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Journal Article We focused on coparenting support, partner relationship quality, and father engagement in families with young children that did not change structurally over 4 years of participation in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (N = 1,756). There was a significantly stronger and more robust positive association between fathers' perceived coparenting support at age 1 and father engagement at age 3 among nonresidential nonromantic parents compared with residential (married or cohabiting) and nonresidential romantic parents. There was a significantly stronger and positive association…
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Journal Article We used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine how couple relationship quality and parental engagement are linked over children's early years--when they are infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Our sample included 1,630 couples who were coresident over Years 1-3 and 1,376 couples who were coresident over Years 3-5 (1,196 over both periods). Overall, we found that better relationship quality predicted greater parental engagement for both mothers and fathers--especially in the infant to toddler years; in contrast, we found little evidence that parental engagement…
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Journal Article Children can benefit from involved fathers and cooperative parents, a benefit which may be particularly important to the growing population of children born to unmarried parents. This study observes father involvement and coparenting in 5,407 married and unmarried cohabiting couples with a 2-year-old child in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study?Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). A link was found between cooperative coparenting and father involvement for all couples. Compared with married couples, couples who married in response to the pregnancy and couples who remained unmarried showed higher levels…
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Journal Article Teen dating violence (TDV) is a preventable public health problem that has negative consequences for youth. Despite evidence that youth in urban communities with high crime and economic disadvantage may be at particularly high risk for TDV, little work has specifically addressed TDV in these communities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a comprehensive approach to prevent TDV--Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships--that addresses gaps in research and practice. This report from CDC describes the programmatic activities,…
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Journal Article Black fathers are important advocates in addressing the underrepresentation of Black students in gifted programs, as well as the achievement gaps between Black and White students. Black fathers increasingly understand the important role that Black mothers have traditionally played in supporting their gifted children's school experiences. As a result, many are learning to value and embrace their fatherly role in nurturing their child's academic potential by establishing and cultivating relationships with gifted education teachers. Improving Black father and gifted education teacher…
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Journal Article This study examined whether coparenting support and social support had a stronger effect on father engagement with 3-year-olds among adolescent fathers compared with adult fathers. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 1,540), we found that coparenting support and paternal social support had a significantly stronger positive effect on adolescent fathers than adult fathers. The associations among coparenting, social support, and adolescent father engagement did not depend on whether the father and mother were romantically involved with each other. The results…
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Journal Article The role of judges in heightening the level of father participation in child welfare legal proceedings is discussed, as well as the ability of judges to create a culture of inclusion where expectations about father involvement are known by all parties. Tips for engaging fathers are provided that stem from judicial bench cards available through the National Quality Improvement Center on Non-Resident Fathers and the Child Welfare System website. 5 references.
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Journal Article Using a non-hierarchical approach to identity theory, we construct a scale to analyze the characteristics associated with the importance of fatherhood in a national sample of male partners (N = 932) of U.S. women of reproductive age, including fathers and non-fathers. OLS multiple regression shows that economic situation is not associated with importance of fatherhood, but valuing career success, higher education, higher religiosity and non-egalitarian gender attitudes (compared to egalitarian) are associated with higher importance of fatherhood scores. Leisure, age, fertility problems, and…
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Journal Article Almost one third of all children in the United States are born to unmarried parents. This figure is even higher among poor and minority populations. Because of their heightened risk for economic and social problems and family dissolution, disadvantaged, unmarried parents have been called 'fragile families.' In 2002 the Bush administration announced its Healthy Marriage Initiative. Its purpose was to promote marriage, especially among low-income couples. In 2006 the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) allocated $150 million a year to marriage and fatherhood…
