FATHERS AND ABSENT FATHERS - SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC SIMILARITIES IN BRITAINAND THE UNITED-STATES

Using data from the British Household Panel Survey and the National Su rvey of Families and Households in the United States, we present a soc iodemographic profile of fathers and compare the determinants of absen t fatherhood in each country. Although fatherhood has a younger profil e in the United States, especially for blacks, predictors of fathers' residency with their children are remarkably similar in the two countr ies. In both countries, the strongest predictor of a father's absence is the parents' relationship to each other at the time of the child's birth. Policy implications of this finding are discussed.