An Exploratory Examination Of The Effect Of Remarriage On Child-Support And Personal Contacts

This paper examines the re-ordering of role reiationships occurring after remarriage, and their effect on child support and personal contacts. Comparisons are made for three marital statuses-separation, divorce and the remarriage of either exspouse. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 101 divorced men. The findings suggest that voluntary support increases after the remarriage of the father but decreases with the remarriage of the ex-wife. Visiting frequency decreases, while visiting length increases with the remarriage of either exspouse. Phone calls remain relatively constant. An examination of ten intervening variables suggests that geographic distance, religion. soclal class, the attitude of the exwife toward the continuing father-child relationship and continuity of support payments act to reduce visiting frequency but have no effect on voluntary support. The data analysis indicates that the complexity of role configurations created by remarriage produces effects that have not received sufficient attention among researchers. Suggestions are made for further research