resident fathers tend to report more contact than the resident mother

Intimate Partner Violence and Child Adjustment: Moderation by Father Contact?

Little is currently known about father-child contact in families with histories of intimate partner violence (IPV), despite important implications of father contact for these families. The current study of 219 ethnically diverse children aged 6 to 12-years-old and their abused mothers examined relations between father contact, IPV, and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Approximately 30 % of the children had no current in-person contact with their father, while another 15 % saw their father every day of the past year. Child internalizing and externalizing problems were positively correlated with frequency of IPV, but unrelated to father contact. Controlling for marital status and mother education, father contact moderated relations between IPV and child externalizing, but not internalizing problems. While father contact was not associated with child adjustment across the entire sample, it did moderate relations between IPV and child behavior problems, suggesting that child contact with a less violent or nonviolent father or father figure might have a buffering effect on behavior problems in children exposed to IPV. Recommendations around father contact in families with IPV are discussed.

Growth in externalizing and internalizing problems in childhood: a prospective study of psychopathology across three generations.

Three generations of participants were assessed over approximately 27 years, and intergenerational prediction models of growth in the third generation's (G3) externalizing and internalizing problems across ages 3-9 years were examined. The sample included 103 fathers and mothers (G2), at least 1 parent (G1) for all of the G2 fathers (99 mothers, 72 fathers), and 185 G3 offspring (83 boys, 102 girls) of G2, with prospective data available on the G2 fathers beginning at age 9 years. Behavior of the G2 mother, along with father contact and mother age at birth were included in the models. Intergenerational associations in psychopathology were modest, and much of the transmission occurred via contextual risk within the family of procreation.

P-679 - Parental alienation - a seven year old girl with a long story in the brazilian court

Parental alienation is a form of psychological and emotional child abuse which generally is initiated after the divorce, when one parent (the guardian) starts to disqualify and demoralize the other parent (the alienated), trying to keep the child away from the last one and destroying basic emotional links between them. On the 26th of August 2010, the Brazilian Parliament ratified a law (Law nº 12.318) against parental alienation, which defines and punishes this act. To demonstrate that parental alienation is a major cause of distress for the child, independent of the evaluation of sexual abuse. Parental alienation can bring psychosomatic and psychiatric problems as well. To prevent “alienation” cases which can cause harmful effects in the child's life. Evalluation of a case report studied by Psychiatrists and Psychologists in Rio de Janeiro. A girl who was taken away from her father by her mother after the divorce, when she was 6 months old. The mother tried to avoid the father's contact with the child, alleging that he sexually abused the kid. Nowadays, the girl hates her father. It was not possible to conclude if the child was sexually abused or not. But it was clear that the girl was a victim of emotional and psychological abuse. A child's life can be devastated by parental alienation because of the “loss” of one parent and the negative effects in the development of emotional life. Severe penalties for the parents should be taken to prevent it.

Les pères adolescents : le versant oublié des grossesses à l’adolescence

Background Whereas adolescent motherhood has been the object of significant research over the past decades, much less studies have dealt with adolescent fatherhood. Every year approximately 14 million of female teenagers aged 15 to 19 years give birth to a child in the world (WHO, 2009), which corresponds to 11% of annual births. Statistics concerning adolescent fathers are very scarce, and even non-existent in the majority of the countries. Fathers seem to be the forgotten face of adolescent pregnancy. In this article, we propose a synthesis of the recent literature on adolescent fathers, their transition to parenthood and their marital relationships. Main results Most studies have been carried out with Afro-American populations whose psychosociological profile of poverty, family deprivation and social exclusion is meant to explain the pregnancy as a result of a series of risk behaviors. These populations are exposed to many risk factors other than their young age, and this precludes any generalization of their results to other groups. Although adolescent couples seem to be subjected to a greater marital instability, most studies show that adolescent fathers have positive expectancies towards parenthood and wish to keep a relation with their child and his mother, whether they maintain or not a romantic relationship with her. Some forms of coparenting can be sustained even when the parental couple does not maintain anymore a marital relationship. In case of noncohabitation, it is important to support the parental alliance and coparenting in order to maintain the father's contact and involvement with his child. The presence and the involvement of the father since pregnancy, or the early postpartum, are pointed as significant predictors for both the quality of couple and father–child relationships in the postpartum and later. However, from pregnancy, adolescent fathers are often excluded from programs of financial, social and psychological support offered to teenager mothers. Conclusions Studies on adolescent fathers are still very few and often affected by a negative vision, which does not account for the diversity of situations. More research is needed on this topic, including a longitudinal design and populations of multiple socio-economic and cultural background. Lastly, it appears imperative to offer them the same programs of prevention and material and psychological support that those proposed to teenager mothers, in order to encourage their involvement since the antenatal period, as recommended by WHO.

Coercive and Prosocial Fathering, Antisocial Personality, and Growth in Children’s Postdivorce Noncompliance

To better understand quantity and quality of divorced father contact, a weighted county sample of 230 divorced fathers with a child aged 4-11 years was employed to test whether fathers' antisocial personality (ASP) moderated effects of monthly contact with children in predicting children's observed noncompliance. Eighteen-month latent growth models obtained significant individual differences in levels of noncompliance and growth rates. ASP significantly moderated beneficial impact of fathers' monthly contact. Fathers' observed parenting practices significantly predicted noncompliance levels but not growth. Parenting did not account for the effect of Contact x ASP, suggesting both environmental and potentially genetic influences on child adjustment. Findings were robust across boys and girls and age levels. Implications for preventive intervention are discussed.

Patterns of nonresident father contact

We used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY79) from 1979 to 2002 and the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (CNLSY) from 1986 to 2002 to describe the number, shape, and population frequencies of U.S. nonresident father contact trajectories over a 14-year period using growth mixture models. The resulting four-category classification indicated that nonresident father involvement is not adequately characterized by a single population with a monotonic pattern of declining contact over time. Contrary to expectations, about two-thirds of fathers were consistently either highly involved or rarely involved in their children's lives. Only one group, constituting approximately 23% of fathers, exhibited a clear pattern of declining contact. In addition, a small group of fathers (8%) displayed a pattern of increasing contact. A variety of variables differentiated between these groups, including the child's age at father-child separation, whether the child was born within marriage, the mother's education, the mother's age at birth, whether the father pays child support regularly, and the geographical distance between fathers and children.

Changes in Nonresident Father‐Child Contact From 1976 to 2002

To study changes in nonresident father contact since the 1970s, we pooled data from 4 national surveys: the National Survey of Children (1976), the National Survey of Families and Households (1987 – 1988), the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1996), and the National Survey of America’s Families (2002). On the basis of mothers’ reports, levels of contact rose significantly across surveys. Paying child support and having a nonmarital birth were strongly related to contact frequency. The increase in contact may be beneficial in general but problematic if it occurs within the context of hostile interparental relationships. Because nonresident fathers are having more contact with their children now than in the past, an increasing need exists for practitioners to help parents find ways to separate their former romantic roles from their ongoing parental roles and to develop at least minimally cooperative coparental relationships.

Direct and Indirect Effects of Interparental Relationship Quality on Child Behavior Problems in Low-Income, Black, Single-Mother Families

ABSTRACT Evidence of direct and indirect effects of interparental relationship quality and parental contexts on child behavior problems is well established. However, limited literature exists about these associations in low-income, Black families in which the parents are not married. Informed by the risk and resilience theoretical perspective, this study hypothesized that disharmonious interparental relations would predict greater preschool child behavior problems directly and indirectly through maternal parenting factors and father contact. Economic difficulties and low maternal education would exacerbate these problems. This study included 2,115 Black, single mothers from Waves 1–3 of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study data sets. Using structural equation modeling, a strong model fit indicated that our hypotheses were supported. Discussion includes policy and practice implications related to the Healthy Marriage Initiative.