Non-resident parent-child contact after marital dissolution and parental repartnering: Evidence from Italy

BACKGROUND With the diffusion of marital instability, the number of children who spend some of their childhood without one of their parents has become significant, even in Italy. Therefore, given the importance of parent-child interactions for children’s wellbeing, analyzing children’s contact with the non-resident parent has become relevant. OBJECTIVE In this paper we consider the frequency of contact between children and their non-resident parent after separation, with a double aim: a) to analyze if and how the non-resident parent’s contact with his/her children varies according to whether the (resident or non-resident) parent has repartnered, and b) to investigate whether the relationship between repartnering and contact differs according to the gender of the non-resident parent. METHODS The study focuses on children aged 0-17 living with only one biological parent, using data pooled together from two cross-sectional rounds of the Italian survey, Family and Social Subjects. RESULTS Results show that parents’ repartnering is positively associated with lower non-resident parent-child contact only in the case of non-resident fathers; in the case of a non-resident mother, her repartnering is actually correlated with higher contact.