Adolescents with nonresident fathers: Are daughters more disadvantaged than sons?

Citation

Mitchell, Katherine S.; Booth, Alan; & King, Valarie (2009). Adolescents with nonresident fathers: Are daughters more disadvantaged than sons?. Journal of Marriage and Family. vol. 71 (3) pp. 650-662 , PMCID: PMC2790204

Abstract

This study examined sons' and daughters' involvement with nonresident fathers and associated outcomes (N = 4,663). Results indicated that sons and daughters reported equal involvement with nonresident fathers on most measures of father investment, although sons reported more overnight visits, sports, and movies and feeling closer to their fathers compared to daughters. Sons and daughters generally benefited from nonresident father involvement in the same way in internalizing and externalizing problems and grades. Feeling close to one's nonresident father, however, was associated with lower internalizing problems for daughters than sons. These findings suggest that nonresident fathers should be encouraged to be equally involved with their sons and daughters, as such involvement was associated with higher levels of well-being for both sons and daughters.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1741-3737.2009.00624.x

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Journal of Marriage and Family

Author(s)

Mitchell, Katherine S.
Booth, Alan
King, Valarie

Year Published

2009

Volume Number

71

Issue Number

3

Pages

650-662

DOI

10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00624.x

PMCID

PMC2790204

Reference ID

1095