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Journal Article In this Population Bulletin, the authors examine trends in U.S. family formation and stability, focusing on differences across racial/ethnic groups and by socioeconomic status. They provide an up-to-date overview of key demographic research on marriage, cohabitation, divorce, and childbearing as well as the processes underlying family change. Data and research on same-sex partnerships and marriages are examined separately because of data limitations (see Box 1, page 4). The authors also address the implications of family structure and stability for children's well-being, and discuss the…
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Journal Article In this analysis, we explore how low-income African American fathers build understandings of successful manhood in the context of community-based responsible fatherhood programs. Drawing on life history interviews with 75 men in Illinois and Indiana, we explore men's attempts to fulfill normative expectations of fatherhood while living in communities with limited resources. We examine the efforts of community-based fatherhood programs to shape alternative African American masculinities through facilitation of personal turning points and "breaks with the past," use of social support and…
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Journal Article Gender role development was assessed in 52 father-absent and 54 father-present African American adolescents. Father-present boys, especially those from lower-income backgrounds, had higher perceptions of their masculinity than did father-absent boys. Lower income father-absent girls perceived themselves to be higher in masculinity than did all other girls. Consequently, father-present adolescents tended to have more traditional gender role orientations than did those in father-absent homes. It is argued that mothers' and fathers' different socializing strategies balance out in two-parent…
