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Journal Article This article discusses the challenges of theorizing and modeling father-child relationships in a developmentally sensitive context. Challenges to the creation of comprehensive theories are briefly discussed and concerns with conceptualizations of father involvement are reviewed. An alternative view of father-child relationships is garnered from meta-analytic perspectives. Affective climate, behavioral style and relational synchrony are identified as factors that always matter in father-child relationships regardless of the age of gender of the child, the context of fathering, or moderating…
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Journal Article Theory and research suggest that the transition to parenthood is a major life transition, and that adaptation to the parenting role is influenced by a complex set of factors, including the relationship with the child's mother, family of origin, and how the father is situated within sociocultural contexts. The father-mother relationship is particularly important for men making the transition to fatherhood. This study examined patterns of fathering among young fathers (15?24 years) and investigated how fathers' relationships with the mothers of their young children (infants and toddlers) were…
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Journal Article Using longitudinal data from a sample of 451 families with a child in eighth grade at the time of study, three research questions have been addressed: First, the study explored the ways in which mothers and fathers differ with regard to four parenting styles. Second, the study examined the manner in which individual parenting styles combine to form family parenting styles. Finally, the study investigated the extent to which these various styles are related to delinquency, depression, and school commitment for adolescents. Regardless of reporter, the most common family parenting styles are…
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Journal Article This paper highlights a number of promising services and supports for incarcerated parents and recommends what attorneys representing or working with incarcerated parents and their children can do to minimize harm to children. (Author abstract)
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Journal Article Data from the Fragile Families and Child-Well-being Study were used to examine predictors of involvement among fathers of young children ( N=2,215) born to adolescent and young adult mothers (ages 14-25; N=2,850). Participants were interviewed immediately following their baby's birth and at 3-years postpartum regarding co-parental relationship quality, fathers' caretaking behavior ("father involvement"), and fathers' provision of material support for the child ("in-kind" support). Early postnatal and 3-year postpartum parental relationship quality and father-child cohabitation predicted 3-…
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Journal Article The present study examined the relationship between concurrent measures of adolescent fathers' parenting stress, social support, and fathers' care-giving involvement with the 3-month-old infant, controlling for fathers' prenatal involvement. The study sample consisted of 50 teenage father-mother dyads. Findings from multivariate regression revealed that fathers' parenting stress was significantly and negatively related to fathers' care giving as perceived by both fathers and mothers. The relationship between support for father involvement provided by the young man's parents and father…
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Journal Article The present qualitative research focuses on homeless fathers living with their children in family shelters. Data were collected through semistructured, face-to-face interviews with homeless fathers (n = 9) and shelter directors (n = 3). Findings suggest that how fathers made meaning of their experiences in a homeless shelter was related to contextual factors and constructions of masculinity. Contextual constraints deriving from unemployment, behavioral and psychological restrictions of shelters, and new parenting roles led men to reassess their parental and masculine role identities. Results…
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Journal Article With current U.S. combat opertions in Afghanistan and Iraq, military families are facing an unprecedented level of stress because of repeated and lengthy separations. The impact on children of these separations from one or both parents depends to a large extent on the remaining caregiver's ability to respond to the needs of the children. By providing supportive programs sensitive to the unique needs of military families with infant and toddlers, community initiatives such as Operation Parenting Edge (OPE) are able to maximize coping skills and promote resiliency in these families. (Author…
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Journal Article For some military families, the birth of a child can occur while the father is away in a dangerous place, and the joy of parenthood can become entangled in feelings of depression, disconnection, and hopelessness. Upon reunification, the new family system may cause confusion and discomfort as the reunited are learning for the first time how to be together as a family. The authors discuss the impact of these multiple stressors and the need for extended support systems, sensitive intervention, and opportunities to build on family strengths. (Author abstracts)
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Journal Article This article examines the interdependent nature of infants and their parents who are experiencing wartime deployment and reunion. Research supports the contention that the cumulative effects of stress place families at risk; the experience of ambiguous loss changes as family roles change throughout the cycle of deployment; and parental absence has a detrimental impact on infant attachment relationships. The article also discusses how parents, professionals, and communities can work together to ensure the youngest family members are afforded optimal development within the context of their…
