Father-Child Contact after Separation and Divorce: The Importance of Structural and Intrafamilial Factors

This study analyzes structural (e.g., poverty, custody arrangements) as well as intrafamilial factors (e.g., coparenting), which have rarely been analyzed in conjunction regarding their association with the hardly ever differentiated dimensions of (1) loss and (2) frequency of contact between non-residential fathers and their children after parental separation. Based on the DJI-Alleinerziehendenstudie (N=1261 lone mothers with children younger than 15 years) we show that 85 % of fathers maintained contact with their children, mostly (73 %) having contact at least once or twice a week. Furthermore, non-shared custody, a former nonmarital parental relationship and a new paternal partnership were related to an elevated risk of loss of contact. In contrast, the frequency of contact was predicted by residential distance, child's age, relationship quality between father and child and positive as well as conflictual parental coparenting. Thus, future studies should differentiate the loss and frequency of contact more clearly and always consider both groups of influencing factors.