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Journal Article Theory and research suggest that the transition to parenthood is a major life transition, and that adaptation to the parenting role is influenced by a complex set of factors, including the relationship with the child's mother, family of origin, and how the father is situated within sociocultural contexts. The father-mother relationship is particularly important for men making the transition to fatherhood. This study examined patterns of fathering among young fathers (15?24 years) and investigated how fathers' relationships with the mothers of their young children (infants and toddlers) were…
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Journal Article Data from the Fragile Families and Child-Well-being Study were used to examine predictors of involvement among fathers of young children ( N=2,215) born to adolescent and young adult mothers (ages 14-25; N=2,850). Participants were interviewed immediately following their baby's birth and at 3-years postpartum regarding co-parental relationship quality, fathers' caretaking behavior ("father involvement"), and fathers' provision of material support for the child ("in-kind" support). Early postnatal and 3-year postpartum parental relationship quality and father-child cohabitation predicted 3-…
Starting a conversation with another parent can sometimes be a little intimidating. Dads can feel a little awkward in starting or carrying on a parenting conversation, particularly if they don't know the other person in that conversation well (or at all). This fact sheet offers tips on connecting with other parents including finding other dads with similar interests, the best ways to initiate contact, as well as what kinds of conversations to have with women with children. (Author abstract modified)
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Journal Article Using data on 294 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health who live with a biological father and have both a resident stepmother and a nonresident biological mother, this study examines the prevalence, antecedents, and consequences of adolescents' closeness to each of their parents. Findings demonstrate that adolescents vary in their likelihood of having close relationships to resident fathers, resident stepmothers, and nonresident biological mothers, but when they can do so, they appear to benefit. Close relationships with both resident fathers and nonresident…
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Journal Article This is a follow up to a study that showed that fathers who were either very close to their parents or very distant from their parents during childhood had more positive attitudes about father involvement prior to the birth of their first child. This current study focused on how family of origin relationships for new fathers are associated with their attitudes about father involvement at 6 and 12 months post-partum. Using a sample of 152 couples recruited during pregnancy, we examined the validity of the modeling and compensation hypotheses for understanding how family of origin experiences…
This InfoSheet describes key messages for a level of discourse that promotes healthy fatherhood by focusing on the broad picture of 1) child well-being, 2) gender equity, 3) men's development, and 4) community development. (Author abstract)
This fact sheet discusses research findings on the ways fathers impact the development of their children. Findings indicate: fathers' religiosity is linked to higher quality of parent-child relationships; fathers who regularly attend religious services are more likely to be engaged in one-on-one activities with their children; civically active fathers are more likely to participate in youth-related activities; fathers' engagement in their children's activities was linked to higher academic performance; among adolescent boys, those who receive more parenting from their fathers are less likely…
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Journal Article Despite efforts made by management and caseworkers to promote active parental participation in the protective context, fathers or other male figures are often brushed aside from intervention. This paper presents the results of qualitative research on methods used by youth protection caseworkers (n = 22) working with stepfather families. The main objective is to identify items that encourage or discourage stepfather involvement in psychosocial interventions. Results showed that certain items do not apply solely to stepfathers, but influence youth protection caseworker decision-making from a…
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Journal Article Using an ecological perspective and data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, correlates of father involvement were examined for 68 stepfathers and 68 biological fathers of first-grade children to determine whether contextual factors associated with involvement differed between the two groups. Stepfathers and biological fathers did not differ in their relative amount of involvement in childrearing activities or in the quality of their engagement with their children, but family processes were different in stepfamilies compared with biological families. For stepfathers, but not…
