IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v91y2018icp304-318.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are low earnings of nonresidential fathers a barrier to their involvement with children?

Author

Listed:
  • Guarin, Angela
  • Meyer, Daniel R.

Abstract

Understanding the correlates of nonresident fathers' involvement, particularly the association between involvement and fathers' economic status is important for improving child well-being. However, previous research has produced mixed results. Using data from the longitudinal Survey of Wisconsin Works Families (N = 828), and administrative records that improve the accuracy of measuring economic status, this study revisits the relationship between fathers' earnings and father-child contact, while controlling for whether the father has children with multiple partners. Using logistic regressions and lagged dependent variable analysis, we find that low earnings are to some extent a barrier to nonresident fathers' involvement with their nonresidential child. When predicting contact at least once a year we find a consistent and significant association between earnings and contact. In contrast, when predicting frequent contact, earnings were not statistically significant once previous contact was controlled. We conclude that fathers' earnings open the door for contact, as the models predicting contact once a year show. However, the frequency, after the initial contact, is better predicted by other variables. The results underscore the need to complement policy attempts to increase noncustodial father's involvement with policies aimed at improving father's economic status. Moreover, they highlight the importance of interventions that simultaneously work to enhance fathers' economic resources and relationship with the resident mother.

Suggested Citation

  • Guarin, Angela & Meyer, Daniel R., 2018. "Are low earnings of nonresidential fathers a barrier to their involvement with children?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 304-318.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:91:y:2018:i:c:p:304-318
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.023
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740918301816
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.023?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1, July.
    2. Elizabeth Cooksey & Patricia Craig, 1998. "Parenting from a distance: The effects of paternal characteristics on contact between nonresidential fathers and their children," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(2), pages 187-200, May.
    3. Maria Cancian & Daniel R. Meyer & Emma Caspar, 2008. "Welfare and child support: Complements, not substitutes," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 354-375.
    4. Kristin Turney & Sarah Halpern-Meekin, 2017. "Parenting in On/Off Relationships: The Link Between Relationship Churning and Father Involvement," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(3), pages 861-886, June.
    5. Maureen R Waller & Robert Plotnick, 2001. "Effective child support policy for low-income families: evidence from street level research," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(1), pages 89-110.
    6. Jacob Cheadle & Paul Amato & Valarie King, 2010. "Patterns of nonresident father contact," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(1), pages 205-225, February.
    7. Laura Tach & Ronald Mincy & Kathryn Edin, 2010. "Parenting as A “package deal”: Relationships, fertility, and nonresident father involvement among unmarried parents," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(1), pages 181-204, February.
    8. Berger, Lawrence M. & Cancian, Maria & Meyer, Daniel R., 2012. "Maternal re-partnering and new-partner fertility: Associations with nonresident father investments in children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 426-436.
    9. Lenna Nepomnyaschy, 2007. "Child support and father-child contact: Testing reciprocal pathways," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(1), pages 93-112, February.
    10. Steven Garasky & Susan Stewart & Craig Gundersen & Brenda Lohman, 2010. "Toward a Fuller Understanding of Nonresident Father Involvement: An Examination of Child Support, In-Kind Support, and Visitation," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 29(3), pages 363-393, June.
    11. Shelly Lundberg & Sara McLanahan & Elaina Rose, 2007. "Child gender and father involvement in fragile families," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(1), pages 79-92, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Yiyu & Meyer, Daniel R., 2017. "Does joint legal custody increase child support for nonmarital children?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 547-557.
    2. Berger, Lawrence M. & Cancian, Maria & Meyer, Daniel R., 2012. "Maternal re-partnering and new-partner fertility: Associations with nonresident father investments in children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 426-436.
    3. Guarin, Angela & Costanzo, Molly, 2020. "Noncustodial fathers’ financial contributions to children in three-generation households," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    4. Marcia J. Carlson & Sara S. McLanahan, 2009. "Fathers in Fragile Families," Working Papers 1189, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    5. repec:pri:crcwel:wp09-14-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Marcia Carlson Carlson & Alicia VanOrman & Kimberly Turner, 2015. "Fathers’ Investments of Money and Time across Residential Contexts," Working Papers wp14-05-ff, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    7. repec:pri:crcwel:wp12-10-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Laura Tach & Kathryn Edin & Hope Harvey & Brielle Bryan, 2014. "The Family-Go-Round," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 654(1), pages 169-184, July.
    9. Schaubert, Marianna, 2022. "Do courts know how to incentivize? Behavioral response of non-resident parents to child support obligations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    10. repec:pri:crcwel:wp06-09-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Kristin Turney & Sarah Halpern-Meekin, 2017. "Parenting in On/Off Relationships: The Link Between Relationship Churning and Father Involvement," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(3), pages 861-886, June.
    12. Marcia J. Carlson & Katherine A. Magnuson, 2011. "Low-Income Fathers’ Influence on Children," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 635(1), pages 95-116, May.
    13. Tina Haux & Lucinda Platt, 2021. "Fathers’ Involvement with Their Children Before and After Separation," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(1), pages 151-177, March.
    14. Lawrence M. Berger & Callie E. Langton, 2011. "Young Disadvantaged Men as Fathers," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 635(1), pages 56-75, May.
    15. Silvia Meggiolaro & Fausta Ongaro, 2015. "Non-resident parent-child contact after marital dissolution and parental repartnering: Evidence from Italy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(40), pages 1137-1152.
    16. Lenna Nepomnyaschy & Irwin Garfinkel, 2009. "Child Support Enforcement and Fathers' Contributions to Their Nonmarital Children," Working Papers 909, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    17. Maureen R. Waller, 2010. "Viewing Low-Income Fathers’ Ties to Families through a Cultural Lens: Insights for Research and Policy," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 629(1), pages 102-124, May.
    18. Maria Cancian & Yiyoon Chung & Daniel R. Meyer, 2016. "Fathers’ Imprisonment and Mothers’ Multiple-Partner Fertility," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(6), pages 2045-2074, December.
    19. Vogel, Lisa Klein, 2020. "Barriers to meeting formal child support obligations: Noncustodial father perspectives," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    20. Samara R. Gunter, 2018. "Child support wage withholding and father–child contact: parental bargaining and salience effects," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 427-452, June.
    21. Amanda Geller & Irwin Garfinkel, 2012. "Paternal Incarceration and Father Involvement in Fragile Families," Working Papers 1391, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    22. Maria Cancian & Daniel R. Meyer & Robert G. Wood, 2022. "Do Carrots Work Better than Sticks? Results from the National Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(2), pages 552-578, March.
    23. Julia S. Goldberg, 2011. "Identity Salience and Involvement among Resident and Nonresident Fathers," Working Papers 1323, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:91:y:2018:i:c:p:304-318. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.