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Interesting, that's a great point. Last I checked the negative effects of fatherlessness were well studied, but I don't know if it's been compared with the alternative, i.e. being raised by someone who rather would have left!

IIRC a low quality father is still better than none (barring abuse, though emotional neglect is now finally coming to be recognized as developmentally impactful), but I really don't know...

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There is such a thing as coparenting while divorced; one need not assume that separation implies that the father ceases to parent.

It's debatable to what degree they are as most of the studies have massive confounders. Couples that stay together tend to be more affluent than divorced couples because of only needing to pay for and maintain one place of living instead of two. And poverty is a massive confounder in the studies, kids in poverty do a fair bit worse than kids in middle class lifestyles.

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