The Effects of Nonresident Father Involvement on Offspring Well-being during the Transition to Adulthood
Open Access
- Author:
- Scott, Mindy E
- Graduate Program:
- Sociology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- March 06, 2007
- Committee Members:
- Alan Booth, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Valarie Elizabeth King, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
David R Johnson, Committee Member
David Eggebeen, Committee Member - Keywords:
- father involvement
transition to adulthood
social capital
lifecourse - Abstract:
- The majority of research on nonresident father involvement focuses on the effects of involvement on offspring’s well-being during childhood or adolescence. Findings from this body of research suggest that nonresident father involvement is positively related to a number of indicators of childhood and adolescent well-being. What is less clear is how nonresident father involvement continues to influence offspring well-being during the transition to adulthood, and throughout offspring’s adult years. Research on the effects of nonresident father involvement and the nonresident father-child relationship during adolescence and young adulthood on offspring’s experiences during young adulthood is virtually nonexistent. Using a sample of offspring with nonresident fathers (N = 2,785) from the first and third waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study extends current research on nonresident father involvement and child well-being by examining the consequences of nonresident father involvement during adolescence and young adulthood on young adult offspring well-being. This study builds on previous research by examining the role of nonresident father involvement over-time, by analyzing the unique contributions to offspring’s well-being of fathers and mothers, and by focusing on multiple dimensions of offspring’s well-being during the transition to adulthood. The effects of nonresident father-child relationship quality, father’s financial contributions, and father involvement on offspring’s educational attainment, depressive symptoms, self-esteem, criminal activity, violent behavior, and substance use are examined. Measures of mother involvement and mother-offspring relationship quality are also included in the models. I test the mediating and moderating effects of additional factors related to nonresident father involvement and offspring well-being, including characteristics of the offspring, fathers, mothers, and several different family structure variables. As a final step in the analyses, I examine the effect of changes in father-offspring relationship quality over-time on changes in offspring’s self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Results from this study suggest that the current relationship between nonresident fathers and their young adult offspring has a direct and positive effect on offspring’s well-being during young adulthood, net of the mother-offspring relationship. Offspring who are close to their fathers during young adulthood have higher levels of self-esteem than those with lower quality relationships. After accounting for the mother-offspring relationship, father-offspring closeness does not increase offspring’s educational attainment or significantly reduce criminal behavior, violent activity, substance use, or depression, but fathers’ payment of child support and financial contributions to their young adult offspring do improve offspring’s chances of obtaining some level of post high school education, including going to and completing college. Analyses also show that only about a quarter of the sample experienced an improvement in father-offspring closeness between the first and third waves of the study. About 40% of the sample experienced no change in initial levels of closeness to their nonresident fathers. However, increases in father-offspring closeness appear to benefit offspring by increasing self-esteem and decreasing their level of depressive symptoms during young adulthood. An analysis of the interactions between father-offspring closeness and characteristics of the child, father and their family background suggest that these findings are generally similar for all groups of offspring. The only consistent moderating effect was for mother-offspring closeness. Children that are close to both their mothers and nonresident biological fathers experience added benefits from these close relationships. Findings from this study represent the first step toward understanding the long-term influence of nonresident fathers on offspring’s well-being during the transition to adulthood. It shows that certain aspects of the nonresident father-child relationship are positively associated with multiple dimensions of offspring’s well-being, even after accounting for the mother-child relationship. The results also suggest that offspring benefit from improved relationships with their nonresident fathers as they move through the transition to adulthood.