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Journal Article This article describes the development of solution-focused psychotherapy groups for incarcerated fathers at a medium security correctional facility. The solution-focused approach was implemented to avoid the strategies used by inmates to undermine insight-oriented and non-directive therapies. Emphasis was placed on the identification of problems, desired outcomes, and behaviors that would achieve the participant's goals. Program planners selected the cognitive-behavioral approach to group psychotherapy for its focus on the recognition of feelings and identification of successful methods of…
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Journal Article Research on child development has increasingly emphasized the complexity of developmental processes, and this reconceptualization is reflected in recent research on the effects of child maltreatment as well. The author illustrates the value of studying maltreatment in the context of children's relationships, not only with their biological mothers, but with biological fathers and father figures as well. Ambiguities remain, however, suggesting that more must be discovered about the quality and longevity of the relationships between these men and both their partners and surrogate children to…
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Journal Article A shortened form of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) was used to examine the relationship between parenting styles and the psychological distress and offending patterns of a group of young male offenders held in custody in Scotland. High levels of psychological distress were linked with low parental care, but there was no association between psychological distres and parental control. Parental care was not a distinguishing factor in offending patterns, although high paternal control was linked with a younger age of first arrest. When interactions of paternal and maternal parenting styles…
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Journal Article The authors provide an overview of two issues of the Children and Youth Services Review that report the findings on a study of the impact of welfare reform on unwed parents. The Fragile Families and Child Well-Being study compared the family situations of 3,600 children of unmarried parents and 1,100 children born to married parents during the same time period. Mothers and fathers were interviewed shortly after the birth of their child with additional interviews planned for 12, 30, and 48 months. The questions addressed the characteristics of parents eligible for welfare benefits in the…
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Journal Article Ignored in the flurry of new research on fathers is that fatherhood may have consequences for men. This article explores possible effects on the lives and well-being of men for a range of fatherhood experiences. Data are drawn from the National Survey of Families and Households. The first part of this article examines whether men's varied associations with children (no children, coresident, non-coresident, and stepfatherhood) are associated with men's psychological health and behavior, social connections, intergenerational family relations, and work behavior. We found strong evidence that…
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Journal Article This article explores the cultural construction of fatherhood in America, as well as the consequences of this construction as a motivator for understudying fathers--especially father love--for nearly a century in developmental and family research. It then reviews evidence from 6 categories of empirical studies showing the powerful influence of fathers' love on children's and young adults' social, emotional, and cognitive development and functioning. Much of this evidence suggests that the influence of father love on offspring's development is as great as and occasionally greater than the…
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Journal Article Preliminary data from the National Evaluation of Early Head Start (NEEHS) program suggests that minority and lower income fathers are just as emotionally invested in their infants and toddlers as White middle-class fathers, this article reports. The data refutes generalizations that lower-income minority fathers are less involved than others in the early childhood development. Most published studies on the subject have relied disproportionately upon data from White middle-class fathers, according to the report. NEEHS provides a more racially and socioeconomically diverse examination of…
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Journal Article This study examined the effect of father-child interactions on the behavior and health of young children in a sample of 182 families reported to child protective services. Data were collected from interviews with the child and his or her caregiver and from reviews of child protective service records and teacher reports. Variables included child and family characteristics; parental and family functioning; extrafamilial relationships; community environment; religious affiliation; child outcomes; and service utilization. Whereas the presence or absence of a father or father figure seemed to make…
