Consequences of Fatherhood for Young Men's Relationships

This paper examined how the onset and timing of the transition to fatherhood affects the type and quality of young men's relationships with partners and parents. Data are drawn from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - Young Adult Survey and included young men (ages 18-31 years old in 2006) who varied on residential status with their children and timing of fatherhood (N = 1,931). Results indicated the effects of fatherhood varied across types of fathers, with residential fathers more likely to be in a committed but less satisfactory relationship regardless of timing of fatherhood. Nonresidential fathers were more likely to have close relationships with their mothers and fathers, but findings varied by timing of fatherhood and gender of parent. Implications of these findings are framed in terms of young men's developmental readiness for multiple demands of first-time fatherhood.