Antecedents and outcomes of young fatherhood: longitudinal evidence from the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study

Abstract

This paper uses data from the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study to examine who becomes a young father and the circumstances of teenage and younger fathers when they are age 30. Using a life course perspective the paper examines the extent to which younger fathers are more likely to be non-resident and whether early fatherhood and non-residential fatherhood are part of the same developmental pathway. The work explores the factors associated with differential levels of contact and payment of maintenance. Contact and maintenance are affected by the subsequent family formation experiences of the father and the natural mother of the child