Shared Placement and Parenting Stress Among Low-Income Noncustodial Fathers

Abstract

Objective

We examine the relationship between shared placement and parenting stress for low-income fathers.

Background

Shared placement (joint physical custody), a living arrangement in which children whose parents live apart spend a significant amount of time living with each, has increased among families in the United States. Little is known about how this placement affects fathers' well-being, especially fathers with lower incomes and who have had a nonmarital birth.

Method

Our sample included 5,755 noncustodial fathers who enrolled in the National Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration. Using regression approaches, we estimate associations between measures of self-reported placement and parenting stress.

Results

We found that shared placement was statistically significantly associated with lower parenting stress levels (estimated magnitude of 5%–10%) compared with fathers without shared placement. This held for fathers with equal placement and those with substantial, but not equal, time. These results were consistent when accounting for confounding characteristics, suggesting the association may not be fully explained by selection into shared placement.

Conclusion

Shared placement is associated with lower levels of parenting stress for low-income noncustodial fathers compared with those fathers without it. We find that this holds true for any shared placement, equal placement, mother primary shared placement, and father primary shared placement.

Implications

Given the potential benefits of shared care, examining whether policy and practice are supporting this for lower resourced families may be particularly important. Fatherhood and other family-strengthening programs can support fathers in navigating potential stress driven by shared parenting arrangements.