This working paper explores the role of fathers and father-child relationships in the psychosocial development of adolescents by examining outcomes data from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) files on children and mothers. The survey uses a number of measures to evaluate child development and well being; other characteristics of children and mothers; information about family structure and household makeup; family income, home environment, and other sociodemographic factors; as well as children's perceptions of their mother, father, and or/step father. The initial survey was…
The author of this chapter suggests that attempts to encourage fathers to remain with their families do not address the economic and social reality of low-income men and single parent families. The statistics about father absence fail to calculate the number of non-resident fathers who are involved with their children but do not provide financial assistance and do not consider that residence with an abusive father is more harmful than living in a single parent household. Furthermore, the public image of low-income single mothers depicts them as unwilling to work or supervise their children…
This chapter explores the loss that children feel when separated from their father by divorce or because their parents never married. Research has found that in most cases, visits are awkward for the child and his parents and contact between fathers and their children decreases over time. Children of divorce experience more negative outcomes than children whose fathers died because they tend to externalize, rather than internalize, their emotions. The degree of loss is not related to the quantity of time that children spend with their nonresident father or the amount of child support.…
Concerns about the increase in fatherless families and the negative effects on children led to calls for social change from politicians, several national commissions, and a variety of articles and books. By the end of the 1990s, there were indications that a fatherhood movement was being formed as conferences were sponsored by organizations at the national, state, and local levels. This chapter evaluates whether recent actions to promote fatherhood represent a social movement, in terms of the identification of a core idea, the broad appeal of the issue, the distinction of the movement from…
The adoptive father contributes to the development of his adopted child by supporting the adoptive mother as she cares for the child, by promoting attachments within the family, and by helping the child understand the circumstances of the adoption and his or her relationship with the biological parents. This chapter reviews cultural attitudes about the purpose of adoption and the father's role throughout history. The discussion contrasts ancient and cultural attitudes about adoption as a method for achieving status with contemporary perceptions of adoption as a response to the needs and wants…
Tougher penalties for juvenile offenders and the disproportionate imprisonment of African American and Latino young men have resulted in an increase in the number of incarcerated fathers. Approximately one-quarter of all young men sentenced to juvenile facilities in California are fathers, a trend that has serious implications for the families of the men and society as incarceration reduces family income and interferes in a father's ability to provide emotional support to his children and their mother. This study examined the issues of fathering from prison, young fathers as parolees, and the…
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Journal Article Although research increasingly focuses on non-resident biological fathers, little attention has been given to the role of other men in children s lives. The authors examine the factors associated with social father presence and their influence on preschoolers development. Findings indicate that the majority of children have a social father and that mother, child, and nonresident biological father characteristics are all related to social father presence. These associations differ depending on whether the social father is the mother s romantic partner or a male relative. The social father s…
Soul searching can provide an in-depth understanding of the father's changing role in the family, the language of fatherhood, paternal contributions to child security, and the need to nurture androgyny. This chapter highlights the mythic and spiritual perspectives of these issues that should be integrated with social science and human studies in fatherhood research and policy. It explains that fatherhood is an act of faith in the acceptance of paternity and the social expectations of its meaning. The social expectations are derived from Biblical myths and common views about the callings of…
Researchers from demography, developmental psychology, sociology, evolutionary psychology, economics, and the public policy field have examined various aspects of the impact of father involvement on child development. This book summarizes the methodology and findings from research within each of these disciplines to provide a multidisciplinary perspective of the subject. Common themes across areas of interest include the definition of fatherhood and the dimensions of the construct; the individual and environmental variables that explain fathering; the impact of father involvement at each…
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation are presented in this chapter to describe the demographic, family, and socioeconomic characteristics of fathers residing with children. The racial and ethnic diversity of co-resident fathers, the number of dependent children, the marital status of the father, educational attainment, labor force participation, and poverty are addressed. Differences between fathers living with biological children, stepchildren, and both biological and stepchildren are highlighted. Most of the data are…
