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 Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews with 46 stepfathers, we explore how stepfathers characterize the biological father and their relations with him. We focus specifically on instances in which stepfathers directly and indirectly act like a father ally; that is, they presumably help the father sustain or improve his relationship with his child. Our analysis generates theoretical insights about father ally properties (development, purpose, awareness level, reciprocity routines, building trust/respect, and social capital) while discussing conditions that either facilitate (male bonding…
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Journal Article Drawing upon a conceptual framework proposed by Doherty and colleagues (1998), we examine the association between father residence during adolescence and early paternity and residency for a sample of young adult men. Our data are from the National Survey of Adolescent Males (Waves I, III)-a representative sample of young adult men in the U.S., aged 21 to 27 in 1995. Using multinomial logistic techniques, we find that living with a father during adolescence reduces the odds that young men experience fatherhood at an early age. In addition, living with a biological father as a teen, increases…
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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…
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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…
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Journal Article We identify and discuss mothers' early strategies to recruit nonresidential biological fathers, intimate partners, male family members and friends, and paternal kin to support the needs of young children in low-income families. Using the concept of kinscription and longitudinal ethnographic data on 149 African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White families from Welfare, Children and Families: A Three-City Study, we developed a model of recruitment that includes three related processes: the search for legitimacy with conventional fathers and partners, the consequences of maternal advocacy…
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Journal Article Background: Studies on fathering and child mental health are now increasingly looking for specificity in children's psychological adjustment, indicating whether the impact of fathering is diagnostically specific or non-specific. Methods: Data from 435 fathers of secondary school-aged children in Britain were used to explore the association between resident biological fathers', non-resident biological fathers' and stepfathers' involvement and children's total difficulties, prosocial behaviour, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity and peer problems (all measured with the…
American attitudes toward marriage have undergone changes in recent years, with shifts toward an increased acceptance of nontraditional family forms. Data show that Americans are developing increasingly favorable attitudes toward nontraditional family structures, such as cohabitation. While most American adolescents express positive attitudes toward marriage and a desire to become married themselves, more and more are accepting of nontraditional marital activities such as cohabitation and premarital sex. Rates of cohabitation are on the rise among American couples. These nontraditional…
