Unmarried Fathers across the Transition to Separation: Individual and Relational Influences on Involvement and Coparenting

Bryndl Hohmann-Marriott, Pennsylvania State University

Unmarried parents have a pattern of more frequent and earlier dissolution, putting their children at risk for reduced father involvement after the end of the parents’ union. However, when separated parents have a higher-quality relationship and are able to engage in cooperative coparenting, fathers tend to be more involved. This study examines influences on the trajectory of father involvement across unmarried parents’ transition to separation. The effects of the couple’s relationship quality and coparenting, the father’s individual characteristics and resources, and separated partners’ new family formation are considered. Differences by coresidence prior to separation are also taken into account to investigate the effects of changes in coresidence, as distinct from changes in the romantic relationship, on fathers’ continued involvement.