WHEN DIVORCED FATHERS WANT NO CONTACT WITH THEIR CHILDREN - A PRELIMINARY-ANALYSIS

Little is known from the fathers' perspective about fathers who have n o contact with their children and are content with that level of conta ct. Drawing from a larger sample of fathers without contact, the respo nses of 14 fathers who do not wish to see their children are compared with those who would like contact. It was found that the fathers who d o not want contact are more apt to have been in a violent marital rela tionship, to have been less involved with the childrearing of their ch ildren, and to feel indifferent about their children. It is hypothesiz ed that these fathers may interpret harassment or ambivalence towards them as rejection rather than as a potential outgrowth of a divorce si tuation. Practice implications are offered.