The Role of the Co-Parenting Relationship Trajectory and Co-Parental Relationship Status in Non-Resident African American Father Involvement

Background and Purpose: The number of African American children living without their biological fathers is steadily increasing. However, our knowledge of the involvement of African American non-resident fathers in the lives of their children is severely lacking. Studies are needed that assist social work practitioners and policymakers with understanding the lived experiences of non-resident fathers and the various factors that both positively and negatively influence their involvement with their children. While there is an abundance of literature pointing to the importance of the co-parenting relationship for non-resident father involvement, especially in African American families, few studies provide the critical context and qualitative evidence for understanding the dynamics underlying these relationships.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine, through quantitative methods, those co-parenting related factors (co-parental alliance and co-parental relationship status) that best predict father involvement among a sample of non-resident African American fathers. Through qualitative methods, this study also explored how these predictors contribute to (i.e., support and/or impede) father involvement using a subsample of participants from the quantitative phase of the study.

Method: This study employed a cross-sectional sequential explanatory research design, wherein a previously validated survey (N=110) that measures co-parental alliance was orally administered, using a survey interview method. In addition, a separate questionnaire that captured a variety of demographic characteristics was also administered to measure co-parental relationship status. The quantitative phase of the study was followed by semi-structured qualitative interviews (N=8).

Results: The current study utilized two statistical techniques to analyze quantitative data: Multiple Regression and Canonical Correlation Analysis.  According to the results of the Multiple Regression Analysis, parental relationship status, or having no relationship of any kind with the child’s mother, emerged as the strongest predictor of father involvement (β= .37, p < .001). Furthermore, results of the Canonical Correlation Analysis revealed that non-resident African American fathers are less likely to be supportive of their child’s mother and engage in discipline, monitoring, encouragement, and praise with their children when they have the following characteristics: low levels of parenting self-efficacy, negative co-parenting alliances, less than friendly relationships with their child’s mother  and a marital status that indicates they have never been divorced or separated (Pair 1: Wilks’ Lambda= .44, F ^{(18, 272)} = 5.13, p=.000)/ Pair 2: Wilks’ Lambda= .77, F^(10,194)= 5.13, p=.004). Qualitative results underscored the importance of the co-parenting relationship for non-resident African American father involvement. In particular, study results uncovered key events in the trajectory of the co-parenting relationship that contributed to strains, severance of romantic ties, and in turn, low levels of father involvement.

Implications: This study uncovers the need for interventions that address the co-parenting relationship, placing particular emphasis on providing exemplars and models of successful co-parenting alliances that occur in the absence of romantic ties. It also suggests the importance of the social work practitioners’ understanding of the various “seasons” in the trajectory of the co-parenting relationship and their role in effectively managing and navigating conflict in an effort to increase non-resident father involvement, and in turn, child well-being.