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Journal Article Nonstandard work schedules may negatively impact father involvement either directly by reducing fathers' availability or indirectly by taking a toll on their well‐being. Prior research on nonstandard schedules and father involvement has focused on two‐parent households, yet nonstandard schedules may pose similar or greater challenges to nonresident fathers. Using data on 1,598 resident and 759 nonresident fathers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the findings revealed that among nonresident fathers, working evenings was associated with lower engagement relative to…
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Journal Article The aim of the study was to examine mother–child connectedness and father–child connectedness in adolescence as potential protective factors against a range of disordered eating symptoms in young adulthood among males and females. This study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 13,532). Sex-stratified logistic regression models adjusted for demographic covariates were conducted to examine associations of youth-reported mother–child connectedness and father–child connectedness in adolescence (mean age = 15.4 years) with disordered eating…
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Journal Article Numerous studies have shown that children's temperamental characteristics impact the quality and quantity of parent–child interactions. However, these studies have largely focused on middle‐class samples, have not compared multiple domains of parenting across mothers and fathers, and have not considered the possibility of nonlinear associations between temperament and parenting. The present study addresses these gaps by examining the potentially nonlinear role of two temperamental characteristics—negative emotionality and sociability—in predicting the quality and quantity of low‐income…
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Journal Article Literature in developmental psychology suggests that mothers and fathers both play unique and important roles in their children’s development. However, research investigating the unique contributions and psychological functioning of fathers of youth with developmental disabilities, and the role that fathers play in effective intervention, remains limited. Whereas evidence suggests that parent-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can lead to increased engagement from parents, and reduced stress and psychopathology commonly experienced by parents of youth with…
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Journal Article Despite high heritability, no research has followed children with ADHD to parenthood to study their offspring and parenting behaviors. Given greater prevalence of ADHD in males and lack of research involving fathers, this study evaluated offspring of fathers with and without ADHD histories for ADHD and disruptive behavior and compared fathers’ parenting behaviors. Male fathers (N = 29) from the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS) participated with their preschool-aged offspring. Fathers completed self-reported measures, and father-child dyads completed an interaction task. ADHD…
When dads spend time with their kids from the very beginning and work to keep close feelings between them, good things happen to the kids. This resource provides tips for new fathers to engage and bond with their newborn.
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Journal Article Objectives: Previous research has documented less dialogic interaction between parents and preschoolers during electronic-book reading versus print. Parent-toddler interactions around commercially available tablet-based books have not been described. We examined parent-toddler verbal and nonverbal interactions when reading electronic versus print books.
Methods: We conducted a videotaped, laboratory-based, counterbalanced study of 37 parent-toddler dyads reading on 3 book formats (enhanced electronic [sound effects and/or animation], basic electronic, and print). We coded…
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Journal Article The quality of father–child interactions has become a focus of increasing research in the field of child development. We examined the potential contribution of father–child interactions at both 3 months and 24 months to children's cognitive development at 24 months. Observational measures of father–child interactions at 3 and 24 months were used to assess the quality of fathers’ parenting (n = 192). At 24 months, the Mental Developmental Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition (N. Bayley, 1993) measured cognitive functioning. The association between interactions…
This information sheet presents findings from a national survey of 1,615 parents of children from birth to three years, conducted by Hart Research for ZERO TO THREE, which shows what is on the minds of fathers and what they need for support in nurturing their young child's healthy development. (Author abstract modified)
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Journal Article We focused on coparenting support, partner relationship quality, and father engagement in families with young children that did not change structurally over 4 years of participation in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (N = 1,756). There was a significantly stronger and more robust positive association between fathers' perceived coparenting support at age 1 and father engagement at age 3 among nonresidential nonromantic parents compared with residential (married or cohabiting) and nonresidential romantic parents. There was a significantly stronger and positive association…
