CHILDRENS PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH CORESIDING AND NON-CORESIDING FATHERS

In this study the perceptions of children who reside with their father s and children who live apart from their fathers are compared on a num ber of relationship qualities. Residential status significantly affect ed the likelihood of a father being named as someone who was important in the life of the child, as well as the likelihood of the father bei ng named as someone the child went to for help with a recent stressful event. However, for those fathers who were named by their children, t he child's perception of the general quality of the relationship and t he amount of social support it provided did not differ by residential status. In addition, non-coresiding fathers were seen as filling the f unctional roles of teacher, supporter, and challenger at a higher leve l than co-residing fathers. It appears that residential status may red uce the child's access to his or her father, but that those fathers wh o maintain contact remain important, functional people in their childr en's lives and important sources of support in times of stress. The ne ed to change the common perception that non-coresiding fathers are uni mportant in the lives of their children is discussed.