Longitudinal effects of divorce on the quality of the father-child relationship and on fathers' psychological well-being

Using panel data from the National Survey of Families and Households (n = 8 44), we examine the impact of divorce on father-child relationship quality and fathers' psychological well-being, the extent to which the residence of a focal child moderates these associations, and how changes in the quality of the father-child relationship over time affect fathers' psychological w ell-being Results indicate that the effect of divorce on the quality of the father-child relationship and fathers' psychological well-being is moderat ed by the residence of children. Divorce is associated with lower relations hip quality only for nonresident fathers and is associated with a decline i n happiness for coresident fathers, Divorced fathers are more depressed tha n their married counterparts, regardless of child residence, Changes in rel ationship quality do not significantly influence fathers' psychological wel l-being.