The effects of involved nonresidential fathers' distress, parenting behaviors, interparental conflict, and the quality of father-child relationships on children's well-being

Fathering, Fall, 2006 by Scott E. Harper, Mark A. Fine

Relationship Quality between Nonresident Fathers and Their Children

Existing evidence demonstrates a negative relation between father-child relationship quality and children's adjustment problems (Papp et al., 2005) and depression levels (Buchanan, Maccoby, & Dornbusch, 1996). In their meta-analysis, Amato and Gilbreth (1999) confirmed the relation between nonresidential father-child closeness and child adjustment. Because these studies have been primarily based on older youth, less is known of the impact of these close relationships on young children. In a recent qualitative study of children (7 years of age) from single-parent and stepfamily homes in Finland, Taanila, Laitinen, Moilanen, and Jarvelin (2002) found that, when nonresidential fathers had physically close (frequent contact) but psychologically distant father-child relationships, children were more likely to exhibit behavior problems at school than were children with both physically and psychologically close relationships with their nonresident fathers. Thus, we hypothesized that higher levels of perceived relationship quality between the father and child will be related to higher levels of child well-being over and above the influence of inter-parent conflict, paternal distress, and paternal behavior.

If, as hypothesized, we find that there are direct effects between fathers' parenting behaviors (i.e., warmth and limit-setting) and children's well-being, it would be informative to identify the mechanisms that account for this relation because parenting behaviors may have different effects on children depending on the relationship context in which they occur. For example, as noted earlier, it has been argued that parental control may have differing effects on African American and European American children because African American parents exhibit controlling parenting behaviors in the context of a more nurturant and supportive parent-child relationship (Coley, 1998; Ispa et al., 2004). Thus, we posit that parenting behaviors, and the context in which they occur, will, over time, influence the quality of the father's relationship with his child and, further, that the quality of the father-child relationship will positively affect children's well-being. Thus, we hypothesized that any direct effects of paternal behavior on child well-being will be mediated by the quality of the relationship between the father and child.

Control Variables

We included several variables in our analysis that are commonly associated with nonresidential father involvement and child well being. We included marital status because never married fathers have few norms or guidelines concerning their role as a father. Thus, the meaning never married fathers attach to fatherhood may be different from that of previously married fathers. In addition to marital status, we included other father characteristics that may be related to nonresidential father involvement and child well-being. Increased levels of father education are often related to increased involvement and child outcomes (Bornstein & Bradley, 2003). The frequency of contact between father and child is positively related to both paternal responsiveness and father-child relationship quality (King & Sobolewski, 2006). Certain child characteristics (e.g., child sex, ethnicity, and age) have also been noted in prior literature to influence paternal involvement and child outcomes (King, Harris, & Heard, 2004; Seltzer, 1991).