(WITHDRAWN) Custodial Mothers' Perspectives of Fathers' Direct and In-Kind Support Over Time

Background: A great deal of research has examined patterns of non-custodial fathers’ provision of financial support over the course of children’s lives. Recently, scholars have begun to examine the differential impacts of various forms of financial contributions that non-custodial parents provide. These studies have established how in-kind and direct cash contributions are distinct from formal child support payment in both their conceptualization and associated outcomes. The perspectives of custodial mothers with limited incomes have been neglected in research seeking to understand the differences between in-kind and direct cash contributions as forms of paternal financial support. To address this gap in knowledge, we utilize qualitative data from 145 semi-structured interviews conducted with 80 mothers with limited incomes over a four-year period.

Methods: The interviews utilized in our analysis constitute the companion study to Baby’s First Years, a U.S.-based randomized controlled trial assessing the impacts of additional income on child development in families with low incomes. Mothers were randomly assigned to high and low gift groups at the time of a focal child’s birth – receiving either $20 or $333 monthly for the first 76 months of the focal child’s life. Beginning ten months after the focal children were born, we conducted qualitative interviews with a random sample of BFY mothers. We interviewed mothers three times during the four-year study period, approximately every 12 months. At each interview, mothers were asked questions about the involvement of the focal child’s other parent (in all cases, a father). We use thematic analysis to analyze the in-kind and direct contributions that non-residential fathers provide and mothers’ views of these contributions over time.

Results: Preliminary findings suggest that mothers have divergent views of direct and in-kind support. Many mothers find fathers’ reluctance to make direct cash contributions and preference for in-kind support frustrating and indicative of a lack of trust and willingness to help, straining the coparenting relationship. These strains become more pronounced over time as mothers increasingly view fathers’ in-kind contributions as addressing children’s wants rather than needs. Other mothers view in-kind support as a sufficient contribution to the care of a shared child. We further examine the differences in support received by high and low-cash gift groups.

Conclusion and Implications: By centering mothers’ voices, our study offers critical insight into mothers’ perceptions of the role of paternal direct and in-kind support in helping families with limited incomes make ends meet and its impact on coparenting relationships. While research has established why non-custodial fathers prefer to provide in-kind rather than direct cash support, we seek to evaluate how mothers perceive these types of contributions.