When parents separate and fathers move out, children often experience long-term negative effects. But what happens when mom and dad get back together? A new Iowa State University study finds parents reconciling benefits a daughter’s mental health. I-S-U human development researcher Cassandra Dorius is part of a team that studied a national sample of 3,700 children. The group looked at the implications of “boomerang” dads — fathers who separate and then reunite with their child’s mother. Dorius says while sons don’t seem to benefit from the reconciliation, daughters do.

Dorius believes dads who reconcile with their child’s mother tend to be more invested in their children.

The national study is published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.