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Journal Article Neoconservative social scientists have claimed that fathers are essential to positive child development and that responsible fathering is most likely to occur within the context of heterosexual marriage. This perspective is generating a range of governmental initiatives designed to provide social support preferences to fathers over mothers and to heterosexual married couples over alternative family forms. The authors propose that the neoconservative position is an incorrect or oversimplified interpretation of empirical research. Using a wide range of cross-species, cross-cultural, and social…
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Journal Article Maternal gatekeeping is conceptualized within the framework of the social construction of gender and is defined as having three dimensions: mothers' reluctance to relinquish responsibility over family matters by setting rigid standards, external validation of a mothering identity and differentiated conceptions of family roles. These three conceptual dimensions of gatekeeping are operationalized with modest reliability and tested with a confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 622 dual-earner mothers. With cluster analyses, 21% of the mothers were classified as gatekeepers. Gatekeepers did…
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Journal Article The attitudes of adoptive fathers toward the birth fathers of their adopted children were examined in this study. One hundred thirteen adoptive fathers answered a questionnaire about their infertility history, the adoption experience, source of information about the birth father of their child, type of adoption, frequency and topics of thoughts about the birth father, and the influence of the adoptive parents and the birth parents on the characteristics of the child. Level of attachment was also discussed. Respondents reported that pre- adoption preparation and social workers contributed the…
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This 100-minute videotape presents a one-act play that stars a father who uses six letters to his son to discuss relationships, careers, and dreams. The transition to manhood and the responsibilities of life as a husband and a father are addressed.
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Journal Article This article examines the result of a long-term disregard of the needs of fathers by public policy and social programs. Historically, federal and state laws and welfare regulations have created barriers and disincentives for the involvement of fathers in the lives of their children. Federal assistance for the poor often focused on children and custodial parents, elderly persons, and disabled persons. Able-bodied men, including noncustodial fathers, were not eligible for benefits such as public or subsidized housing, Medicare, or food stamps. These policies lead to situations in which…
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Journal Article This study examines the impact of state welfare reform policies on the paternal involvement of low-income single fathers. Life history interviews were conducted with 40 African American fathers participating in a community-based parenting program in Chicago. Men's rightful claims to fatherhood were constructed through voluntary involvement with their children and enforced paternity establishment. Welfare policies gave precedence to child support and providing and dismissed fathers' in-kind caregiving. Policy requirements reflected limited understanding of related caregiving and providing…
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Journal Article Current demographic patterns indicate that a significant number of children are living apart from their biological fathers, suggesting a structural fragility or vulnerability of men's connections with their children. In this article, we first explore whether fathers have concerns about possible disruptions of their relationships with their children and identify the nature of these concerns. Next, we identify those characteristics that distinguish the fathers with high levels of concern from those who are less concerned. The quality of the marital or partner relationship strongly predicts…
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Journal Article The study is an exploratory attempt to examine family and life satisfaction of 212 noncustodial fathers 3 years following divorce, using path analysis to validate the hypothesized ordering among six dependent variables suggested by resource theory. Results indicated the significant predictors of family and life satisfaction were perceived economic well-being, cooperative communication during conflict and during coparenting, low importance of resource deprivation, and low frequency of conflict. Involvement with children was not a significant predictor of family and life satisfaction. Resource…
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Journal Article Using data from the 1987-1988 National Survey of Families and Households, this study examines gender differences in how nonresident parents spend time with their absent children. Whereas nonresident fathers are often perceived as "Disneyland" parents, nonresident mothers are generally considered to be more involved in their children's daily lives. However, results suggest that nonresident mothers and fathers exhibit a similar pattern of participation in activities with their absent children, controlling for sociodemographic and family characteristics. Most nonresident parents either engage…
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Journal Article The reconciliation of work and family demands places unusual stress on many single-parent families. Using a 1995 random sample of single fathers (n = 346) and single mothers (n = 364) in military communities, we explored the relationship between gender and the ability of parents to manage work and family responsibilities. Using ANOVA and discriminant function analyses, we found no gender differences in the proportion of single parents who perceived they were successful at managing family and work responsibilities. However, there were significant gender differences in how men and women use…
