'Absent Fathers' or ‘Reorganized Families’? Variations in Father-Child Contact after Parental Break-Up in Norway

Abstract

Two trends affect modern fatherhood simultaneously: on the one hand, there is an increased emphasis on paternal involvement in the lives of young children. On the other hand, rates of parental break-up have increased, and fathers often live apart from their children. Norway is a country in which both trends are very strong. This article looks at the patterns of contact between non-resident fathers in Norway and their children, focusing on the extreme ends of the distribution: fathers with weekly contact, and fathers who have not seen their children in three months or more. After a brief overview of recent developments in Norwegian family policies, some key dilemmas and tensions in modern family life are identified. One relate to commitment in cohabiting relationships, another to the tension between commitment to children from previous relationships and new partners. A third factor that is taken into consideration, is poverty. In the empirical analysis, we find no difference in the odds for having frequent/ very infrequent contact between formerly married and formerly cohabiting fathers, nor between fathers who live alone and fathers who have repartnered. Poverty is however a strong indicator of loss of contact.