Similarities and Differences in the Experiences of Non-Resident Mothers and Non-Resident Fathers

This article reviews the available literature to give an overviewof what is currently known about the situations and experiencesof mothers who become the non-resident parent post-separation/divorce.Comparisons are made with non-resident father literature wherepossible in order to explore the similarities and differencesin women and men’s experience of parenthood across households.The principal question explored is: to what extent do the experiencesof non-resident parents relate primarily to gender, or to theirstatus (as non-resident parent), or a combination of the two?Findings indicate that there are many similarities in womenand men’s experience regarding the difficulties they eachencounter when parenting at a distance. However, dominant culturalnorms, which indicate that mothers should be co-resident withchildren, make the experience of non-resident motherhood a differentpsychosocial phenomenon from non-resident fatherhood. It isargued that more information is needed regarding the distinctexperiences of both mothers and fathers if there is to be amore comprehensive understanding of non-residential parenting.Also, the steady rise in the number of non-resident motherssuggests a need for further investigation of parental role-reversalpost-divorce parenting arrangements. Specifically how this typeof arrangement impacts upon child welfare and whether this typeof post-divorce parenting arrangement is acceptable to men andwomen as individuals and also to society in general.