@article{337,
  keywords = {Romantic relationships, Fatherhood and father involvement, Family structure and stability, Parenting},
  author = {Laura Tach and Ronald Mincy and Kathryn Edin},
  title = {Parenting as a "Package Deal:" Relationships, Fertility, and Nonresident Father Involvement among Unmarried Parents},
  abstract = {<p>Fatherhood has traditionally been viewed as part of a {\textquotedblleft}package deal,{\textquotedblright} where a father{\textquoteright}s relationship with his child is contingent upon his relationship with the mother. We evaluate the accuracy of this hypothesis in light of the high rates of multiple-partnered fertility among unmarried parents using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a recent longitudinal survey of nonmarital births in large cities. We examine whether unmarried mothers{\textquoteright} and fathers{\textquoteright} subsequent relationship and parenting transitions are associated with declines in fathers{\textquoteright} contact with their nonresident biological children. We find that father involvement drops sharply after relationships between unmarried parents end. Mothers{\textquoteright} transitions into new romantic partnerships and new parenting roles are associated with larger declines in involvement than fathers{\textquoteright} transitions. Declines in fathers{\textquoteright} involvement following a relationship or parenting transition are largest when children are young. We discuss the implications of our results given the high levels of relationship instability and multiple-partnered fertility among unmarried parents.</p>
},
  year = {2010},
  journal = {Demography},
  volume = {47},
  number = {1},
  pages = {181-204},
  url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000012/},
}