Disentangling the Long-term Effects of Divorce Circumstances on Father–Child Closeness in Adulthood: A Mediation Analysis

Abstract

Many studies have shown that the relationship between nonresidential fathers and their children in youth has a lasting influence on their relationship in adulthood. Comparatively less is known about the process through which divorce affects father–child relationships. We assess if and how the divorce circumstances of interparental conflict, the presence of new partners, and geographical distance between parents affect nonresidential father–child closeness in adulthood. Using a path model, we test whether father–adult child closeness is mediated by fathers’ involvement after divorce. The results of this study demonstrate that the level of interparental conflict and the presence of a fathers’ new partner after the divorce negatively affect the closeness between fathers and children in adulthood. Our mediation analysis demonstrates that both the effects of interparental conflict and new partnerships on closeness are partially mediated by father involvement and contact frequency during childhood. In other words, it is partly through the negative effect that interparental conflict and new partners have on fathers’ involvement that fathers and children become less close later in life. Our study highlights the importance of disentangling the effects of different factors associated with divorce when examining nonresidential father–child relationships.