The effects of postindustrial employment configurations on father-child involvement in urban fragile families

Research shows that many inner city fathers work a variety of jobs to make a living for themselves and their families. While some fathers work in traditional jobs that are regulated and taxed, others generate income off-the-books or through illegal work called hustles. This thesis uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to assess the impact of hours worked in regular jobs, off-the-books ventures, and illicit hustles on fathers\u27 involvement with their eighteen-month old child. The regression results show that fathers who spend increasing hours hustling tend to be less involved with their children than fathers who work regular jobs and/or work off-the-books. These effects persist even after controlling for fathers\u27 age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, cohabitation, and relationship with their child\u27s mother