Nonstandard Work Schedules and Father Involvement Among Resident and Nonresident Fathers

Objective The authors examined associations between resident and nonresident fathers' nonstandard work schedules, work hours, and their level of involvement with their young children in the United States. Background Nonstandard work schedules may negatively impact father involvement either directly by reducing fathers' availability or indirectly by taking a toll on their well‐being. Prior research on nonstandard schedules and father involvement has focused on two‐parent households, yet nonstandard schedules may pose similar or greater challenges to nonresident fathers. Method Using data on 1,598 resident and 759 nonresident fathers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we estimated regression models to test associations between fathers' nonstandard work schedules, work hours, and fathers' involvement—accessibility, engagement, and responsibility—controlling for confounding factors and using residualized change models. For nonresident fathers only, we estimated associations between nonstandard schedules, work hours, and child support. Results Among nonresident fathers, working evenings was associated with lower engagement relative to working standard hours only and other nonstandard schedules, and in some models, working a variable schedule was associated with greater responsibility relative to other nonstandard schedules. Among resident fathers, working any nonstandard schedule versus standard hours only was associated with greater responsibility, and total work hours were negatively associated with each measure of involvement. Conclusion The findings suggest that fathers' work schedules may be an important factor in understanding resident and nonresident fathers' involvement with their young children.