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Journal Article Stimulated by national policy and funding, attention to the issue of fatherhood is increasing. Fatherhood programs often focus on constructions of "responsibility" that mandate absent fathers to emotionally and/or financially support their children. However, the multifaceted legal conundrums embedded in the social barriers to "responsible" fatherhood that are faced by fragile and marginalized non-custodial fathers are rarely comprehensively addressed. These forensic barriers extend beyond criminal justice system issues, to consumer, traffic, housing and other issues that plague fragile…
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Journal Article Until recently, policy makers viewed fathers' provision of child support as the most policy-relevant form of father involvement. In contrast, other policy initiatives have not been as widely explored. This article identifies current fatherhood policies and considers the mixed implications of these policy and practice interventions for father involvement and child well-being. We conclude with suggestions for future fatherhood policies and initiatives. (Author abstract)
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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 Traditionally, researchers interested in understanding father involvement in the lives of young children have relied on mothers as proxy respondents for fathers, yet recent research has made noteworthy strides in collecting data from fathers themselves yielding an unprecedented wealth of data on fathers' involvement in their children's lives. Despite this progress, there remain many methodological challenges in conducting studies with fathers and their children. Therefore, this article highlights several methodological challenges, including the identification of fathers, recruitment of…
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Journal Article While popular cultural representations portray the "new father" of the past two decades as more involved, more nurturing, and capable of coparenting, many argue that actual fathering conduct has not kept pace. Others, however, question the extent to which the culture of fatherhood does indeed support involved fathering and, if so, what this involvement entails. This study aims to contribute to the exploration of the culture of fatherhood through an analysis of a yearlong Canadian newspaper series dedicated to family issues. Findings suggest that through representations of parental guilt,…
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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 Objectives. This article considers how becoming a father affects men's employment levels and test whether the effects of fatherhood differ by the relationship of the father to the child's mother at the time of the birth. Methods. We use data from the Fragile Families and Well-being Study to fit growth curve models of new fathers' employment trajectories for the first five years after they become fathers. Results. Prior to becoming a father, married men worked more hours per week and more weeks per year than cohabiting and non-resident fathers. By five years after the birth, differences in…
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Journal Article Using data on 3,124 fathers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study examines whether the birth of a child leads men to increase their religious participation and whether this increase in participation is associated with father engagement. Results indicate that religious participation is positively related to paternal engagement and that first-time fathers with high levels of religious participation report the highest engagement with children. In addition, many fathers report an increase in religious participation in the year following their child's birth, but this…
