Poster #47 - Understanding separated fathers’ parental involvement relative to the other parent

• In Event: Poster Session 06

Abstract

Father involvement after a parental separation entails more than just having contact with the child and paying child support (Larouche et al., 2022; Pasley & Braver, 2004; Pleck, 2010). Although it may be partially accounted for by custody time, father involvement may also be tied to other factors related to the child, the father, and the father’s relationship with the other parent (Doherty et al., 1998). Considering the benefits of father involvement for children’s development (Lamb, 2010) and psychological adaptation to their parents’ separation (Adamsons & Johnson, 2013), the aim of the present study was to explain father involvement, measured by involvement in positive involvement activities, indirect care and decision-making compared to the other parent, by applying Doherty et al. (1998)’s systemic and ecological model to a representative sample of 604 separated fathers living in Quebec, Canada. These fathers separated between 2016 and 2018 and have a child between the ages of 3 and 13 and custody from 14% to 100% of the time. The sample was drawn from the Longitudinal Survey of Separated Parents and Stepfamilies in Quebec. Structural equation models suggest that greater father psychological well-being, poorer coparenting relationship quality and greater custody time uniquely account for greater father involvement relative to the other parent, with child behavioral difficulties being negatively correlated with father psychological well-being and coparenting relationship quality. A multigroup analysis distinguishing low-to-equal involvement and equal-to-high involvement father subgroups (splitting the sample at equal involvement relative to the other parent) revealed that poorer coparenting relationship quality accounts for greater involvement in equal-to-high involvement fathers but is unrelated to that of low-to-equal involvement fathers. For low-to-equal involvement fathers, coparenting relationship quality contribute to their involvement through custody time, i.e., greater coparenting relationship quality is positively associated with more custody time, which favor a greater father involvement. Regarding implications about interventions for separated fathers, the results of this study highlight fathers’ psychological well-being and the coparenting relationship as relevant intervention targets in regard to father involvement post-separation. This study also highlights that promoting equal involvement of each parent after separation, if it is in the best interest of the child, may be a more important target than custody time.

Authors

• Karl Larouche, Laval University
  Presenting Author

• Tamarha Pierce

• Sylvie Drapeau

• Marie-Christine Saint-Jacques