Hard evidence: what sort of people are absent fathers?

Article here. Excerpt:

'Since the 1970s, family life in the UK has changed dramatically. Increases in relationship breakdown, remarriage and repartnering have seen us move away from the traditional, two-parent nuclear family and towards more diverse forms of family life.

As a consequence, there are more children living apart from a parent than ever before. ONS figures show that the number of single parent families has increased from 8% in 1971 to 26% in 2011. It is estimated that up to 97% of single parents are mothers, which means that a large number of fathers are non-resident.

Non-resident fathers are frequently described in negative terms, just last week the Conservative MP David Davis fell back on the old adage of “feckless fathers”. However very little is known about non-resident fathers. They are a difficult group to research as no data is systemically collected about them.
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Non-resident fathers emerge as a more disadvantaged group than resident fathers. They are less likely to be in work, have educational qualifications and be a home owner. For example 25% of non-resident fathers have no qualifications and 17% are unemployed, compared with 17% and 7% of resident fathers, respectively.

Other research has shown that non-resident fathers have poorer physical and emotional well-being compared with resident fathers and men who don’t have children.
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The figures show that non-resident fathers are usually still very much a part of their children’s lives but that factors such as economic circumstances can have an impact on the extent of their contact. While the overall figures on contact are positive, more research is needed to unpick the reasons why some fathers are not in contact with their children and whether policy changes could be made to improve the situation.'