Father Contribution Understated—Study

A study sponsored by the Families Commission’s “Blue Skies’ research fund found that available family data in New Zealand understates the contribution of separated fathers.

Victoria University researcher Paul Callister and Massey University’s Stuart Birks examined family data collection methods in New Zealand and found they do not accurately describe the living circumstances of children.

“There is considerable diversity in parenting arrangements, and one major group is often overlooked. These are the children of separated biological parents who, to varying degrees, have two active parents and two households.”, says the study.

The study comes at a time when Statistics New Zealand, the government-funded but independent statistics department, is conducting a review of official family statistics with an eye on improving family data.

Callister and Birks also take issue with terms often used to describe family types in the media and official documents. They conclude:

“As well as there being gaps in data collections, the language of research and policy debates is lagging behind the changes in family types. Many of the words currently used, such as ‘non-custodial’ parent and ‘non-resident’ parent have connotations of exclusion rather than inclusion. In some situations this will reflect reality, but in others the terms are misleading.

“While most researchers try to differentiate between single-parent households and single-parent families, the term ‘single-parent family’ can still be found in many research publications even when it is quite clear that the children involved have two active parents.”

Father & Child Trust has made a submission to Statistics New Zealand for their current review, emphasising that the lack of reliable data about fathers’ parenting contribution and situation may prevent necessary changes in the delivery of social and community services, and makes it hard for community organizations to obtain funding for working with fathers.