| The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the long-term effects that the father-mother dyad has on fathers' involvement with their offspring and the children's well being. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), the sample in this study consisted of unwed fathers who had any type of relationship with their child and the child's mother at year 1 and year 3 (N=1000). First, results from structural equation models support the spillover hypothesis, which proposes that a supportive relationship in the parental dyad positively affects the quality of the parent-child relationship. Second, in cohabiting families, fathers who had more conflict with the child's mother were less involved with their children. However, the opposite was found in non-cohabiting families. This finding, although unexpected, supports the compensatory hypothesis, which proposes that conflict in the parental dyad increases the father's involvement with his offspring. Third, fathering attitudes did not play a mediating role in this study. Fourth, residential status was a significant moderator between the unwed couple's relationship and father involvement. Fifth, reciprocal relationship models provided evidence that father involvement was a cause of at least some domains of the unwed couple's relationship. Finally, the results confirm that the unwed couple's relationship, father involvement, and child well-being are interdependent, and that father involvement plays a mediating role. This research contributes to understanding the dyadic effects of unwed couples on fathers' long-term involvement and its correlates and suggests points of intervention. |
