ABSTRACT
In answering the basic but complex question, “What is contact for”, the author looks again at how a father’s earlier relationship with a child continues to affect how he and his child maintain attachments following both separation and divorce. A major difference for separated fathers who have been married to the mothers of their children, compared with those who have not, is their own more defined legal responsibility for their children’s welfare, growth, and development. It is estimated that almost one in three children will experience a parental divorce before the age of sixteen. They do not, as yet, cater for parents who have either mental illness or acute problems of high emotional irregularity that complicate divorce processes further. In thinking about the changes in a father’s role following divorce, it is useful to have a systemic understanding of the emotional context in which his identity as father was shaped within the partnership.
