Pew Report On Fatherhood Finds Many Are Absent

The number of children living apart from their fathers has more than doubled in the last fifty years, from 11 percent in 1960 to 27 percent in 2010.

That’s one of the key findings from a new report on fatherhood in the United the States that was released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends project--just in time for Father’s Day.

The findings paint a grim picture of many fathers’ lack of involvement in their children’s lives, using data from over 10,000 people to determine the percentage of "absent" or “non-resident” fathers in America, which the report defines as those who do not live with their children.

A decline in marriage rates may be partially to blame. In 1960, 72 percent of the adult population was married; that share had dropped to 52 percent by 2008. Eighty seven percent of children ages 17 and younger were living with two married parents in 1960 compared with 64 percent in 2008.

According to the report’s co-author Gretchen Livingston, an increase in divorce rates over the last half-century may also play a role.

“We see that the share of children living apart from their dads has more than doubled from 11 percent in 1960 to 27 percent in 2008, and at that same we see that three-fold increase in divorce,” she said. “Clearly the trends fit together.”

Here, some of the most interesting findings.

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Fathers with higher incomes are less likely to live apart from their children than those who make less money. Only 15 percent of fathers with an annual family income of $50,000 or more live apart from a child, compared with 38 percent of fathers with incomes between $30,000 and $49,000 and 39 percent of those with incomes below $30,000.

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Fathers with higher incomes are less likely to live apart from their children than those who make less money. Only 15 percent of fathers with an annual family income of $50,000 or more live apart from a child, compared with 38 percent of fathers with incomes between $30,000 and $49,000 and 39 percent of those with incomes below $30,000.

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Comments

[blackadder1999]

07:41 PM on 07/03/2011

The contact a father has with a child is completely irrelevant in regards to an increase in divorce. It matters not if the parents are together, it matters how involved the father is with that child's life. I am a single father, and constantly get surprised looks when I say that I have custody. It saddens me to get this response. I love my daughter and I have no interest in being someone who writes checks for support and never sees the child. I also know first hand that there are a lot of women who do not let or allow the father to be involved in the child's life.

Let's step up and be real men here ok? Its a little life that depends on interaction between both dad and mom. Not just mom.

[Guest211]

05:03 PM on 06/26/2011

To Ashley Reich,

Ashly, as an associate editor, isnt the state of Texas, one of the largest states in the country, changing its law on false paternity, worthy of inclusion on this page. My apologies if I missed the story, but as a frequent reader, I've not seen such reported on by the Divorce page at HP. I'm never much of a fan of "celebrity news" but I see a lot of that and not stories such as what happened in Texas which I believe are more the "real issues" of divorce. In any case, thanks for your consideration. A link to such can be found here.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/Houston-man-forced-to-pay-child-support-for-child-that-DNA-proves-isnt-his-124472429.html

[Equestrienne85]

12:21 PM on 06/25/2011

It seems to me that a big problem with absenteeism is divorce. I think that there should be mandatory couples counseling before marriage, because 'love' isn't enough to sustain a marriage. People need to be more careful in choosing their partners so that they can be compatible in marriage and child rearing. Just an idea, but maybe then there would be fewer divorces and fewer nasty divorces.

[PeterS58]

06:30 PM on 06/23/2011

What is not spoken of often enough in defense of the absent father: some are absent because they can't stand to see and experience their ex, who harbors anger and often shows it in front of the children, thus causing the children emotional harm. The father stays away to shield their children from this emotional harm.

[blackadder1999]

07:47 PM on 07/03/2011

this might sound cliche, but "do it for the children" My ex is horrible, and I wish I could never see her again but being apart from my child is not an option and is way more important than a few minutes of stress.

[PeterS58]

06:20 PM on 06/23/2011

Kind of a stupid article (study). So many couples are divorced and many of those divorces were not the father's choice.

[D-Barger]

11:26 AM on 06/23/2011

I was absent for a large chunk of my child's early years.

I'd go to pick him up, she would say, "No!" and nobody could enforce my visitation. Lawyers, court, police, nobody could do a thing.

My visitation with my son was used as a weapon against me; a punishment for leaving. Sorry, but I can't stay in a house where someone stands over me with a knife, watching me sleep. I can't do it.

We were married. This issue has nothing to do with being married and everything to do with children being used as tools in split-ups.

I'm glad that I didn't give up. But looking back, it would have been so easy to just say, "Screw it!" and walk away. There would have been way fewer headaches, that's for sure.

If men were given automatic custody, we'd be discussing absentee mothers and dead-beat women.

[Guest211]

02:46 PM on 06/23/2011

"If men were given automatic custody, we'd be discussing absentee mothers and dead-beat women."

Thought provoking and insightful.

[samz2021]

07:35 PM on 06/23/2011

F&F

[Guest211]

07:03 AM on 06/23/2011

The report is entitled “A Tale of Two Fathers” as it found varying involvement with children dependent on resident status. Here, the author presents only one aspect. The other aspect was:

“Fathers who live with their children have become more intensely involved in their lives, spending more time with them and taking part in a greater variety of activities.

Almost all fathers who live with their children take an active role in their day-to-day lives through activities such as sharing meals, helping with homework, and playing.

Some fathers are highly involved with their children, in spite of the fact that they do not live together.

More than nine-in-ten fathers who live with their children at least part of the time report that they shared a meal with their child or talked with their child about the child’s day almost daily over the past several weeks.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) say they helped their child with homework or checked on their homework at least several times a week, and 54% say they took their child to or from activities several times a week or more.

Men have a strong desire to be fathers… Overall, 87% of males ages 15-44 who have no children say that they want to have children at some point. Among childless men between the ages of 40-44, a narrow majority (51%) still want children.”

http://pewsocialtrends.org/2011/06/15/a-tale-of-two-fathers/

[Chris Sirhc]

08:46 AM on 06/23/2011

The Huff Post version of the Pew report is, to put it mildly, slanted. The report also chronicles the increasing involvement of fathers in caring for their children. However this is not reflected in public opinion. Considering this example of media bias, one should not be surprised.

"In 1965, married fathers with children under age 18 living in their household spent an average of 2.6 hours per week caring for those children. Fathers’ time spent caring for their children rose gradually over the next two decades—to 2.7 hours per week in 1975 and 3 hours per week in 1985. From 1985 to 2000, the amount of time married fathers spent with their children more than doubled – to 6.5 hours in 2000. From 1965 to 2000, married mothers consistently logged more time than married fathers caring for their minor children, though the gap between mothers and fathers in time spent on child care narrowed significantly."

"The public is evenly split over whether today’s fathers play a greater role or a lesser role in their children’s lives compared with dads 20 or 30 years ago. While 46% say fathers play a greater role now, 45% say they play less of a role now."

[Brian F]

01:17 AM on 06/23/2011

I'm in the category of men who WANT to be around their child as much as possible, but due to job requirements, and the mother's complete lack of caring...I have not seen or spoken to my son in 6 months.
I'm the one who gets cheated on, and yet my son and I (and our relationship) are the ones paying for it. What an awesome system...

[Guest211]

06:22 AM on 06/23/2011

While I'd like to find a more recent and larger study on such, it sounds that your situation is not uncommon.

“Kruk, E. (1992). "Psycholog­ical and Structural Factors Contributi­ng to the Disengagem­ent of Noncustodi­al Fathers After Divorce," Family and Conciliati­on Courts Review 29 (2), 81-101 (Associati­on of Family and Conciliati­on Courts/ Sage Publicatio­ns).

"Most disengaged fathers presented a complex amalgam of reasons for their loss of contact with their children after divorce, rather than one clear cause:

Reasons for Disengagem­ent (N=40)

90% Access Difficulti­es
33% Fathers Decision to Cease Contact
28% Practical Difficulti­es (Distace, Finances, Work Schedule)
18% Child(ren) Not Wanting Contact
16% Legal Injunction
5% Early Pattern of No Contact (Prohibiti­ng Future Contact)"

Most frequently mentioned (by 36 of the 40 disengaged fathers) were difficulti­es related to access, whereas many of the contact fathers stressed the importance of the support and encouragem­ent of their ex-wives in their maintenanc­e of contact and developmen­t of a new parental role. Those fathers who received little or no confirmati­on of their roles as "fathers" by their former spouses appear most likely to become disengaged from their children's lives"

[LizLemonsbrother]

08:43 PM on 06/23/2011

Wow, there's so much more responsibility put on women -- you say "many of the contact fathers stressed the importance of the support and encouragem­­ent of their ex-wives." How many men emotionally support and encourage their ex-wives in their roles as mothers?

I practically had a parade every time my husband and then ex-husband was involved as a father and so did most of my friends when their husbands got involved. When a man changes one diaper he is considered a great dad. When a woman changes 1000 diapers she considered do what she's supposed to do. Women still seem to value bread-winning abilities over parenting gifts and this also needs to change. You really can't buy a good father, they are truly priceless.

But nothing will change for your kids if you blame the mother of your children for the relationship you have with them. The woman doesn't need to support and encourage and a man who is not her husband, especially when she needs to offer full-time support and encouragement to the children 24/7.

Be supportive of your ex-wife, show up on time, and let her know what a great job she is doing. Disarm her and see how things might change for the better.

[Severed Head]

08:18 PM on 06/21/2011

My brother despite being a lousy husband is a great father. He has some personality issues, he's not a cheater or a beater.

He pays over the top child support, puts money away for the kids university. The X nothing.

He gets the kid only on the weekends (so she and the new husband can relax) and often denies the child trips to see her grandparents where she would have gifts, food and all clothes lavished upon her.

Guss I missed the slide with the photo of the psycho x wife. Denying the child to be mean to the x husband eight years into the divorce.

Why can't you WRITE an article. Are HP readers that stupid now we must be reduced to slideshows ALL the time?!

[bakermf465]

09:46 AM on 06/21/2011

This supports the theory that men usually run away from the responsibility because they don't make enough money to even support themselves much less a family and this is more often true of black men. It is much more likely for a black man not to be able to find a good job to support a family. So, they leave. Not making excuses but it's true.

[livefortruth]

07:59 PM on 06/21/2011

I still don't see an excuse not to be a father??

[bakermf465]

05:31 AM on 06/24/2011

I agree totally but it is what it is. Supporting a family without adequate income is tough but mothers do it so and fathers should too.

[Lisa Shields]

09:11 AM on 06/21/2011

Interesting article.
Quite a range on responses too.

If anyone here was watched "Sixteen and Pregnant", they repeat one stat over over."80 percent of the young fathers will not be in their kid's lives past the baby's first year." So any one of those young mothers has barely a 20 percent chance of having an active father for her child. They all ignore it. They all hope they will be the exception...but it's a hard road.

This is what I see. Young girl with a baby? Fine for a little "something something"...relationship material? Nope. We think a young father with his child is just marvelous. Women fawn over them. Women don't consider a young father's child as an obstacle to a committed relationship. Men do. The cherry on the cupcake? Even men with children of their own DON'T want to be with women who have kids of THEIR own.

The double standard to end all double standards.

[Hunter3203]

07:25 AM on 06/21/2011

I was surprised that the article didn't mention the court system at all. Custody and child support decisions are also a factor in a father's ability to have a relationship with their child.

[gracegmb5]

06:55 AM on 06/21/2011

Lets face the facts. Men can't keep it in their pants and woman chose to give the greatest gift have to the first guy they hook up with. Who suffers, the unwanted, unplanned child who will forever be referred to as their mother's mistake. Usually raised by grandparents who never planned for it in the first place. Instead of passing the blame back and forth try putting yourself in that child's place. Try being the off spring of two selfish people who put sex before love, marriage or any other consideration, such as birth control. A lonely half life that is not their fault but yours.

[sanfran55]

12:06 AM on 06/21/2011

There's an old saying that the best way for a father to love his children is to love the mother.

[PeterS58]

06:25 PM on 06/23/2011

It goes both ways.

[human2008]

08:39 PM on 06/23/2011

Loving the mother is not a problem at all. But, when mother has headaches all the time, loving thing becomes fairly one sided. Being a good father is always easy, but a good husband.. I wonder..

But again, 2 people needs to get a relationship right.. when it does not work it's the man's fault!

[Guest211]

04:48 PM on 06/20/2011

http://www.thestar.com/article/705130