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Some benefits for fathers from high divorce rates, says IU human development professor
June 11, 2001
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The high rate of divorce can actually enhance fatherhood roles, according to Robert Billingham, associate professor of human development and family studies at Indiana University.
"Because divorce is so common in America today, society has discovered the important role fathers play in the lives of their children," said Billingham, who has more than 20 years of teaching and research experience in family relationships.
In some cases divorce can virtually eliminate a meaningful experience for fathers with their children because there is no contact, and the children have been abandoned, he said.
"However, for fathers who get involved, have contact and care about their children, the relationship through shared custody can reach a level that wouldn't be possible if the father and mother were together. The father spends more time with the children and becomes more a part of their lives, and the children learn more about the father as a person," he said.
Billingham, who is teaching a summer class on fatherhood, said fatherhood has changed over the years. He cited three examples.
"First, the role of father as the provider has all but been eliminated. We just don't need the father to be the sole provider because of the mother's earning capacity. Second, fathers also have become optional. Many women are having children without a husband or even a man in their life. Third, fatherhood has become a more expressive role where it is appropriate for fathers to show their emotional side, when compared to the traditional role where the father was viewed mostly as the bread-winner and disciplinarian," he said.
Billingham praised the emergence of Father's Day cards for step-fathers as a social recognition that the man living with the children may be someone other than the biological father. "This is a positive step because it helps create a society in which both fathers and step-fathers are valued. It takes pressure off the step-father so he does not have to 'become' the father, and, more importantly, the children can form relationships with both as valued adults."
Billingham can be reached at 812-824-9785 or billingh@indiana.edu