Intergenerational Transmission of Fathering Roles in At Risk Families.

Data from the Baltimore Parenthood Study, a 30-year longitudinal study of teenage parents, were analyzed to identify the long-term consequences of paternal involvement and the generational transmission of patterns of fatherhood. A subsample of 110 males were examined with an occasional reference made to a subsample of females. Results indicated that a strong link existed between the stable presence of a biological father in the histories of the young men and the timing of their own family formation. Early fatherhood, both during the teen years and early twenties, is much more likely to occur if young men did not grow up living with their own fathers. Moreover, early fatherhood is somewhat more likely to occur if the young men did not have a stepfather in the past who was a stable presence in the home. Young fathers also were less likely to be living with their children if their own fathers had not resided with them throughout childhood. 75 references, 2 notes, 4 tables. (Author abstract)