Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Parenting in On/Off Relationships: The Link Between Relationship Churning and Father Involvement

  • Published:
Demography

Abstract

Family systems theory points to the interconnected nature of dyadic relationships within the family unit, arguing for attention to how the parental relationship shapes their ties to and interactions with their children. Grounded in family systems theory, we consider how relationship churning—defined as being in an on-again/off-again relationship with the same partner—is associated with father involvement. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine how father involvement among relationship churners compares with father involvement among those in three other relationship types (measured during the first five years of the focal child’s life): stably together relationships, stably broken-up relationships, and repartnered relationships. First, we find that churning fathers remain more involved with their 9-year-old children than do parents who stably break up or repartner, but they are less involved than those who are stably together. Second, lower relationship quality among churners—and, to a lesser extent, repartnering and childbearing with a new partner—explains some of the differences in father involvement between churners and the stably together. Third, these differences are most apparent among parents not living together when father involvement is measured. Taken together, the focus on relationship churning extends prior research on the association between relationship transitions and father involvement by separating relationship instability from partner change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. For examples of studies taking an approach that presumes a bidirectional nature of the parent-child relationship, see Coley and Medeiros (2007) and Ream and Savin-Williams (2005).

  2. In supplemental analyses, we adjust for discordance in reports of churning between mothers and fathers (with 14 % of mothers and fathers not in agreement on at least one of the three direct measures of churning); the results are robust to this specification.

  3. Many of the 75 couples who do not fit into one of our four relationship categories reported not being in a romantic relationship in earlier surveys (with some having new romantic partners) but did report being in a romantic relationship with the focal child’s father in later surveys.

  4. Mothers were asked only about whether the father was married to or cohabiting with a new partner—not whether he had any new partner—so the measure of fathers’ repartnering is likely underreported.

  5. Although our independent variable is a measure of the type of relationship that the parents experienced over the first five years after the focal child’s birth, we adjust for parents’ relationship status at baseline for two main reasons. First, we want to take into account the initial level of commitment of the couple because this may be independently predictive of both father involvement and relationship churning. Second, supplemental analyses showed that excluding this control variable did not alter the substantive findings, allaying concerns that we overcontrol for relationship characteristics.

  6. Comparing coefficients across logistic regression models is not recommended (Mood 2010). Therefore, we also estimated linear probability models for our dichotomous outcome, which produced coefficients that were comparable with the average marginal effects of the logistic regression models.

  7. An array of studies has focused on the role of repartnering in the declines in father involvement that often follow a breakup (Berger et al. 2012; Carlson and Berger 2013; Juby et al. 2007; McGene and King 2012; Tach et al. 2010). Of these, only that by McGene and King (2012) comes close to considering relationship quality when examining cooperation in parenting. The present study examines both repartnering and relationship quality simultaneously in seeking to understand the association between relationship status transitions and father involvement.

  8. Nepomnyaschy and Teitler (2013) did examine nonresidential fathers but only those who previously coresided with their children (i.e., they looked at churning only in and out of cohabiting relationships).

References

  • Amato, P. R. (1994). Father-child relations, mother-child relations, and offspring psychological well-being in early adulthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 1031–1042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R., & Gilbreth, J. G. (1999). Nonresident fathers and children’s well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 557–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R., & Rivera, F. (1999). Paternal involvement and children’s behavior problems. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 375–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Argys, L. M., & Peters, H. E. (2001). Patterns of nonresident father involvement. In R. T. Michael (Ed.), Social awakenings: Adolescent behavior as adulthood approaches (pp. 49–78). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

  • Berger, L. M., Cancian, M., & Meyer, D. R. (2012). Maternal repartnering and new-partner fertility: Associations with nonresident father investments in children. Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 426–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, A. H., & Plomin, R. (1984). Temperament: Early developing personality traits. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

  • Carlson, M. J. (2006). Family structure, father involvement, and adolescent behavioral outcomes. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 137–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, M. J., & Berger, L. M. (2013). What kids get from parents: Packages of parental investment across complex family forms. Social Service Review, 87, 213–249.

  • Carlson, M. J., McLanahan, S. S., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2009). Nonmarital fathering and the wellbeing of children (Center for Research on Child Wellbeing Working Paper). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University.

  • Claessens, A. (2007). Gatekeeper moms and (un)involved dads: What happens after a breakup? In P. England & K. Edin (Eds.), Unmarried couples with children (pp. 204–227). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

  • Coley, R. L., & Chase-Lansdale, P. L. (1999). Stability and change in paternal involvement among urban African American fathers. Journal of Family Psychology, 13, 416–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coley, R. L., & Hernandez, D. C. (2006). Predictors of paternal involvement for resident and nonresident low-income fathers. Developmental Psychology, 42, 1041–1056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coley, R. L., & Medeiros, B. L. (2007). Reciprocal longitudinal relations between nonresident father involvement and adolescent delinquency. Child Development, 78, 132–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, C. E., Beck, A. N., Hognas, R. S., & Swanson, J. (2015). Mothers’ partnership instability and co-parenting among fragile families. Social Science Quarterly, 96, 1103–1116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, P. A., Cowan, C. P., Pruett, M. K., Pruett, K., & Gillette, P. (2014). Evaluating a couples group to enhance father involvement in low−income families using a benchmark comparison. Family Relations, 63, 356–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (2003). Understanding families as systems. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 193–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, M. J., Paley, B., & Harter, K. (2001). Interparental conflict and parent-child relationships. In J. H. Grych & F. Fincham (Eds.), Interparental conflict and child development: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 249–272). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

  • Cross-Barnett, C., Cherlin, A., & Burton, L. (2011). Bound by children: Intermittent cohabitation and living together apart. Family Relations, 60, 633–647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danziger, S. K., & Radin, N. (1990). Absent does not equal uninvolved: Predictors of fathering in teen mother families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 636–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edin, K., Tach, L., & Mincy, R. (2009). Claiming fatherhood: Race and the dynamics of paternal involvement among unmarried men. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 621, 149–177.

  • Eggebeen, D. J., & Knoester, C. (2001). Does fatherhood matter for men? Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 381–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fagan, J., Barnett, M., Bernd, E., & Whiteman, V. (2003). Prenatal involvement of adolescent unmarried fathers. Fathering, 1, 283–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faulkner, R. A., Davey, M., & Davey, A. (2005). Gender-related predictors of change in marital satisfaction and marital conflict. American Journal of Family Therapy, 33, 61–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flouri, E., & Buchanan, A. (2003). The role of father involvement in children’s later mental health. Journal of Adolescence, 26, 63–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Futris, T. G., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (2007). Mothers’ perceptions of barriers, parenting alliance, and adolescent fathers’ engagement with their children. Family Relations, 56, 258–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groves, R. M. (2004). Survey errors and survey costs. New York, NY: Wiley.

  • Halpern-Meekin, S., Manning, W., Giordano, P., & Longmore, M. (2013a). Relationship churning in young adulthood: On/off relationships and sex with an ex. Journal of Adolescent Research, 28, 166–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern-Meekin, S., Manning, W., Giordano, P., & Longmore, M. (2013b). Relationship churning, physical violence, and verbal abuse in young adult relationships. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75, 2–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern-Meekin, S., & Turney, K. (2016). Relationship churning and parenting stress among mothers and fathers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78, 715–729.

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernandez, D. C., Pressler, E., & Dorius, C. (2016). The role of boomerang fathers in adolescent female depression. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78, 1285–1299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, C. C. (2006). Child support enforcement and father involvement for children in never-married mother families. Fathering, 4, 97–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeynes, W. H. (2014). A meta-analysis: The relationship between father involvement and student academic achievement. Urban Education, 50, 387–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juby, H., Billette, J., Laplante, B., & Le Bourdais, C. (2007). Nonresident fathers and children: Parents’ new unions and frequency of context. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 1220–1245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalmijn, M. (2009). Father involvement in childrearing and the perceived stability of marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family, 61, 409–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kamp Dush, C. M., Kotila, L. E., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (2011). Predictors of supportive co-parenting after relationship dissolution among at-risk parents. Journal of Family Psychology, 25, 356–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Mroczek, D., Ustun, B., & Wittchen, H.-U. (1998). The World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview short-form (CIDI-SF). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 7, 171–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, V. (1994). Nonresident father involvement and child well-being: Can dads make a difference? Journal of Family Issues, 15, 78–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, V., Harris, K. M., & Heard, H. E. (2004). Racial and ethnic differences in nonresident father involvement. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knoester, C., Petts, R. J., & Eggebeen, D. J. (2007). Commitments to fathering and the well-being and social participation of new, disadvantaged fathers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 991–1004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotila, L. E., & Kamp Dush, C. M. (2012). Another baby? Father involvement and childbearing in fragile families. Journal of Family Psychology, 26, 976–986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, D., & McLanahan, S. (2015). Family structure transitions and child development instability, selection, and population heterogeneity. American Sociological Review, 80, 738–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerman, R., & Sorensen, E. (2000). Father involvement with their nonmarital children: Patterns, determinants, and effects on their earnings. Marriage & Family Review, 29, 137–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundberg, S., McLanahan, S., & Rose, E. (2007). Child gender and father involvement in Fragile Families. Demography, 44, 79–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manning, W. D., Brown, S. L., & Stykes, B. (2015). Trends in births to single and cohabiting mothers, 1980–2013 (NCFMR FP-15-03). Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family and Marriage Research. Retrieved from http://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/FP-15-03-birth-trends-single-cohabiting-moms.pdf

  • Martin, A., Ryan, R. M., Riina, E. M., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2015). Coresidental father transitions and biological parents’ coparenting quality in early and middle childhood. Journal of Family Issues. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0192513X15616850

  • McClain, L. R., & DeMaris, A. (2013). A better deal for cohabiting fathers? Union status differences in father involvement. Fathering, 11, 199–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGene, J., & King, V. (2012). Implications of new marriages and children for co-parenting in nonresident father families. Journal of Family Issues, 33, 1619–1641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLanahan, S., & Beck, A. N. (2010). Parental relationships in Fragile Families. Future of Children, 20(2), 17–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meadows, S. O., McLanahan, S. S., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2008). Stability and change in family structure and maternal health trajectories. American Sociological Review, 73, 314–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minuchin, S. (1974). Families & family therapy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  • Mood, C. (2010). Logistic regression: Why we cannot do what we think we can do, and what we can do about it. European Sociological Review, 26, 67–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nepomnyaschy, L., & Teitler, J. (2013). Cyclical cohabitation among unmarried parents in Fragile Families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75, 1248–1265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olmstead, S. B., Futris, T. G., & Pasley, K. (2009). An exploration of married and divorced, nonresident men's perceptions and organization of their father role identity. Fathering, 7, 249–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paternoster, R., Brame, R., Mazerolle, P., & Piquero, A. (1998). Using the correct statistical test for the equality of regression coefficients. Criminology, 36, 859–866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ream, G. L., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2005). Reciprocal associations between adolescent sexual activity and quality of youth-parent interactions. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 171–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reichman, N. E., Teitler, J., Garfinkel, I., & McLanahan, S. S. (2001). Fragile Families: Sample and design. Children and Youth Services Review, 23, 303–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy, K. M., Buckmiller, N., & McDowell, A. (2008). Together but not “together”: Trajectories of relationship suspension for low-income unmarried parents. Family Relations, 57, 198–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schober, P. S. (2012). Paternal child care and relationship quality: A longitudinal analysis of reciprocal associations. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74, 281–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sobolewski, J. M., & King, V. (2005). The importance of the coparental relationship for nonresident fathers’ ties to children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 1196–1212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, S. D. (1999). Nonresident mothers’ and fathers’ social contact with children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 894–907.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tach, L., Mincy, R., & Edin, K. (2010). Parenting as a “package deal”: Relationships, fertility, and nonresident father involvement among unmarried parents. Demography, 47, 181–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend, N. W. (2004). The package deal: Marriage, work, and fatherhood in men’s lives. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

  • Vennum, A., & Johnson, M. D. (2014). The impact of premarital cycling on early marriage. Family Relations, 63, 439–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vennum, A., Hardy, N., Sibley, D. S., & Fincham, F. D. (2015). Dedication and sliding in emerging adult cyclical and non-cyclical romantic relationships. Family Relations, 64, 407–419.

  • Vennum, A., Lindstrom, R., Monk, J. K., & Adams, R. (2014). “It’s complicated”: The continuity and correlates of cycling in cohabiting and marital relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31, 410–430.

  • Von Hippel, P. T. (2007). Regression with missing Ys: An improved strategy for analyzing multiply imputed data. Sociological Methodology, 37, 83–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waller, M. R. (2012). Cooperation, conflict, or disengagement? Coparenting styles and father involvement in fragile families. Family Process, 51, 325–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, S. K., & Kelly, F. D. (2005). Relationships among involvement, attachment, and behavioral problems in adolescence: Examining father’s influence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25, 168–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Funding for the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study was provided by the NICHD through grants R01HD36916, R01HD39135, and R01HD40421, as well as a consortium of private foundations (see http://www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/funders for the complete list). The authors are grateful for helpful comments from the three anonymous reviewers and Shannon Cavanagh.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Irvine, 3151 Social Science Plaza, Irvine, CA, 92697-5100, USA

    Kristin Turney

  2. University of Wisconsin–Madison, 4107 Nancy Nicholas Hall, 1300 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Sarah Halpern-Meekin

Authors
  1. Kristin Turney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sarah Halpern-Meekin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristin Turney.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 149 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Turney, K., Halpern-Meekin, S. Parenting in On/Off Relationships: The Link Between Relationship Churning and Father Involvement. Demography 54, 861–886 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-017-0571-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-017-0571-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation