Growing Up in Ireland Cohort ’08 at Age 3: Parents who reside separately to their child

Responses of the Non-Resident Parents

Some 1,172 primary resident parents reported that their three-year-old had a non-resident parent (12% of all respondents) (See PxStat table GUIPRS01). Nearly 400 (398) of these parents provided contact details for the non-resident parent, of which 396 explicitly stated at the time of interview that they would provide contact details and a further two people did so at a later date (See Figure 1.1). These non-resident parents were then sent a postal questionnaire, and 137 responses were obtained (11.7% of all non-resident parents).

All respondent non-resident parents were male.

Almost half (47.4%) of non-resident parents reported they were living with the mother of the three-year-old when she became pregnant with the child (See PxStat table GUIPRS10). Approximately four in ten (40.9%) non-resident parents reported that they spoke about the child with the primary resident parent every day (See Table 1.1).

Close to one-third (31.4%) of non-resident parents described their relationship with the primary resident parent as very positive, while a further 28.5% described it as somewhat positive (See Figure 1.2).

Of the non-resident parents who answered the questionnaire, 60.6% reported they paid nothing towards the rent or mortgage due on the home where the child was primarily resident (See Figure 1.3). Three-quarters (75.2%) of non-resident parents reported they provided regular financial support (other than direct mortgage or rent payments) to the primary resident parent (See PxStat table GUIPRS12). Three in ten (30.7%) stated they frequently provided support other than financial, such as home repairs or minding pets (See PxStat table GUIPRS13).

More than half (51.8%) of non-resident parents reported spending more than seven nights with the three-year-old in a typical month (See Table 1.2). Close to half (47.4%) reported that the length of a typical contact occasion with the child was 24 hours or more (See Figure 1.4).

More than half (52.6%) of parents not resident with the child felt that the amount of time they spent with the child was not enough (See PxStat table GUIPRS16). More than four in ten (43.1%) non-resident parents rated the quality of the time spent with the child as excellent (that is, a 1 on a scale of 1 to 5) (See PxStat table GUIPRS17). Just over one-third (35.0%) of non-resident parents felt they had a lot of influence in major decisions concerning their three-year-old, for example in decisions regarding health care (See Figure 1.5). All non-resident parents who answered the question ‘do you want to be involved in raising your child in the coming years?’ answered yes.

The non-resident parents were given a list of statements and, for each one, asked to indicate how often they felt that way. Almost three in four (73.7%) non-resident parents responded ‘all the time’ to the statement ‘you often find yourself thinking about your child,’ and approximately six in ten (61.3%) non-resident parents responded ‘all the time’ to the statement ‘you think it’s more fun to get your child something new than to get yourself something new’ (See Table 1.3).

Responses of the Primary Resident Parents, by Provision of Contact Details

Non-resident parents for whom the primary resident parents did not provide contact details lived further away from their child, had reduced daily contact with their child, decreased rates of providing financial support to the primary resident parent, reduced frequency of contact with the primary resident parent, and had less positive relationships with the child’s primary resident parent than those for whom the primary resident parent did provide contact details, according to the primary resident parent. 

More than three-quarters (75.6%) of primary resident parents who provided contact details for the non-resident parent reported that the non-resident parent lived less than a 30-minute drive from the three-year-old’s primary residence, whereas this figured dropped to 41.7% for primary resident parents who did not provide contact details (See Figure 1.6).

Of the primary resident parents who provided contact details, almost four in ten (37.2%) reported that the parent not resident with the child had daily contact with the child, whilst 13.6% reported that contact occurred less often than weekly (every second week, monthly, less than monthly, or never).

Of those primary resident parents who did not provide contact details, approximately one in eight (12.7%) reported that the non-resident parent had daily contact, and 55.8% reported that the non-resident parent had contact with the child less than weekly (See Figure 1.7).

Approximately three in ten (29.1%) primary resident parents who provided contact details for the non-resident parent reported that the non-resident parent never provided any financial contribution towards the household and maintenance of the child, whereas that figure rose to six in ten (60.2%) for those who did not provide contact details (See Figure 1.8).

More than one-third (36.4%) of primary resident parents who provided contact details reported they spoke to the non-resident parent about the three-year-old every day, whilst 11.8% reported they spoke a few times a month, less often, or never. For primary resident parents who did not provide contact details, 11.9% spoke to the non-resident parent every day, and close to six in ten (58.0%) spoke to them a few times a month, less often, or never (See Figure 1.9).

Of the primary resident parents who provided contact details, 15.8% described their relationship with the non-resident parent as negative (either somewhat negative or very negative), and one in four (25.1%) described it as very positive. However, 45.9% of primary resident parents who did not provide contact details for the non-resident parent described their relationship as negative, and 7.8% described it as very positive (See Figure 1.10).