This study investigates the determinants of paternal investment by birth fathers and
stepfathers. Inclusive fitness theory predicts higher parental investment in birth
children than stepchildren, and this has consistently been found in previous studies.
Here we investigate whether paternal investment varies with childhood co-residence
duration and differs between stepfathers and divorced birth fathers by comparing the
investment of (1) stepfathers, (2) birth fathers who are separated from the child's
mother, and (3) birth fathers who still are in a relationship with her. Path analysis
was conducted using cross-sectional data from adolescents and younger adults (aged
17-19, 27-29, and 37-39 years) from the German Family Panel (pairfam), collected in
2010-2011 (n = 8326). As proxies of paternal investment, we used financial and practical
help, emotional support, intimacy, and emotional closeness, as reported by the children.
We found that birth fathers who were still in a relationship with the mother invested
the most, and stepfathers invested the least. Furthermore, the investment of both
separated fathers and stepfathers increased with the duration of co-residence with
the child. However, in the case of financial help and intimacy, the effect of childhood
co-residence duration was stronger in stepfathers than in separated fathers. Our findings
support inclusive fitness theory and mating effort theory in explaining social behavior
and family dynamics in this population. Furthermore, social environment, such as childhood
co-residence was associated with paternal investment.
