Fatherhood post-separation: Comparing dads in different custody arrangements

While the number of fathers who are primary caregivers is rising, little research has been done to understand their diverse experiences following a separation from the child’s biological mother. To fill that gap, Milius et al. conducted a descriptive analysis of public-use, father-child dyad data available in The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). It is the longest-running birth cohort study in the US that is based on a national probability sample. One of its original purposes was to better understand the lives of unmarried parents, especially fathers, and their children. It contains interviews of the parents of nearly 5,000 children at their birth and again at ages 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, and 22. Beginning at age 9, children also were interviewed. DSDR distributes the data made available so far, collected between 1998 and 2024. Milius et al. specifically used data from Wave 5, when the target child was age 9, from just over 1,000 fathers who were separated from or did not live with the child’s biological mother. Looking at three distinct groups: resident fathers, fathers with joint-custody, and non-custodial fathers, Milius et al. compared their perceptions of their parenting abilities, their co-parenting relationship, and their levels of stress and depression. They also looked at child behavioral outcomes, as well as both the father and child self-reports of the quality of their relationship and discipline. A significant finding was that non-custodial fathers were nearly twice as likely to be depressed compared to fathers with joint custody. Many more works using FFCWS data are collected here.

October 16, 2025