ABSTRACT
This research examines variations in father involvement according to the family context of parental figures inside and outside children’s homes. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we measure both the quantity and quality of paternal involvement and we document differences in levels of father involvement for resident biological fathers, resident nonbiological fathers, and nonresident biological fathers, according to the family structure of children defined by the constellation of parental figures available to the child. We then develop a simple theoretical model of parenting strategies among two resident parents and among resident parents and nonresident biological fathers that elaborates how parents coordinate and negotiate their involvement with children. Family contexts that matter most for the involvement of fathers are those linked to the process of becoming a parent (i.e., biology, adoption) or marked by a chaotic or traumatic family history (children living with no biological parents). Collective parenting strategies are more evident when resident parents are of the same type (two adoptive or two biological parents) and less evident in stepfamilies or when biological parents live apart.
