Fathers’ Involvement in Fragile Families: Does Intent Matter?

• In Event: 220 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 21. Parenting

Abstract

Fatherhood has become a matter of increasing national concern in recent years. Citing an increase in single parenting and nonresident fatherhood, federal and community agencies have invested considerable resources in campaigns to promote father-child contact. Implicit in these initiatives is an assumption that absent and mostly-absent fathers lack interest in spending time with their children, and must be convinced that parenting is worth their time. Agencies persist in this approach in spite of evidence that most fathers are quite enthusiastic about parenting, at least at the outset. Indeed, we know little in regards to whether fathers’ intent to parent has any bearing on their actual involvement in children’s lives. This study seeks to address that concern. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, analyses investigate the extent to which fathers’ expressed enthusiasm for parenting at the time of birth predicts their level of involvement with their children one year later. Father-child involvement is measured through (a) residency status, or whether fathers reside with their children more than half of the time; and (b) among nonresident fathers, the number of days that fathers report seeing their children per month. While increased enthusiasm for parenting is associated with increased father-child contact in bivariate analyses, these effects disappear when controlling for additional factors including age, race/ethnicity, education, employment status, and the nature of father-mother relationships. This paper concludes with suggestions for future efforts to promote father-child contact.

Author

• Ethan Czuy Levine, Temple University