A longitudinal examination of single custodial fathers: implications for treatment

Abstract

Follow-up data gathered three years after a 1982 survey of fathers raising children alone provides a longitudinal examination of 28 fathers who remained single custodians and 22 fathers who remarried. At follow-up, the single fathers' custodial arrangements had not changed significantly overall, confirming earlier cross-sectional findings. The remarried fathers were likely to wed mothers with custody, tended to be more involved in housework in their present marriage than in their previous one, and reported that their ex-wives' involvement with the children had not been affected by the remarriage. Recommendations for family therapists are included.