Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study is the first to explicitly compare the organization of nonresident father involvement to that of resident fathers utilizing a measurement model and identical sets of involvement items. In addition, we assess the relationship of paternal involvement to father-adolescent closeness in nonresident versus resident father families. The data come from a sample of 6,287 adolescents with nonresident fathers and 11,466 adolescents with resident fathers in the first wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). We find that fathering is organized differently in nonresident versus resident father families, in that nonresident father involvement fits neatly into a measurement model with two latent constructs, activities and communication. On the other hand, the involvement items of resident fathers are not highly correlated with one another, and therefore do not conform to a parsimonious measurement model. We also find that nonresident father involvement has a greater potential influence on and explains a greater degree of variation in father-adolescent closeness. We explore possible explanations for the differential structure of involvement and its relationship to father-child relationship quality.