In this tender, beautiful letter to his daughters, President Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation. From the artistry of Georgia O'Keeffe, to the courage of Jackie Robinson, to the patriotism of George Washington, President Obama sees the traits of these heroes within his own children, and within all of America's children.Breathtaking, evocative illustrations by award-winning artist Loren Long at once capture the personalities and achievements of these great Americans and the innocence and promise of childhood…
Although children eventually grow out of the Terrible Twos, they--and their fathers--face another developmental stage that can present similar challenges. In the pre-teen and teen years, the Other Terrible Toos can strain a dad's tolerance for his child's increasing desire for independence. In addition, the Other Terrible Toos can be a struggle for young people as they enter new environments and new relationships that test their values and self-discipline. This Spotlight suggests ways dads can recognize their children's virtues and character and help them learn to become responsible adults.…
Public policy initiatives to promote nonresidential father involvement tend to focus on economic involvement over social and emotional involvement. The 2006 reauthorization of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)included funding for "responsible fatherhood" programming and the recently introduced Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act of 2009 (RFHFA) would increase this funding. Using the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being dataset, this paper hypothesized that paternal, maternal, child and relational factors would predict non-residential…
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Journal Article This editorial article discusses various reports published within the special issue of Early Child Development and Care entitled Emerging Topics on Father Attachment: Considerations in Theory, Context and Development, which includes several articles on children's attachment to fathers.
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Journal Article Sir Richard Bowlby, son of John Bowlby, has carried on his father's work by lecturing and writing on the topic of attachment theory. He has initiated and maintained international connections with researchers, practitioners and agencies in the field of child development, and has produced training videos to more widely disseminate information about attachment theory to professionals working with children and families. In this interview, conducted in London in February of 2009, Richard responded to questions regarding the father's role as an attachment figure, highlighting new theoretical…
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Journal Article This work aims to highlight the relevance of Stephenson's Q methodology (QM) for improving the assessment of child-father attachment relationships. We argue that reconceptualising the relationship can enhance the validity of assessment techniques and help in identifying the paternal behaviours that predict a secure child-father attachment pattern. To this end, we first review the inconclusive and sometimes contradictory findings about links among paternal behaviours, child-father security of attachment, and socio-emotional well-being. Second, the methodological challenges in assessing child-…
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Journal Article This study examined connections between fathering context (stress, social support, and fathers' internal working models), fathering dimensions, children's attachment to fathers, and children's social-emotional and academic outcomes within two culturally diverse samples in the USA and Taiwan. Participants included 274 fathers and their eight- to 11-year-old children. Fathers completed questionnaires regarding their close relationships, stress, social support, and children's academic achievement. Children completed measures of fathering dimensions, attachment, and standardised social-emotional…
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Journal Article This study examined: (1) the independence of children's attachments to mother and father; (2) the relationships between father and mother quality of attachment and children's social and cognitive self-competence, depression and loneliness; and (3) differences in those relationships by gender. Spanish translations of standardised and self-report measures of mother and father attachment quality, scholastic and social competence, depression and loneliness were administered to 860 middle-class children, aged 8-12 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Children's attachment security with mothers was only…
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Journal Article This study aimed at determining whether paternal parenting behaviours (attachment and positive affection) added significant information on children's psychosocial adjustment beyond that provided by maternal reports. Five hundred and fifty-two children (fourth through sixth graders) from a non-clinical sample completed a brief measure of perceived attachment security to their mother and father. Parents and teachers of the children filled out the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, which covers behavioural problems (i.e. emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity and peer…
This factsheet explores the relationship between social support and father involvement. It reviews findings from research studies that indicate fathers who report having high levels of social support experience better psychological well-being and demonstrate more positive patterns of father involvement and coparenting. Studies suggest spousal/partner support is positively associated with fathers' well-being; high levels of program support are associated with higher reports of fathers' parenting skills; fathers who report high levels of tangible or instrumental support report better well-…
