This book and the accompanying documentary illustrates, despite mounds of derogatory statistics regarding Black men in their role as fathers, there is a strong legacy of Black men (from slavery to the present) who were/are very proactive fathers.Filmmaker/author Dana Ross utilizes her own family history, research and interviews with hundreds of Black fathers, educators and historians such as Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu and Dr. Ira Berlin, to explore Black men in their roles as fathers from their time of enslavement to the present.In order to reconnect with this legacy, the author unmasks the many…
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Journal Article Department of Defense (DoD) surveys were examined to develop a demographic profile of military families affected by divorce and remarriage. It appears that a substantial portion of military personnelhave experienced divorce, are in remarriages, and have nonresidential children, particularly given the young average age of military personnel. Compared to the U.S. population, service members marry, divorce, and remarry earlier. Divorced and remarried service members are slightly over-represented among the enlisted ranks, joint service couples, and lower education categories. Notably, the…
The fatherless black family is a problem that grows to bigger proportions every year as generations of black children grow up without an adult male in their homes. Even the minority of black men who do live with their children often struggle with the role. As this dire pattern grows worse, what can men do who hope to break it, when there are so few models and so little guidance in their own homes and communities? Where can they learn to "become Dad?"When Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Pitts-who himself grew up with an abusive father whose absences came as a relief-interviewed dozens of men…
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Journal Article The impact of children's perception of a father's and mother's support on children's quality of relationship with their classroom teacher was examined in a sample of 51 third and fourth grade Asian children rated by their teachers as aggressive. Children's perception of a father's support predicted teacher-ratings in all three areas of the teacher-student relationship (instrumental help, satisfaction, and conflict) but children's perception of a mother's support did not. This adds to a gradually expanding research base documenting the benefits of fatherly support across selected and…
Although a large body of research examines early female fertility, there is considerably less demographic research on male fertility. This study seeks to fill this gap by describing the timing of early fatherhood transitions and examining the family background factors associated with early fertility transitions. The authors tested for differences in these patterns from ages 15 to 24 by sex, race, and cohort. To test the robustness of results, they used the 1979 and 1997 National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth and the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. With a few exceptions, estimates of…
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Journal Article This article uses a sample of 867 African American households to investigate differences in parenting practices and child outcomes by type of household. Results indicate that mothers provide similar levels of parenting regardless of family structure. Secondary caregivers, however, show a great deal of variation in quality of parenting. Fathers and grandmothers engage in the highest quality parenting, stepfathers the poorest, with other relatives falling in between. These differences in parenting do not explain family structure differences in child behavior problems. Results suggest that…
In the parlance of social psychology, social work, and urban social scientists, African American fathers have often been described as "absent," "missing," "non-residential," "non-custodial," "unavailable," "non-married," "irresponsible," and "immature." It is wondered why it is/was so difficult to find literature, research, and comments regarding positive attributes of African American families in general and African American fathers in particular. This book fills a void in attempting to offer a broader picture regarding the status of African American males in a father role. The purpose is to…
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Journal Article This longitudinal investigation explores how fathers engage with their infants, how their behaviors matter within and across developmental time, and how demographic and social factors affect the quality of the father-infant relationship. Participants were 74 racially and ethnically diverse, low-income fathers from the Father and Newborn Study (FANS) and their 8- and 16-month-old infants (36 boys, 38 girls). Father - infant interactions were vidiotaped during semistructured free play in participants' homes. The quality of father - infant interactions was assessed using Likert-type ratings of…
This chapter reviews literature related to the roles of Black fathers in rearing their children, examines some of the recent trends in father-child research, and assesses the implications of this research in constructing a framework for understanding the roles of Black fathers in rearing their children. The impact of father involvement is explored, as well as the various roles of the father in the family, father parenting style, and father influence on child-rearing and nurturing. 67 references. (Author abstract modified)
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Journal Article Race/ethnic differences in the prevalence of and characteristics associated with low support provided by fathers of babies born to pregnant adolescents were examined among 719 adolescent mothers who were interviewed postpartum. Low support was reported by 41.9% of African-American, 26.2% of Mexican-American, and 19.4% of Caucasian adolescent mothers. Across race/ethnic subgroups, fathers who provided limited support were characterized by chronic substance use, gang or police involvement, or partner-directed violence. Policies advocating universal father involvement without concomitant…
