Hofferth, Sandra, and
Kermyt G. Anderson.
2003. Are all dads equal? Biology vs. marriage as basis for paternal
investment.
Journal
of Marriage and Family 65: 213-232.
The stepfather
relationship
provides a source of potential conflict in remarriage families, because
the mother and partner may have different interests in the well-being
of
children from a prior union. Using three different theoretical
perspectives—biology,
sociology, and selection—this paper examines the engagement,
availability,
participation, and warmth of residential fathers in married biological
parent, unmarried biological parent, married stepparent, and cohabiting
father families. The data come from 2,531 children and their parents
who
were interviewed during the 1997 wave of the Child Development
Supplement
to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Biology explains less of father
involvement than anticipated once differences between fathers is
controlled.
Marriage continues to differentiate paternal investment levels, as do
age
of child and financial responsibility to nonresidential children.
Paper
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Last modified: 05-30-03
by Kermyt G. Anderson