Paternal Psychological Well-being After Union Dissolution: Does Involved Fatherhood Have a Protective Effect?

Abstract

Although the attention scholars have paid to the question of how the involvement of fathers affects the well-being of their children in post-separation families has increased tremendously in recent years, the question of how fathers’ involvement affects their own well-being has been hardly examined. Using data from the cross-sectional survey “Fathering after Union Dissolution,” which was conducted in Lithuania in 2016 (N = 1225), we looked at the extent to which the involvement of fathers with their non-resident children (contact frequency, relationship quality, payment of child support, and the quality of the co-parenting relationship with the mother) was associated with their psychological well-being (depressive feelings and general life satisfaction). Our multiple regression results indicated that the self-assessed quality of the father’s relationship with the child was the most important factor contributing to paternal psychological well-being: i.e., the better the relationship quality, the less likely a father was to report having depressive feelings, and the more likely he was to report having a high level of general life satisfaction. However, while making regular child support payments was found to be associated with a lower likelihood of having depressive feelings, it was not shown to be associated with having a high level of general life satisfaction. Contrary to our expectations, we found that the frequency of contact with the non-resident child and the quality of the co-parenting relationship with the mother did not affect paternal psychological well-being. Accordingly, we concluded that the protection provided by involved fatherhood after union dissolution is not universal, but instead depends on the nature of the involvement.