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Journal Article Kinship care refers to familial arrangements where the primary caregiver(s) are biological relatives, godparents, or other fictive kin with strong bonds, raising children when the biological parents are unable. The majority of children living in a home with neither of their biological parents’ present are living in kinship care arrangements. Previous research has primarily focused on maternal involvement and experiences in kinship care; however, little is known about paternal access, engagement, and responsibility in these arrangements. Researchers and practitioners have identified factors…
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Journal Article Paternal involvement in the lives of their children has a positive influence on child and family outcomes, including breastfeeding rates, sleep training, nutrition and exercise, and developmental outcomes. Much of the research on paternal involvement, however, focuses on Caucasian fathers of middle and high socioeconomic status (SES). Within an urban, primarily Latino, lower SES community, we seek to involve and empower fathers through education on common child rearing topics.
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Journal Article We identify multiple predictors of five types of father involvement in 167 low- to moderate-income two-parent Mexican American families with fifth-grade children. Analyses show that fathers' egalitarian gender attitudes and mothers' education are associated with higher levels of father involvement. Fathers are more involved in monitoring and interacting with children when families place more emphasis on family rituals, they are more involved in supervising children when mothers are employed more hours, and they perform more housework when mothers earn more and the family is under economic…
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Journal Article The current study investigated how fathering behaviors (acceptance, rejection, monitoring, consistent discipline, and involvement) are related to preadolescent adjustment in Mexican American and European American stepfamilies and intact families. Cross-sectional data from 393 7th graders, their schoolteachers, and parents were used to examine links between different dimensions of fathering and adolescent outcomes. Following an ecological multivariate model, family SES, marital satisfaction, and mothers' parenting were included as controls. In all contexts, fathering had significant effects…
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Journal Article Single motherhood has long been linked to the risk for child maltreatment. However, little is known about the role of fathers in buffering mothers' risk for child maltreatment. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this paper investigates (1) the ways in which non-resident fathers' economic contributions and involvement in parenting may moderate associations between mothers' transitions to being single and the risk for child maltreatment, and (2) whether these processes vary by race/ethnicity. Results indicate that mothers' transitions to being single are not…
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Journal Article A study involving 116 American Indian fathers found income was not a significant predictor of father involvement among American Indian fathers and fathers of other races/ethnicities with the exception of White fathers. Relationship status was the strongest predictor of father involvement for all fathers, and higher education was found to be a significant positive predictor for American Indian father involvement. 4 tables and 48 references.
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Journal Article This study investigated the role of Puerto Rican (PR) fathers in the family and their involvement, parenting practices, and relationships with their children. Four focus groups were conducted by a bilingual interviewer with a total of 18 participants. The results indicate that parenting practices for PR fathers are heavily embedded in the cultural tenets of familismo (familism), respeto (respect), personalismo (personalism), and simpatía (sympathy or solidarity), in addition to the importance of PR pride and the cultural expectation of machismo, which functions as a sense of responsibility to…
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Journal Article It is important to investigate the ways in which sons learn about marriage from men, including biological fathers, male relatives, and social fathers. This study's purpose is to explore Black sons' observations of fathers' teachings about husbandhood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 52 married Black men who participated in the Pathways to Marriage project in 2010. Findings highlighted developmental pathways and family processes related to modeling husbandhood, demonstrating trust and commitment, managing conflict, protecting and providing, displaying teamwork and partnership,…
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Journal Article Fatherhood is a turning point in the life of many men, but for men who lacked a father figure while growing up, the birth of a child may be the catalyst for a fresh start. Researchers have called for qualitative investigations into African American fathers’ parenting beliefs and practices that consider their social contexts within the broader research discourse on parenthood. Such investigations can inform the way we frame African American fathers in research, thereby improving theoretical suggestions for better supporting Black men in their roles as caretakers. The present case study details…
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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…
