Table 1.
Nonresident Fathers: Descriptive Characteristics by Race/Ethnicity
| Total Sample | Black | White | Hispanic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
|
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| M or % | SD | M or % | SD | M or % | SD | M or % | SD | |
| Demographic Characteristics | ||||||||
| Mixed-race couple | 16.5 | 9.7 | 8.9 | 32.0 | ||||
| Father foreign-born | 11.6 | 6.7 | 5.5 | 25.2 | ||||
| Father age at baby's birth (range = 15–53) | 26.4 | (7.28) | 26.7 | (7.79) | 26.1 | (6.19) | 25.6 | (6.07) |
| Mother age at baby's birth (range = 15–43) | 23.9 | (5.62) | 22.9 | (5.11) | 23.9 | (5.64) | 24.1 | (5.66) |
| Father lived with both parents at age 15 | 35.1 | 27.5 | 42.1 | 52.0 | ||||
| Mother lived with both parents at age 15 | 33.4 | 29.7 | 41.6 | 39.3 | ||||
| Child is a boy | 50.9 | 54.3 | 50.5 | 44.2 | ||||
| Socioeconomic Characteristics | ||||||||
| Father's education | ||||||||
| Less than high school | 36.0 | 32.9 | 37.9 | 42.4 | ||||
| High school degree | 43.0 | 45.3 | 42.8 | 38.2 | ||||
| Some college | 17.8 | 18.2 | 13.3 | 17.6 | ||||
| College or above | 3.2 | 3.6 | 6.0 | 1.8 | ||||
| Father has more education than mother | 26.4 | 27.4 | 23.5 | 24.8 | ||||
| Hours worked in a week (range = 0–80)1 | 32.8 | (24.48) | 29.7 | (24.79) | 48.0 | (20.21) | 37.7 | (22.21) |
| Father's annual earnings (adjusted for inflation in 2008 dollars)1 | $18,213 | ($22,899) | $16,408 | ($23,038) | $28,217 | ($18,391) | $20,303 | ($22,918) |
| Father provided any support to child1 | 62.1 | 62.4 | 56.5 | 62.5 | ||||
| Social/psychological Characteristics | ||||||||
| Positive fathering attitudes (1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree) | 3.7 | (0.45) | 3.6 | (0.49) | 3.8 | (0.35) | 3.8 | (0.38) |
| Father's traditional gender attitudes (1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree) | 2.3 | (0.64) | 2.3 | (0.65) | 2.3 | (0.50) | 2.3 | (0.62) |
| Mother's traditional gender attitudes (1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree) | 2.0 | (0.56) | 2.0 | (0.57) | 2.0 | (0.56) | 2.1 | (0.53) |
| Father's religious attendance (1 = never to 5 = once a week or more) | 2.5 | (1.28) | 2.5 | (1.29) | 2.4 | (1.10) | 2.7 | (1.32) |
| Father currently incarcerated1 | 10.0 | 9.7 | 3.4 | 11.7 | ||||
| Father's self-reported health (1 = poor to 5 = excellent)1 | 3.9 | (1.07) | 3.9 | (1.09) | 3.9 | (0.94) | 3.8 | (1.04) |
| Mother's self-reported health (1 = poor to 5 = excellent)1 | 3.7 | (1.11) | 3.7 | (1.07) | 3.6 | (1.16) | 3.5 | (1.18) |
| Father depression1 | 16.3 | 14.1 | 14.5 | 22.6 | ||||
| Mother depression1 | 16.5 | 15.3 | 19.6 | 18.1 | ||||
| Father's impulsivity (1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree) | 2.1 | (0.77) | 2.0 | (0.81) | 2.2 | (0.69) | 2.1 | (0.68) |
| Father has substance problem | 6.3 | 5.0 | 12.7 | 7.6 | ||||
| Mother has substance problem | 1.3 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.5 | ||||
| Father is physically violent towards mother | 5.0 | 4.6 | 13.1 | 4.2 | ||||
| Relationship status Characteristics | ||||||||
| Father supportiveness towards mother (1 = never to 3 = often) | 2.2 | (0.37) | 2.2 | (0.37) | 2.3 | (0.36) | 2.2 | (0.37) |
| Relationship status (ref = Friends/no relationship) | 18.7 | 16.0 | 24.5 | 23.1 | ||||
| Cohabiting | 38.3 | 32.8 | 53.1 | 46.9 | ||||
| Visiting | 43.0 | 51.2 | 22.5 | 30.0 | ||||
| Number of children with biological mother1 | 1.5 | (0.83) | 1.5 | (0.85) | 1.5 | (0.71) | 1.5 | (0.82) |
| Father has child(ren) with another woman1 | 51.1 | 53.8 | 34.3 | 48.5 | ||||
| Grandmother lived with the focal child1 | 31.9 | 27.1 | 31.1 | 41.6 | ||||
| Father has a new partner1 | 25.9 | 26.0 | 21.4 | 27.0 | ||||
| Presence of social father1 | 25.2 | 25.8 | 33.6 | 22.5 | ||||
| Time since end of relationship (months)1 | 10.3 | (10.37) | 10.3 | (11.43) | 11.5 | (10.92) | 10.8 | (7.48) |
| Relationship quality (1 = excellent to 5 = poor) | 2.9 | (1.31) | 2.8 | (1.33) | 2.8 | (1.51) | 2.9 | (1.22) |
| Number of cases (N) | 2,447 | 1,608 | 233 | 606 | ||||
Note: All figures are weighted by 1-year city sampling weights that adjust for the over-sampling of nonmarital births in the Fragile Families Study. M = mean; SD= standard deviation.
1
Time-varying characteristics.