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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 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 An examination of the content and processes of evidence-based programs is critical for empirically evaluating theories about how programs work, the “action theory” of the program (West et al. in American Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 571–605, 1993). The New Beginnings Program (NBP; Wolchik et al., 2007), a parenting-after-divorce preventive intervention, theorizes that program-induced improvements in parenting across three domains: positive relationship quality, effective discipline, and protecting children from interparental conflict, will reduce the negative outcomes that are common…
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Journal Article Using Fragile Families data, this study examined the impact that relationship quality has on American Indian parenting and its consequences on children. Results indicated that the more support American Indian parents received from one another, the more positive interactions they had with their child. Additionally, while engagement increased and spanking decreased with more support received for unmarried American Indian mothers, support from the father affected their engagement more so than those who were married. Therefore, implementation of culturally appropriate relationship enhancing and…
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Journal Article Father involvement in families of urban American Indians has been a neglected area of research. In this study, the authors examined the associations among parental relationship quality, father involvement, and coresidence. The authors conducted a multiple group analysis through structural equation modeling comparing 107 American Indian fathers with fathers of the general population in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Although the results were similar between groups, findings indicated two key differences for urban American Indians. First, emotional supportiveness had a stronger…
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Journal Article In response to decreasing marriage rates among childbearing couples, public policy has sought to reinforce the notion that marriage and fatherhood are a package deal. However, what remains unclear is whether the ideology and values of the policymakers promoting marriage and fatherhood as a package deal represent the values of the men targeted by the policy initiatives. In an attempt to respond to this question, this preliminary study presents the findings from a qualitative analysis of 33 African American adult males’ attitudes toward marriage and romantic relationships. The findings revealed…
When Black married couples separate, they do so for longer durations without ever divorcing when compared to married adults from other racial and ethnic groups. Long periods of separation also have the potential to undermine individual well-being, child welfare, and family stability. This fact sheet provides an opportunity to learn more in hopes of better serving clients who may seek social services or take part in relationship development and marriage enrichment programs. The purpose of this fact sheet is to : (a) describe unique patterns in marital separation among Black couples, (b)…
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Journal Article Current descriptions of coparenting (i.e., shared decision making between parents and the coordination of parenting activities; Feinberg, 2002; McHale & Kuersten-Hogan, 2004) often are not informed by diverse cultural or family contexts, or by the perspectives of fathers. One group that has been notably absent in the coparenting literature is African American fathers. We conducted semistructured, qualitative interviews with 30 African American fathers (28-60 years of age) of a preadolescent, biological son at-risk for depression, aggression, or both. Informed by grounded theory, we…
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Journal Article To better meet the needs of eligible African American men who were reluctant to enroll in a 5-year study called the Program for Strong African American Marriages (ProSAAM), we employed two focus groups to listen to the voices of a sample of the population being recruited and to explore their feedback about taking part in such a marriage enrichment program and how best to recruit other African American men. We explain our application of the focus group results to our recruitment of African American married couples for ProSAAM. The positive outcomes from the implementation of these results…
This tip sheet provides information for safety-net service providers on culturally appropriate ways to integrate healthy marriage and relationship education concepts and skills into services so that clients are more likely to be receptive to the messages provided. (Author abstract)
