Stay-at-Home Fathers: Definition and Characteristics Based on 40 Years of CPS Data

Karen Z. Kramer, university of Minnesota
Jan McCulloch, University of Minnesota

Different conceptualizations of what constitutes a stay-at-home father (SAHF)household lead to different characteristics and different proportion of SAHF households among all married couples households. In this paper I show the results of different definitions of SAHF households. A strict estimate of such households defines a SAHF household as a household with children in which the wife provides all the income and the husband provides no income and performs a majority of the household chores and child care. Less strict definitions range by the proportion of household income the wife earns (as long as it is above 60%) and by the roles the husband performs at home. Analysis is based on CPS data from 1968 to 2008 and examines the differences in the proportion and characteristics of SAHF households when using different definitions and over time.