Abstract
Research suggests that high parental support and control improves children’s well-being. However, a large part of these studies have focused on the parenting of married parents. Research on parenting after a divorce, mainly has focused on parenting of divorced mothers, with few exceptions concentrating primarily on non-residential fathers. Therefore, we compared both parenting dimensions support and control of fathers in different family structures (non-residential fathers, fathers in joint custody and married fathers). We also investigated the association between fathers’ parenting dimensions and children’s self-esteem, controlled for the parenting dimensions of the mother. Data from 587 children (50 % girls) between 10 and 18 years old and their parents were examined. Results revealed that non-residential fathers (n = 225) were less supportive and controlling than fathers in joint custody (n = 138) and married fathers (n = 224). Nevertheless, having a supportive father was beneficial to children’s self-esteem in each family structure. We conclude that, even after a divorce, fathers have the capacity to enhance children’s self-esteem and we suggest that future research should investigate this capacity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amato, P. R. (2000). The consequences of divorce for adults and children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 1269–1287.
Amato, P. R., Meyers, C. E., & Emery, R. E. (2009). Changes in non-resident father-child contact from 1976 to 2002. Family Relations, 58, 41–53.
Asgeirsdottir, B. B., Gudjonsson, G. H., Sigurdsson, J. F., & Sigfusdottir, I. D. (2010). Protective processes for depressed mood and anger among sexually abused adolescents: The importance of self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 402–407.
Aunola, K., Stattin, H. K., & Nurmi, J. E. (2000). Parenting styles and adolescents’ achievement strategies. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 205–222.
Barber, B. K. (1996). Parental psychological control: Revisiting a neglected construct. Child Development, 67, 3296–3319.
Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 11, 56–95.
Ben-Arieh, A. (2005). Where are the children? Children’s role in measuring and monitoring their well-being. Social Indicators Research, 74, 573–596.
Benson, M. J., Buehler, C., & Gerard, J. M. (2008). Interparental hostility and early adolescent problems behavior: Spillover via maternal acceptance, harshness, inconsistency and intrusiveness. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 28, 428–454.
Birkeland, M. S., Melkevik, O., Holsen, I., & Wold, B. (2012). Trajectories of global self-esteem development during adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 43–54.
Booth, A., Scott, M. E., & King, V. (2010). Father residence and adolescent problem behaviour: Are youth always better off in two-parent families? Journal of Family Issues, 31, 585–605.
Bos, A. E. R., Huijding, J., Muris, P., Vogel, L. R. R., & Biesheuvel, J. (2010). Global, contingent and implicit self-esteem and psychopathological symptoms in adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 311–316.
Bowman, M. E., & Ahrons, C. R. (1985). Impact of legal custody status on fathers’ parenting postdivorce. Journal of Marriage and Family, 47, 481–488.
Bronte-Tinkew, J., Scott, M. E., & Lilja, E. (2010). Single custodial father’s involvement and parenting: Implications for outcomes in emerging adulthood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 1107–1127.
Campana, K. L., Henderson, S., Stolberg, A. L., & Schum, L. (2008). Paired maternal and paternal parenting styles, child custody and children’s emotional adjustment to divorce. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 48, 1–20.
Carlo, G., Mc Ginley, M., Hayes, R., Batenhorst, C., & Wilkinson, J. (2007). Parenting styles or practices? Parenting, sympathy and prosocial behaviors among adolescents. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 168, 147–176.
Carlson, M. J. (2006). Family structure, father involvement and adolescent behavioural outcomes. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 137–154.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94(Suppl.), S95–S120.
Coley, R. L., & Medeiros, B. L. (2007). Reciprocal longitudinal relations between non-resident father involvement and adolescent delinquency. Child Development, 78, 132–147.
Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human nature and the social order. New York, NY: Scribner’s.
Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (1997). Families as systems. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 243–267.
Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 392–414.
Darling, N., & Toyokawa, T. (1997). Construction and validation of the parenting style inventory II (PSI-II). Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies.
DeGarmo, D. S., & Forgatch, M. S. (1999). Context as predictors of changing maternal parenting practices in diverse family structures: A social interactional perspective of risk and resilience. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Coping with divorce, single parenting and remarriage: A Risk and Resiliency Perspective (pp. 227–252). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
De Rijksoverheid voor Nederland. (2010). Kinderen? Ouderschapsplan verplicht. Retrieved September 20, 2011 from http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/scheiden/kinderen-ouderschapsplan-verplicht.
Diener, E., & Diener, M. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 653–663.
DuBois, D. L., & Flay, B. R. (2004). The healthy pursuit of self-esteem: Comment on and alternative to the Crocker and Park (2004) formulation. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 415–420.
Dunlop, R., Burns, A., & Bermingham, S. (2001). Parent–child relations and adolescent self-image following divorce: A 10 year study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30, 117–134.
Eurostat New Cronos. (2011). Source Eurostat delivered by ESDS International, (MIMAS) University of Manchester. Retrieved September 20, 2011 from http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/
Flouri, E. (2006). Non-resident fathers’ relationships with their secondary school age children: Determinants and children’s mental health outcomes. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 525–538.
Forgatch, M. S., & DeGarmo, D. S. (1997). Adult problem solving: Contributor to parenting and child outcomes in divorced families. Social Development, 6, 237–253.
Furstenberg, F. F., & Hughes, E. (1995). Social capital and successful development among at-risk youth. Journal of Marriage and Family, 57, 580–592.
Garcia, F., & Gracia, E. (2009). Is always authoritative the optimum parenting style? Evidence from Spanish families. Adolescence, 44, 101–131.
Gault-Sherman, M. (2011). It’s a two-way street: The bidirectional relationship between parenting and delinquency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 4, 121–145.
Goodman, C., & Pickens, J. (2001). Self-blame and self-esteem in college-aged children from divorced families. In C. A. Everett (Ed.), Divorce and the next generation: Perspectives for young adults in the new millennium (pp. 119–135). Binghamton, NY: The Hawort Press.
Hardy, S. A., Padilla-Walker, L. M., & Carlo, G. (2008). Parenting dimensions and adolescents’ internalization of moral values. Journal of Moral Education, 37, 205–223.
Hawkins, D. N., Amato, P. R., & King, V. (2007). Nonresident father involvement and adolescent well-being: Father effects or child effects? American Sociological Review, 72, 990–1010.
Hetherington, E. M., & Stanley-Hagen, M. M. (1999). The adjustment of children with divorced parents: A risk and resiliency perspective. Journal of Child Psychiatry, 40, 129–140.
Hilton, J. M., & Devall, E. L. (1998). Comparison of parenting and children’s behaviour in single-mother, single-father and intact families. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 29, 23–54.
Jacobs, J. (1983). Treatment of divorcing fathers: Social and psychotherapeutic considerations. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 1294–1299.
Kakihara, F., Tilton-Weaver, L., Kerr, M., & Stattin, H. (2010). The relationship of parental control to youth adjustment: Do youths’ feelings about their parents play a role? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 1442–1456.
Kim, Y., & Sherraden, M. (2011). Do parental assets matter for children’s educational attainment?: Evidence from mediation tests. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 969–979.
King, V., & Heard, H. E. (1999). Nonresident father visitation, parental conflict and mother’s satisfaction: What’s best for child well-being? Journal of Marriage and Family, 61, 385–396.
King, V., & Sobolewski, J. M. (2006). Nonresident fathers’ contributions to adolescent well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 537–557.
Lamborn, S. D., Mounts, N. S., Steinberg, L., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1991). Patterns of competence and adjustment among adolescents from authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent and neglectful families. Child Development, 62, 1049–1065.
Lansford, J. E. (2009). Parental divorce and children’s adjustment. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 140–152.
Lengua, L. J., Wolchik, S. A., Sandler, I. N., & West, S. G. (2000). The additive and interactive effects of parenting and temperament in predicting adjustment problems of children of divorce. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 232–244.
Lyubomirsky, S., Tkach, C., & Dimatteo, M. R. (2006). What are the differences between happiness and self-esteem? Social Indicators Research, 78, 363–404.
Madden-Derdich, D. A., & Leonard, S. A. (2002). Shared experiences, unique realities: formerly married mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of parenting and custody after divorce. Family Relations, 51, 37–45.
Marsh, H. W. (1996). Positive and negative global self-esteem: A substantively meaningful distinction or artifactors? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 810–819.
McIntosh, J. E. (2009). Legislating for shared parenting: Exploring some underlying assumptions. Family Court Review, 47, 389–400.
McLanahan, S. & Sandefur, G. (1994). Growing up with a single parent. What hurts, what helps. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
McLeod, B. D., Weisz, J. R., & Wood, J. J. (2007). Examining the association between parenting and childhood depression: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 986–1003.
Melli, M. S. (1999). Guidline review: Child support and time sharing by parents. Family Law Quarterly, 33, 219–234.
Menning, C. L. (2006). Nonresident fathers’ involvement and adolescents’ smoking. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47, 32–46.
Milevsky, A., Schlechter, M., Nettr, S., & Keehn, D. (2007). Maternal and paternal parenting style in adloescents: associations with self-esteem, depression and life-satisfaction. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 39–47.
Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Moksnes, U. K., Moljord, I. E. O., Espnes, G. A., & Byrne, D. G. (2010). The association between stress and emotional states in adolescents: The role of gender and self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 430–435.
Nijhof, K. S., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2007). Parenting styles, coping strategies and the expression of homesickness. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 709–720.
Pasley, K., & Braver, S. L. (2004). Measuring father involvement in divorced, non-resident fathers. In R. D. Day & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Conceptualizing and measuring father involvement (pp. 217–240). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Pleck, J. H. (2010). Paternal involvement: revised conceptualization and theoretical linkages with child outcomes. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (5th ed., pp. 58–93). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Plunkett, S. W., Williams, S. M., Schock, A. M., & Sands, T. (2007). Parenting and adolescent self-esteem in latino intact families, stepfather families and single-mother families. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 47, 1–20.
Pryor, J. (2004). Parenting in reconstructed and surrogate families. In M. Hoghughi & N. Long (Eds.), Handbook of parenting: Theory and research for practice (pp. 110–129). London: Sage.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Seltzer, J. A. (2000). Child support and child access: Experiences of divorced an nonmarital families. In J. T. ldham & M. S. Melli (Eds.), Child support: The next frontier (pp. 69–87). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Siffert, A., Schwarz, B., & Stutz, M. (2012). Marital conflict and early adolescents’ self-evaluation: The role of parenting quality and early adolescents’ appraisals. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 749–763.
Sirvanli-Ozen, D. (2005). Impacts of divorce on the behaviour and adjustment problems, parenting styles and attachment styles of children. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 42, 127–151.
Smyth, B., & Moloney, L. (2008). Changes in patterns of post-separation parenting over time: A brief review. Journal of Family Studies, 14, 7–22.
Stewart, S. D. (1999). Disneyland dads, disneyland moms?: How nonresident parents spend time with absent children. Journal of Family Studies, 20, 539–556.
Stewart, S. D. (2003). Nonresident parenting and adolescent adjustment. The quality of nonresident father-child interaction. Journal of Family Issues, 24, 217–244.
Strohschein, L. (2007). Challenging the presumption of diminished capacity to parent: Does divorce really change parenting practices? Family Relations, 56, 358–368.
Thomson, E., Hanson, T. L., & McLanahan, S. S. (1994). Family structure and child well-being: Economic resources vs. parental behaviors. Social Forces, 73, 221–242.
Wasoff, F. (2005). Mutual consent: Separation agreements and the outcomes of private ordering in divorce. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 27, 237–250.
Wood, J. J., Repetti, R. L., & Roesch, S. C. (2004). Divorce and children’s adjustment problems at home and school: The role of depressive/withdrawn parenting. Child Psychology and Human Development, 35, 121–142.
Zakeri, H., & Karimpour, M. (2011). Parenting styles and self-esteem. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 29, 758–761.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bastaits, K., Ponnet, K. & Mortelmans, D. Parenting of Divorced Fathers and the Association with Children’s Self-Esteem. J Youth Adolescence 41, 1643–1656 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9783-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9783-6