Religiosity and Child Involvement among Resident and Non-Resident Fathers

George Hayward, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being study, this paper examines the association between religiosity and child involvement among resident and non-resident fathers. While there is a sizeable literature on both religious fatherhood and non-resident fatherhood, the intersection between them has yet to be fully explored. This paper uses surveys from the third and fourth waves of the Fragile Families and Child Well-being study to ascertain the differences in child involvement between religious and non-religious fathers. Results show that religiosity is positively associated with child involvement but religiosity does not predict involvement two years later for resident or non-resident fathers. Protestant affiliation is also not significantly related to child involvement. Current non-residency is negatively related to child involvement but does not predict involvement two years later. These findings contribute to our understanding of fragile families and the relative influences of residency status and religiosity on child involvement.