Nonresident Fathers’ Parenting, Family Processes, and Children’s Development in Urban,
Poor, Single-Mother Families
Author(s): Jeong-Kyun Choi
Source: Social Service Review, Vol. 84, No. 4 (December 2010), pp. 655-677
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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Nonresident Fathers’ Parenting,
Family Processes, and Children’s
Development in Urban, Poor,
Single-Mother Families
Jeong-Kyun Choi
Winona State University
With dramatic growth in nonrmarital births, an increasing number of children are growing
up in single-mother families. This study examines the relationships among nonresident
fathers’ parenting and children’s behavioral and cognitive development in low-income,
single-mother families. It also considers the personal characteristics of the children’s single
mothers as well as family processes and economic circumstances. Analyses use the first
three waves of longitudinal data from a subsample of single and noncohabiting mothers
in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Results suggest that nonresident fathers’
parenting is indirectly associated with children’s behavior problems and cognitive development. The findings further suggest that those estimated associations are transmitted
through mothers’ parenting. The study also discusses the policy and practice implications
of its findings.
Demographic changes, including dramatic growth in the number of
nonmarital births, have increased the number of children raised in
single-mother families. In 2006, for example, nonmarital births accounted for 50.4 percent of all births to women under age 30 (Herbert
2008). Single mothers are more likely than other mothers to be poor,
and their children are more likely than others to have an uninvolved
or missing father (McAdoo 1993; Staples 1999; McLoyd et al. 2000).
Some, including President Barack Obama, contend that fathers, whether
resident or nonresident, are critical to the foundation of the family
(Bosman 2008). Others argue that children develop optimally in families
that include both a primary caregiver (usually a mother) and another
supporter (often a father) of the primary caregiver (see, e.g., BronfenSocial Service Review (December 2010).
䉷 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
0037-7961/2010/8404-0005$10.00
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brenner 1988; Jackson and Scheines 2005; Jackson, Choi, and Franke
2009). There is empirical support for the notion that children in lowincome, single-parent families, regardless of their race, are more likely
to experience social and emotional problems than are children in other
types of families (see, e.g., McLanahan and Sandefur 1994; Aquilino
1996; Demo and Cox 2000; Haveman, Wolfe, and Pence 2001; Lugaila
and Overturf 2004). Yet, little is known about how single mothers and
nonresident fathers coparent in low-income families.
Relatively few studies explore the ways in which nonresident fathers’
relationships with their children affect child outcomes in the context
of family processes that include mother-father relationship quality and
maternal parenting. The present study focuses on the role of nonresident fathers’ parenting in the behavioral and cognitive outcomes of
children from low-income, single-mother families. More specifically, it
seeks to determine whether nonresident fathers’ parenting is directly
associated with their children’s behavioral or cognitive development. It
also considers whether fathers’ parenting is indirectly associated with
the children’s development. In particular, it assesses whether that parenting is transmitted through single mothers’ personal characteristics
(e.g., educational attainment and psychological functioning), family
processes (e.g., mother-father relationship quality and maternal parenting), and maternal economic circumstances (e.g., income and economic hardship).
Nonresident Fathers’ Parenting, Family Processes, and
Children’s Development
Ample evidence suggests that fathers’ involvement in parenting is beneficial to children’s behavioral and cognitive development (Flouri and
Buchanan 2001, 2004; Zick, Bryant, and Österbacka 2001; Hofferth
2003; Stewart 2003). However, only a few studies target low-income,
single-mother families in their samples (see, e.g., Black, Dubowitz, and
Starr 1999; Jackson 1999; Jackson and Scheines 2005; Jackson, Choi,
and Bentler 2009). Aurora Jackson (1999) examines the influence of
nonresident fathers’ involvement on African American single mothers’
psychological well-being (depressive symptoms) and parenting, as well
as the fathers’ influence on children’s development. She measures
nonresident fathers’ involvement by the frequency of father-child contact and by mothers’ satisfaction with the fathers’ support (support includes his love, time, and money), finding that fathers’ involvement had
statistically significant associations with the children’s development. The
results suggest that higher maternal satisfaction with fathers’ involvement of time is associated with fewer child behavior problems and that
greater father-child contact is associated with fewer maternal depressive
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symptoms. In another study, Maureen Black and colleagues (1999) examine the relationship between fathers’ involvement and children’s cognitive development. Paternal involvement is measured by both the fathers’ presence and their parenting roles. Black and colleagues (1999)
find that paternal nurturing during play is positively associated with
children’s cognitive competence.
Although these studies (Black et al. 1999; Jackson 1999) focus on
father involvement’s direct associations with child development, recent
studies ( Jackson and Scheines 2005; Jackson, Choi, and Franke 2009)
examine mediational models that consider the roles of mother-father
relationships and maternal parenting in the relations between nonresident fathers’ involvement and their children’s development. Jackson
and Richard Scheines (2005) investigate the relationships among fatherchild contact, maternal depressive symptoms, mother-father relationship
quality, mothers’ parenting, and poor and near-poor African American
children’s behavioral and cognitive development. They find that the
frequency of father-child contact is associated with the adequacy of maternal parenting and that the adequacy of maternal parenting, in turn,
predicts children’s behavioral and cognitive development. Jackson,
Choi, and Franke (2009) also focus on the frequency of nonresident
fathers’ contacts with their children and with the children’s mothers.
They find that the relations between mothers’ socioeconomic conditions
and child outcomes are largely indirect. These relations are mediated
by the extent of family processes and nonresident fathers’ involvement.
In general, more father-child contact and less maternal parenting stress
are found to be associated with better child outcomes.
Although the studies ( Jackson and Scheines 2005; Jackson, Choi, and
Franke 2009) suggest that nonresident fathers’ involvement might have
both direct and indirect associations with children’s development, they
use a frequency measure of father-child contact as a proxy for fathers’
parenting adequacy. The studies do not include any measures of the
quality of the fathers’ involvement; for example, they do not consider
how nonresident fathers coparent, nurture, and discipline their children
during contacts. In a meta-analysis of 63 studies dealing with nonresident
fathers and children’s well-being, Paul Amato and Joan Gilbreth (1999)
find that nurturing coparenting by fathers is negatively associated with
child behavior problems and positively associated with child academic
success. These findings are consistent with results from a group of studies
based mainly on middle-class families (Mezulis, Hyde, and Clark 2004;
King and Sobolewski 2006; Chang, Halpern, and Kaufman 2007). Valarie
King and Juliana Sobolewski (2006), for example, use data from a sample
of 453 children and their single mothers to examine how nonresident
fathers’ involvement relates to their children’s development. The results
suggest that nonresident fathers’ relationships with their children and
responsive fathering are modestly associated with declines in the num-
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ber of child behavior problems. Results from a structural equation
model suggest that father-child contact is associated positively with father-child relationship quality, which, in turn, is found to be associated
positively with the children’s academic outcomes and associated negatively with behavior problems. That is, higher relationship quality (as
measured in warm and supportive parenting behaviors) between nonresident fathers and their children is found to be associated with fewer
child behavior problems.
In general, this evidence suggests that the quality of nonresident fathers’ parenting may be a better predictor of child outcomes than the
frequency of father-child contact. However, as was stated earlier, relatively little is known about father-child parenting relationships in poor
single-mother families. The present study aims to reduce this gap in the
empirical literature. To do so, it investigates direct and indirect associations
of the quality of nonresident fathers’ parenting with children’s development. It also considers the personal characteristics of the children’s single
mothers as well as family processes and economic circumstances.
Theoretical Perspective and Conceptual Model
Children develop within various environmental contexts. Although several ecological environments influence children’s lives, the family is the
principal context in which child development takes place. The current
study is informed conceptually by Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1988) personprocess-context model, which provides a paradigm for assessing the
effect on children’s development of family members’ personal characteristics (e.g., mothers’ psychological functioning, as reflected by depressive symptomatology, and mothers’ educational attainment), family
processes (e.g., maternal and paternal parenting activities; the quality
of the mother-father relationship), and environmental contextual qualities (e.g., mothers’ economic circumstances, including economic hardship and income). The study assumes interrelations among processes
that operate in different ecological contexts. These interrelationships
are called proximal processes (Bronfenbrenner 1988). Proximal processes are the mechanisms by which developmental potential is realized.
Moreover, according to the person-process-context model, the efficiency of proximal processes is determined by the biopsychosocial
characteristics of the individual, the immediate and distant environments in which the proximal processes occur, and the developmental
time being examined (Bronfenbrenner 1988).
This theoretical perspective undergirds the conceptual model depicted in figure 1. The model begins with the single mothers’ educational attainment and proposes that it will be associated directly with
maternal income ( Jackson et al. 2000). In light of research examining
the relations among education, work, and the consequences of poverty
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Fig. 1.—Conceptual model. Note.—T1 p time 1 (at birth), T2 p time 2 (12
months), T3 p time 3 (36 months); D-1 (direct effect 1): Paternal Parenting
r Behavior Problems; D-2 (direct effect 2): Paternal Parenting r Cognitive
Development; I-1 (indirect effect 1): Paternal Parenting r Maternal Parenting
r Behavior Problems; I-2 (indirect effect 2): Paternal Parenting r Maternal
Parenting r Cognitive Development.
for mothers and their children (McLoyd 1998; Jackson and Huang 2000;
Ackerman, Brown, and Izard 2003; Jackson, Bentler, and Franke 2006),
this study selects education as an important predictor of maternal income. Low educational attainment is likely to be associated with low
maternal income, which is expected to be associated, in turn, with economic hardship. Numerous studies find links among income, economic
hardship, and parental depressive symptoms (see, e.g., Conger et al.
1992; McLoyd 1998; Jackson et al. 2000). This research informs the
expectation that economic hardship is a key mechanism whereby income influences maternal depressive symptoms.
Research also reports that single mothers suffering from more severe
economic hardship tend to have less stable relationships with the fathers
of their children (Spjeldnes and Choi 2008). Thus, in the present study,
mothers’ economic hardship is expected to be associated negatively with
the quality of their relationship with nonresident fathers. A considerable
body of literature links the quality of the mother-father relationship with
maternal depressive symptoms (Lee and Gotlib 1989; Downey and Coyne
1990; Jackson 1999; Jackson and Scheines 2005). These studies inform
the expectation that mother-father relationship quality will be positively
associated with the severity of maternal depressive symptoms ( Jackson
and Scheines 2005). Note the paths in figure 1 from mothers’ economic
hardship to the quality of mother-father relationship and from both of
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these to maternal depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms are expected to play a key role in connecting mothers’ income to the children’s development.
An extensive literature finds associations among mothers’ income,
their depressive symptoms, and child outcomes. These studies inform
two expectations. First, mothers’ lower income is expected to be associated with more depressive symptoms. Second, the severity of the
mother’s depressive symptoms is expected to be associated with the
likelihood that her child will have poor developmental outcomes (Orvaschel, Walsh-Allis, and Ye 1988; Downey and Coyne 1990; Beck 1999).
The evidence on mother-father relationships and the quality of parenting
(Davies, Sturge-Apple, and Cummings 2004; Jackson and Scheines 2005)
informs the present study’s expectation that the quality of the mother-father
relationship will be associated respectively with both mothers’ and fathers’
parenting. Parenting by each is expected, in turn, to be associated with
child outcomes (Grych and Fincham 1990; Mann and MacKenzie 1996).
In fact, parenting adequacy is an acknowledged predictor of children’s
development (McGroder 2000; Amato and Fowler 2002). As a consequence, figure 1 links mother-father relationship quality to both maternal and paternal parenting. It also links each form of parenting to
children’s behavior problems.
Research on associations among mothers’ education, their parenting,
and child development ( Jackson, Choi, and Bentler 2009; Spjeldnes
and Choi 2008) prompts this study to expect that maternal educational
attainment will be positively related to the adequacy of the mother’s
parenting. The mother’s parenting is expected, in turn, to be positively
related to child outcomes. Figure 1 depicts the expected influences of
maternal and paternal parenting on the two child developmental outcomes (cognitive development and behavior problems). Because the
fathers in this study are nonresident and not primary caregivers, it is
reasonable to expect mothers’ parenting to have a stronger influence
on the child. As such, the association of fathers’ parenting to children’s
outcomes might more likely be indirect than direct, and those paternal
influences may be transmitted through mothers’ parenting. For example, the figure depicts a path from fathers’ parenting to mothers’
parenting. This path reflects the expectation that involved coparenting
by fathers (a form of social support for the mother) will be positively
associated with mothers’ parenting adequacy and, thereby, with optimal
child outcomes (i.e., that such parenting is negatively associated with
the child behavior problems and positively associated with cognitive
development). This expectation is informed by studies demonstrating
that paternal involvement is associated with the adequacy of maternal
parenting ( Jackson and Scheines 2005; King and Sobolewski 2006; Jackson, Choi, and Franke 2009). In short, the conceptual model depicts
direct paths from fathers’ parenting to each of the child outcomes and
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indirect paths from fathers’ parenting through mothers’ parenting to
child outcomes.
Some research suggests that children with more internalized and externalized behavior problems tend to have lower levels of cognitive development (Baydar, Brooks-Gunn, and Furstenberg 1993; Klebanov,
Brooks-Gunn, and McCormick 1994; Jackson, Choi, and Bentler 2009).
Research also finds that children’s developmental outcomes are influenced by their mothers’ socioeconomic status (Korenman, Miller, and
Sjaastad 1995; Aber et al. 1997; Duncan and Brooks-Gunn 2000; Bradshaw 2002). These studies inform the expectation that mothers’ education and income will be directly associated with children’s outcomes.
Method
Data and Sample
This study utilizes longitudinal data on a subsample from the Fragile
Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCW), which includes information on 4,898 births randomly sampled from all 77 U.S. cities with populations of 200,000 or more. The data are drawn from survey interviews
with mothers at their children’s birth (baseline p time 1; 1998⫺2000),
age 1 (1-year follow-up p time 2; 1999–2002), and age 3 (3-year followup p time 3; 2001–3). The study excludes data for mothers who reported that they planned to place the child for adoption, that the father
of the child was not living, that they do not speak enough English or
Spanish to complete the interview, or that their child was too ill for
them to complete the interview (Reichman et al. 2001).
From the 4,898 families in the data set, the present study draws a
subsample of 1,373 poor single mothers and their children. This subsample’s characteristics are summarized in table 1. Among mothers in
the subsample, 931 (67.2 percent) are African American, 255 (18.7
percent) are white, and 191 (14.1 percent) identify themselves with some
other race or ethnicity. Among the children in this study, 734 are boys,
and 637 are girls. At baseline, the sampled mothers were, on average,
24.1 years of age, ranged in age from 18 to 50 years old, were unmarried,
were not cohabiting with the focal children’s fathers, and had incomes
below 300 percent of the federal poverty line. The sample excludes
mothers who were 17 years old or younger, married or cohabiting with
fathers, as well as those with incomes above the cutoff. Close to a third
of the mothers (34.3 percent) reported that they completed a high
school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED), and around a
quarter (25.6 percent) reported some college, 2-year degree, or technical or trade school. At the baseline interview, over a half of the mothers
reported being employed (55.2 percent). About a half of the mothers
reported receiving public support (i.e., public assistance or food stamps;
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Table 1
Mothers’ Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics
(N p 1,373)
Value
Race:
Black
White
Other
Age (years):
18–19
20–24
25–29
30–39
40–50
Mean (SD)
Education:
Grade 8 or less
Some high school
High school diploma or GED
Some college or 2-year
degree
Bachelor’s degree or more
Employment:
Unemployed
Employed
Child sex:
Girl
Boy
Public support:
Yes
No
Annual income:
$4,999 or less
5,000–$9,999
$10,000–$19,999
$20,000 or more
$ mean (SD)
Frequency
Percent
931
255
191
67.2
18.7
14.1
268
602
293
186
24
19.5
43.9
21.3
13.6
1.8
24.1 (5.5)
44
335
353
4.3
32.5
34.3
264
34
25.6
3.3
551
679
44.8
55.2
637
734
46.5
53.5
721
650
52.6
47.4
618
46.8
294
22.2
271
20.5
139
10.5
8,119.9 (7,497.8)
Note.—GED p general equivalency diploma. The above variables
were measured at time 1. The sum of the frequencies of each variable
(N) varies depending on the number of missing responses.
52.6 percent). The reported average annual income at the baseline
interview was $8,119.90 (SD p 7,497.8). The retention rate for this
cohort of 1,373 urban poor single mothers at time 2 is 89.7 percent (n
p 1,232), and it is 67.7 percent (n p 930) at time 3.
Measures
As discussed earlier, this model focuses on single mothers’ personal
characteristics (educational attainment at time 1 and depressive symptoms at time 2) and economic circumstance (income and economic
hardship at time 2), as well as on family processes (mothers’ and fathers’
parenting and the quality of the mother-father relationship at time 2).
Analyses are guided by the conceptual model (see fig. 1). They estimate
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the direct and indirect effects of each variable on child outcomes (child
behavioral problems and cognitive development at time 3). Alpha coefficients are obtained for scales with multiple items. In calculating the
mean value on scales, items are reversed (when necessary) so that a
higher score indicates more of the attribute named in the label.
Maternal education at time 1.—In the baseline interview, mothers were
asked about educational programs or schooling they completed. For
the present analyses, educational attainment is represented on a fivepoint scale that measures education as follows: eighth grade or less
(coded 1), some high school (coded 2), high school diploma or GED
(coded 3), some college, 2-year degree, or technical or trade school
(coded 4), and bachelor’s degree or graduate or professional school
(coded 5).
Maternal income at time 2.—Maternal income figures reflect the reported total income from all sources, including earnings, public assistance, food stamps, unemployment insurance, workmen’s compensation, disability or Social Security benefits, and any support from family
and friends. These figures refer to pretax income in the year prior to
time 2 (the 1-year follow-up; 1999–2002).
Maternal economic hardship at time 2.—The items measuring economic
hardship are taken from three sources. The first of these is the Basic
Needs—Ability to Meet Expenses section of the Survey of Income and
Program Participation (SIPP; 1996 Panel, Wave 8, Adult Well-Being Topical Module Questionnaire [U.S. Census Bureau 1996]). Items are also
drawn from the 1997 and 1999 New York City Social Indicators Survey
(Social Indicators Survey Center 2002, 2003). A 12-item scale asks about
financial difficulties experienced during the 12 months prior to the
interview. Sample questions include “Did you go hungry?” “Did you not
pay the full amount of rent or mortgage payment?” “Did you not pay
the full amount of a gas or electric bill?” “Was service disconnected by
the telephone company because payments were not made?” “Did you
borrow money from friends or family to help pay bills?” and “Did you
move in with other people even for a little while because of financial
problems?” The Cronbach’s alpha for this measure of economic hardship is .66.
Maternal depressive symptoms at time 2.—The scale for depressive symptoms is drawn from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview—
Short Form (CIDI-SF; Section A [Kessler et al. 1998]). This 14-item scale
examines whether respondents report feelings of dysphoria (depression) or adhedonia (inability to enjoy what is usually pleasurable) that
lasted for 2 weeks or more in the year prior to the follow-up interview.
If the respondent reports such feelings, the scale examines whether the
symptoms lasted most of the day and occurred every day of the 2-week
period. If the respondent indicated that this is the case, he or she was
asked to answer specific questions about losing interest, feeling tired,
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change in weight, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, feeling worthless, and thinking about death. The Cronbach’s alpha for this measure
of depressive symptoms is .93.
Mother-father relationship quality at time 2.—This variable consists of a
12-item scale that is measured from the Multi-Dimensional Support Scale
and the Effects of Violence Survey (Lloyd 1997). Sample questions from
the Multi-Dimensional Support Scale include “How often is (or was)
father fair and willing to compromise?” “How often does (or did) father
express affection or love?” “How often does (or did) father insult or
criticize you?” and “How often does (or did) father encourage or help
with things important to you?” Sample questions from Susan Lloyd’s
Effects of Violence Survey (1997) include “How often does (or did)
father try to keep you from seeing or talking with your friends or family?”
“How often does (or did) father withhold money, make you ask for
money, or take your money?” and “How often does (or did) father slap
or kick you?” Each item was read to the focal child’s mother, and the
mother indicated whether the father behaved this way often (coded 2),
sometimes (coded 1), or never (coded 0). The Cronbach’s alpha for
the measure is .92.
Fathers’ parenting activities at time 2.—This variable consists of a fiveitem scale that is adapted from Home Observation for Measurement of
the Environment (Caldwell and Bradley 1984). Mothers described fathers’ activities in the year prior to the time 2 interview (1-year followup). They were asked how many days per week fathers played games,
sang songs, read books, told stories, and played inside with the child.
Higher scores indicate greater frequency of positive parenting activities.
The Cronbach’s alpha for the measure is .98.
Mothers’ parenting activities at time 2.—This scale is the same as the one
used to assess fathers’ parenting activities. Mothers were asked to assess
their own parenting activities based on how many days per week they
played games, sang songs, read books, told stories, and played inside
with the child. The Cronbach’s alpha is .97.
Child cognitive development at time 3.—The Peabody Picture Vocabulary
Test-Revised (Dunn et al. 1959) is used to measure children’s cognitive
development. A widely used gauge of receptive vocabulary, the revised
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test measures the size and range of words
understood by the respondent’s child. The test was administered on the
child during the in-home interview conducted at time 3.
Child behavior problems at time 3.—The aggressive behavior problems
subscale from the Child Behavior Checklist is used to measure behavior
problems (Achenbach 1992). The FFCW study includes 65 items from
this scale. Each item is read to the child’s mother, whose chooses one
of a range of possible answers, from “not true” (coded 0) to “often or
very true” (coded 2). The items assess the frequency or intensity of
behavior problems. Among the included items are questions that ex-
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amine whether the child acts too young for his or her age, cannot
concentrate, cries a lot, destroys things, does not get along with other
children, gets in many fights, has angry moods, shows little affection
toward people, wants a lot of attention, and has speech problems. The
Cronbach’s alpha for the measure of behavior problems is .92.
Data Analysis
In order to estimate the direct and indirect effects of nonresident fathers’ involvement, this study uses structural equation modeling procedures. Structural equation modeling has the strength to construct
latent variables such as fathers’ parenting, the quality of the motherfather relationship, or other social or behavioral attributes. The influence of latent variables cannot be observed directly but is assessed by
multiple indicators that are subject to measurement errors. Due to measurement errors, conventional statistical methodology including regression cannot be used to analyze the relationship among these attributes (Yuan and Bentler 2007). In contrast to multiple regression
modeling, which has only one model for a given set of predictors, structural equation modeling allows many different models for a given number of variables, and the number of models depends on the hypothesized
relations among variables (Yuan and Bentler 2007). Structural equation
modeling incorporates multiple dependent variables in a model, includes variables that are both independent and dependent, and estimates both direct and indirect effects of each predictor on outcome
variables (Bentler and Weeks 1980; Kline 2005). The analysis proceeds
by specifying a model (as in fig. 1) and then translating the model into
a series of equations or matrices (Bentler and Weeks 1980). The model
can be expressed in matrix algebra as
h p Bh ⫹ gy.
If q is the number of dependent variables, and r is the number of
independent variables, then h is a q # 1 vector of dependent variables,
B is a q # q matrix of regression coefficients between dependent variables, g is a q # r matrix of regression coefficients between dependent
and independent variables, and y is an r # 1 vector of independent
variables (Ullman and Bentler 2004). For example, the diagram in the
current conceptual model (see fig. 1) can be converted into eight regression equations:
income p b1 education ⫹ ␧1;
economic hardship p b2 income ⫹ ␧2;
depression p b3 mother-father relations ⫹ b4 economic hardship ⫹ b5
income ⫹ ␧3;
mother-father relations p b6 economic hardship ⫹ ␧4;
fathers’ parenting p b7 mother-father relations ⫹ ␧5;
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mothers’ parenting p b8 fathers’ parenting ⫹ b9 education ⫹ ␧6;
behavior problems p b10 mothers’ parenting ⫹ b11 education ⫹ b12
income ⫹ b13 mother-father relations ⫹ b14 fathers’ parenting ⫹ ␧7;
cognitive development p b15 behavior problems ⫹ b16 education ⫹ b17
depression ⫹ b18 fathers’ parenting ⫹ ␧8.
These analyses employ Mplus 4.21 (Muthén and Muthén 2007) statistical software because it offers several options for the estimation of
models with missing data (e.g., maximum likelihood estimation and
multiple imputations). The software provides maximum likelihood estimation under conditions in which data are MCAR (missing completely
at random) or MAR (missing at random; Little and Rubin 2002). It
provides this for continuous, censored, binary, ordered categorical (ordinal), unordered categorical (nominal), counts, or combinations of
these variable types. The present study models data as MCAR. Although
a substantial amount of data are missing from the FFCW data set, the
event missed by a particular item is independent. In addition, all of the
variables in this study are continuous. Therefore, maximum likelihood
estimation is used to obtain robust estimates (Yuan and Bentler 2007).
Maximum likelihood estimation is popular for use with missing data
because the method preserves many of the data’s properties when MCAR
and MAR mechanisms are ignored; other estimation procedures may
not preserve those properties. According to Donald Rubin (1976), the
property of parameter estimates achieved by any method is closely related to missing data mechanisms. When missing values are not missing
at random, maximum likelihood estimation is still necessary to obtain
consistent parameter estimates in modeling the missing data mechanism
(Poon, Lee, and Tang 1997; Tang and Lee 1998; Yuan and Bentler 2007).
Results
Table 2 presents a matrix summary of correlations, means, standard
deviations, skewness, and kurtosis. Before this summary was created, the
data were screened using tests for normality, outliers, and multicollinearity (Kline 2005). The analysis suggests that, among the variables, maternal income, mothers’ economic hardship, and maternal depressive
symptoms do not have normal distribution. All of those variables are
measured at time 2. These measures are therefore transformed by using
log, square root, or regrouping. After this transformation, the skewness
ranges from ⫺1.07 to .93 (0 for normal distribution) and the kurtosis
ranges from 1.33 to 4.26 (3 for normal distribution). The analysis also
tests for multicollinearity.
The correlational analyses shown in table 2 examine the bivariate
associations between the variables, and it should be noted that the independent variables are not highly correlated (coefficient r ranges of
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1
...
.42**
⫺.06*
⫺.08*
.01
⫺.01
.10**
⫺.21**
.14**
2.93
.92
.09
2.35
...
⫺.19**
⫺.11**
.01
.04
.06
⫺.21**
.20**
82.94
47.62
.93
4.26
2
...
.31**
⫺.27**
⫺.07
⫺.04
.10**
.03
.83
.81
.35
1.87
3
...
⫺.30**
⫺.13**
⫺.09**
.11
⫺.10
.36
.48
.58
1.33
4
...
.51**
.18**
⫺.15**
⫺.04
18.99
4.56
⫺1.07
3.69
5
...
.35**
⫺.07
⫺.02
25.79
15.51
⫺.03
2.02
6
...
⫺.24**
.10**
31.34
7.84
⫺.40
2.72
7
...
⫺.24**
32.07
16.72
.764
3.10
8
...
43.78
15.46
⫺.42
3.40
9
Note.—T1 p time 1 (baseline interview); T2 p time 2 (1-year follow-up interview); T3 p time 3 (3-year follow-up interview). Maternal income
T2, maternal economic hardship T2, and maternal depressive symptoms T2 do not have normal distribution. These measures were therefore
transformed by using log, square root, or regrouping.
* p ! .05.
** p ! .01.
1. Maternal education T1
2. Maternal income T2
3. Maternal economic hardship T2
4. Maternal depressive symptoms T2
5. Mother-father relations T2
6. Father’s parenting T2
7. Mother’s parenting T2
8. Child behavior problems T3
9. Child cognitive development T3
Mean
SD
Skewness
Kurtosis
Correlation
Correlation, Mean, and Standard Deviation of Variables (N p 1,373)
Table 2
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Fig. 2.—Estimated effects of nonresident fathers’ parenting (N p 1,373).
Note.—Chi-square p 28.62, with degrees of freedom p 20 (p p .10); comparative fit index p .99; Tucker-Lewis index p .98; root mean square error of
approximation p .02; standardized root mean square residual p .03. * p ! .05;
** p ! .01.
⫺.30 to .51). There are statistically significant correlations between independent and dependent variables. For example, although the estimates suggest that nonresident fathers’ parenting at time 2 is not statistically significantly associated with either of the two child outcomes
at time 3, it is worthy of note that nonresident fathers’ parenting is
estimated to be positively associated with maternal parenting at time 2
(r p .35, p ! .01). The estimates suggest that maternal parenting is
negatively associated with child behavior problems at time 3 (r p ⫺.24,
p ! .01). In addition, mothers’ reports of mother-father relationship
quality at time 2 are found to be negatively associated with maternal
depressive symptoms (r p ⫺.30, p ! .01) and positively associated with
fathers’ parenting at time 2 (r p .51, p ! .01).
There are several other associations of importance. Maternal economic hardship at time 2 is found to be positively associated with maternal depressive symptoms at time 2 (r p .31, p ! .01). The estimates
also suggest that mothers’ educational attainment and income at time
2 are positively associated with child cognitive development at time 3
(educational attainment: r p .14, p ! .01; income: r p .20, p ! .01) and
behavior problems (educational attainment: r p ⫺.21, p ! .01; income:
r p ⫺.21, p ! .01).
The final structural equation model is shown in figure 2. With 20
degrees of freedom, it produces a chi-square of 28.62 ( p p .10), a root
mean square error of approximation of .02, a comparative fit index of
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Fathers’ Parenting
669
.99, a Tucker-Lewis index of .98, and a standardized root mean square
residual of .03. All of these indicators suggest a reasonably good fit to
the data (Kline 2005). As expected, the structural parameters show the
expected path from mothers’ educational attainment at time 1 to maternal income at time 2 (beta p .42, p ! .01). Maternal income is
estimated to have the expected negative relationship with economic
hardship at time 2 (beta p ⫺.19, p ! .01). Economic hardship, in turn,
is found to be associated positively with mothers’ depressive symptoms
at time 2 (beta p .23, p ! .01) and negatively associated with the quality
of mother-father relationship (beta p ⫺.26, p ! .01).
Mother-father relationship quality also is found to be negatively related to mothers’ depressive symptoms (beta p ⫺.24, p ! .01). Motherfather relationship quality is estimated to be positively associated with
fathers’ parenting (beta p .50, p ! .01), which is in turn found to be
positively associated with mothers’ parenting (beta p .54, p ! .01).
However, the expected association between the quality of mother-father
relationship and mothers’ parenting is not found in this sample. Although the figure suggests that mothers’ parenting is negatively associated with child behavior problems (beta p ⫺.20, p ! .01), maternal
parenting is not found to be statistically significantly associated with
child cognitive development. Contrary to expectations, fathers’ parenting is not found to be statistically significantly related to child behavior
problems or to cognitive development. Maternal educational attainment
is estimated to be positively associated with children’s cognitive development (beta p .09, p ! .05) and negatively associated with their behavior problems (beta p ⫺.13, p ! .01). Mothers’ income is estimated
to be negatively associated with child behavior problems (beta p ⫺.14,
p ! .01) but not associated with children’s cognitive development. Child
behavior problems are found to be associated negatively with cognitive
development (r p ⫺.22, p !. 01).
Estimates concerning the decomposition of the direct and indirect
associations are displayed in table 3. The results suggest that nonresident
fathers’ parenting is negatively and indirectly related to their children’s
behavior problems (⫺.07, p ! .05) but positively and indirectly associated
with cognitive development (.02, p ! .05). The results also suggest that
both of these associations are transmitted through mothers’ parenting.
Fathers’ parenting is not found to be directly and statistically significantly associated with either child outcome, but the results do suggest
that fathers’ parenting influences those child outcomes indirectly. The
finding of this indirect influence is consistent with expectations.
It should also be noted that, consistent with expectations, mothers’
income and economic hardship, as well as the quality of her relationship
with the father, are estimated to be statistically significantly but indirectly
associated with both child outcomes. With respect to total effect, children’s behavior problems (total effect p ⫺.22, p ! .01), maternal ed-
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670
Social Service Review
Table 3
Decomposition of the Estimates of Direct and Indirect Effects of
Nonresident Father Parenting
Variable
Direct
Child cognitive development:
Maternal education
Maternal income
Maternal economic hardship
Mother-father relations
Maternal depressive symptoms
Father’s parenting
Mother’s parenting
Child behavior problems
Child behavior problems:
Maternal education
Maternal income
Maternal economic hardship
Mother-father relations
Father’s parenting
Mother’s parenting
Mother’s parenting:
Maternal education
Maternal income
Maternal economic hardship
Mother-father relations
Father’s parenting
Father’s parenting:
Maternal education
Maternal income
Maternal economic hardship
Mother-father relations
Maternal depressive symptoms:
Maternal education
Maternal income
Maternal economic hardship
Mother-father relations
Mother-father relations:
Maternal education
Maternal income
Maternal economic hardship
Maternal economic hardship:
Maternal education
Maternal income
Maternal income: education
.09*
⫺.07*
⫺.22**
⫺.13**
⫺.14**
⫺.11*
⫺.20**
.10**
Indirect
Total
.05*
.04*
⫺.03*
.05*
.14**
.04*
⫺.03*
.05*
⫺.07*
.02*
.04*
⫺.22**
.02*
.04*
⫺.08*
⫺.01*
.04*
⫺.03*
⫺.07*
⫺.21**
⫺.15**
.04*
⫺.15**
⫺.07*
⫺.20**
.01*
.01*
⫺.04*
.17**
.11**
.01*
⫺.04*
.17**
.35**
.01*
.02*
⫺.13**
.01*
.02*
⫺.13**
.50**
⫺.05*
⫺.06*
⫺.05*
⫺.13**
.23**
⫺.24**
.02*
.05*
.02*
.05*
⫺.26**
⫺.08*
⫺.08*
⫺.19**
.42**
.35**
.50**
⫺.07*
.23**
⫺.24**
⫺.26**
⫺.19**
.42**
* p ! .05.
** p ! .01.
ucation (total effect p .14, p ! .01), and mothers’ depressive symptoms
(total effect p ⫺.07, p ! .05) are estimated to be the most influential
predictors of children’s cognitive development. Maternal education (total effect p ⫺.21, p ! .01), mothers’ parenting (total effect p ⫺.20, p
! .01), income (total effect p ⫺.15, p ! .01), and the quality of motherfather relationship (total effect p ⫺.15, p ! .01) also have strong estimated effects on children’s behavior problems, as expected.
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Fathers’ Parenting
671
Discussion
Although the study does not find the hypothesized direct association
between nonresident fathers’ parenting and child development, the
results do suggest that fathers’ parenting has indirect associations. That
is, nonresident fathers’ parenting is found to be negatively associated
with child behavior problems transmitted through mothers’ parenting.
Fathers’ parenting is also found to be positively associated with cognitive
development and is transmitted through the path from mothers’ parenting to child behavior problems. More explicitly, these results suggest
that fathers’ parenting positively relates to their children’s developmental
outcomes through its beneficial influences on the mothers’ parenting.
This study theorized that nonresident fathers’ involvement with mothers and children in single-mother families would influence the children’s development. The present findings do indeed suggest that nonresident fathers’ parenting can benefit their children’s development.
Even after controlling for mother’s education, income, economic hardships, psychological functioning, and parenting, as well as for the quality
of their relationship with the father, this study finds that nonresident
fathers still make a unique contribution to the child outcomes. Although
the estimated effect size is modest compared to those of other factors,
the indirect effects of the fathers’ parenting on both their children’s
behavior problems and cognitive development are estimated to be statistically significant (p ! .05). The magnitude of the estimated effects
of the mothers’ education, income, economic hardships, and parenting
on each of the two child outcomes far exceeds that of the fathers’
parenting on each of those outcomes. Still, it is noteworthy that fathers’
involvement with mothers and children is found to be beneficial to the
mothers and, through the mothers, to the children. Specifically, fathers’
involvement is negatively related to behavior problems and positively
related to cognitive development. For example, the quality of the
mother-father relationship is estimated to be associated with fathers’
parenting, which is in turn found to be associated with mothers’ parenting. So too, mothers’ parenting is found to be negatively associated
with behavior problems. These findings are consistent with previous studies that report statistically significant associations among mother-father
relationship quality, fathers’ involvement with single-mother families, maternal parenting, and children’s development in poor single-mother families ( Jackson and Scheines 2005; King and Sobolewski 2006; Jackson,
Choi, and Franke 2009).
The person-process-context model (Bronfenbrenner 1988) posits that
child developmental outcomes are influenced by family processes, environmental context, and personal characteristics of family members.
This study identifies the direct paths among mothers’ personal char-
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Social Service Review
acteristics (education, depressive symptoms), family processes (mothers’
parenting and mother-father relationship), maternal economic circumstances (income and economic hardship), and the child outcomes.
Taken together, the results of this study suggest some ways in which the
interrelations among mothers’ personal characteristics, family processes,
and maternal economic circumstances might be associated with the
development of children in low-income, single-mother families. For example, maternal economic hardship is found to be associated with both
mothers’ depressive symptoms and the quality of the mother-father relationship. The results further suggest that depressive symptoms are, in
turn, associated with children’s cognitive development. The quality of
the mother-father relationship is found to be associated with fathers’
parenting, which is estimated to be indirectly associated with both child
outcomes. That estimated indirect effect is found to be transmitted
through mothers’ parenting. These findings are consistent with previous
studies that report statistically significant associations among mothers’
economic status, maternal depressive symptoms, mother-father relationship, and mothers’ parenting ( Jackson and Scheines 2005; King and
Sobolewski 2006; Chang et al. 2007).
A discrepancy between originally modeled and estimated statistical
relationships is that this study finds no statistically significant association
between the quality of the mother-father relationship and maternal parenting. This result is not consistent with previous research, which finds
a positive association between mother-father relationship quality and
mothers’ parenting (Davies et al. 2004; Jackson and Scheines 2005).
The discrepancy might be due to the use of different measures for
maternal parenting. Although the FFCW uses maternal parenting activities (including playing, reading, or singing with the child) to measure
mothers’ parenting quality, previous studies use a more comprehensive
measure of parenting in the home environment.
It is worthy of note that mothers’ educational attainment is positively
associated with both child outcomes, and those associations are both
direct and indirect. The results suggest that maternal income is negatively associated, both directly and indirectly, with child behavior problems but that income is only indirectly associated with cognitive development. These findings are consistent with those reported by others
(Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, and Klebanov 1994; Blau 1999; Berger, Paxson,
and Waldfogel 2005) and are supportive of the notion that children’s
development should be explained within their ecological contexts, including the socioeconomic conditions in which they develop (Bronfenbrenner 1988). If valid, these findings suggest as well that antipoverty
policy and early intervention programs, such as Early Head Start, should
focus on preventing early poverty and reducing its long-term adverse
effects (see, e.g., McLoyd 1998; Jackson et al. 2000; Lee 2009).
Nonresident fathers’ parenting in poor single-mother families may be
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Fathers’ Parenting
673
an important determinant of children’s developmental outcomes, but
the limitations of the present data set prevent the study from drawing
causal conclusions. First, the data rely on mothers’ self report. Even the
fathers’ parenting variable is based solely on mothers’ perceptions, and
such perceptions may be affected by the mother-father relationship.
According to Rebekah Coley and Jodi Eileen Morris (2002), mothers
have a tendency to report consistently lower levels of involvement than
do fathers, even though mothers’ and fathers’ reports are similar. Thus,
data measured by mothers’ reported perceptions of situations and behaviors may differ from actual situations and behaviors.
Second, the FFCW data do not take into account changes in fatherinvolvement across time. Bronfenbrenner and Stephen Ceci (1994) suggest that the consistency and stability of developmentally appropriate
parenting over time are important determinants of children’s developmental outcomes. Although the present data are longitudinal, assessments of fathers’ involvement (as well as four out of seven of the
independent variables) occurred at time 2 only, so that changes over
time are not reflected.
Third, because the data do not reflect changes over time, the directions of the relations predicted here are plausible but not certain. That
is, one might estimate the opposite causal ordering among variables
measured at the same time.
Fourth, the present data do not capture the roles played by such
fatherlike figures as mothers’ new partners, uncles to the children, or
other relatives. Only biological fathers’ involvement is considered in the
present models.
Fifth, the FFCW data represent families that live in large cities with
populations of 200,000 or more. As such, the findings cannot be generalized to populations residing in nonurban areas. Sixth, many values
are missing from the data set, and some of the analyses therefore require
statistical adjustments. Still, these are the best national data available
on a very vulnerable population.
If valid, the present results suggest that current policy initiatives to
promote responsible fatherhood and father involvement should be encouraged. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (120 Stat. 4), which reauthorized Temporary Assistance for Needy Families through 2010, reemphasizes the need to help fathers to enhance parenting, communication,
and relationship skills. The Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act of 2007 (S. 1626, 110th cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 153,
no. 96 [ June 14, 2007]: S7730) aims to sustain a healthy relationship
between fathers and children. The legislation also promotes cooperative
relationships between parents and might reduce such barriers to cooperative parenting as lack of education, unemployment, low income,
substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence, and incarceration
(Turetsky 2008). Again, if valid, the current results suggest that edu-
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Social Service Review
cation programs and services to promote adequate parenting (e.g., Parents’ Fair Share) should be extended to nonmarital couples, including
nonresident fathers. In addition, the present findings add to studies
that identify economic hardship as a key link among poverty, mothers’
depressive symptoms, and family processes (Conger et al. 1992; Jackson
and Scheines 2005). Accordingly, policy and program interventions
might focus on increasing family economic well-being, possibly by improving access to educational opportunities that might result in better
employment opportunities (McLoyd 1998; Jackson et al. 2000; Lee
2009).
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Note
An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2008 conference of the Father
Involvement Research Alliance. This study uses wave 1–3 data sets from the Fragile Families
and Child Wellbeing Study, which was supported by grant number R01HD36916 from the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. I would like to thank Aurora
P. Jackson for her critical reviews and helpful comments.
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions