Predicting Presence and Level of Nonresident Fathers' Involvement in Infants' Lives: Mothers' Perspective

Abstract

A nonresident father's involvement can be divided into two components: presence (if a father is involved in his child's life) and level (how much he is involved). Guided by role saliency theory, this study simultaneously examined predictors of these two components. Data were drawn from 1,215 mothers of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models revealed that the coparental relationship had different influences on the presence and level of father involvement. Although relationship status, quality, and conflict influenced presence of father's involvement, parents' positive relationship was the major factor that predicted level of involvement.

Keywords:

• coparental relationship
• father involvement
• fragile families
• nonresident fathers