Residency differences between fathers with and without disabilities in the United States

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Eun Ha Namkung,Monika Mitra
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12835

RESEARCH

Residency differences between fathers with and

without disabilities in the United States

Eun Ha Namkung|Monika Mitra

Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, Heller

School for Social Policy & Management,

Brandeis University, Waltham, MA

Correspondence

Eun Ha Namkung, Korea Institute for Health

and Social Affairs, 370 Sicheong-daero, Sejong

City 30147, South Korea.

Email: eunha1011@gmail.com

Funding information

This study was supported by the Health

Resources and Services Administration

(R40MC37539) and the National Institute on

Disability, Independent Living, and

Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services (90AR5024-01-00,

90DPGE000101). The findings and

conclusions in this report are those of the

authors and do not necessarily represent the

official position of the study sponsors.

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the residential status of

fathers by disability status. We also explore whether pater-

nal residency varies by different types of disability.

Background: Earlier studies have found that racial and eth-

nic minority fathers and those of lower socioeconomic sta-

tus are more likely to live apart from their children.

However, the residency status of fathers with disabilities is

not well understood.

Methods: We used data from the 2011–2019 National Sur-

vey of Family Growth (N=6,477). Multinomial regres-

sion models estimated the odds ratios of paternal residency

by disability status and type of disability, net of covariates.

Results: Disabled fathers were more likely to live apart

from at least some of their children than nondisabled

fathers, but the disparities were significant only for those

with multiple disabilities (two or more types of disabilities)

after adjusting for socioeconomic covariates. The higher

likelihood of living apart from their children was particu-

larly evident for fathers with cognitive and independent

living disabilities.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of pro-

viding social and community supports and economic

resources for the residential status of disabled fathers. Fur-

ther research is needed to better understand the unobserved,

underlying risk factors of their nonresidential status.

Implications: The findings highlight the importance of

including disabled fathers in fatherhood programs.

KEYWORDS

coresidence, disability, nonresident father, NSFG

There has been a growing body of literature on father involvement and father–child relation-

ships. Paternal involvement in children’s lives is associated with positive child development and

child outcomes (Kroll et al., 2016; McWayne et al., 2013) and improved parental health

Received: 9 October 2021Revised: 5 September 2022Accepted: 26 December 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12835

© 2023 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:2927–2941. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 2927