Repackaging Fatherhood: Father Engagement and Cooperative Coparenting in Mid-Pregnancy Marriages and Cohabitations

Abstract

Objective: This study examined how the timing and structure of parents' relationships are related to father engagement and cooperative coparenting in the United States. Background: Responses to nonmarital pregnancies have shifted; mid-pregnancy (“shotgun”) marriages have declined while mid-pregnancy cohabitations have significantly increased. These less institutionalized family forms may create ambiguity about fathers' roles as parents and partners. Method: Drawing on data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, a longitudinal birth cohort study (n = 2,752), we estimated conditional associations between a five-category measure of parents' relationship structure and timing at the focal child's birth—(a) mid-pregnancy cohabitation, (b) mid-pregnancy marriage, (c) pre-pregnancy cohabitation, (d) pre-pregnancy marriage, and (e) nonresident couples—with measures of father engagement and cooperative coparenting when the child was 1 year old. Supplemental analyses evaluated these outcomes at Ages 3 and 5. Results: At Age 1, fathers in mid-pregnancy cohabitations reported less cooperative coparenting with the child's mother compared to fathers in pre-pregnancy cohabitations. In contrast, fathers in mid-pregnancy marriages were more engaged with their children than fathers in pre-pregnancy marriages. Conclusion: Fathers were particularly engaged with young children following mid-pregnancy relationship transitions but were less cooperative coparents with the child's mother. This study joins research suggesting that fathers with low socioeconomic status may be embracing a new “package deal” in which the father–child relationship is central, and the father–mother relationship is secondary.