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Journal Article The author presents prospective data from a small-scale study of 15 families experiencing an unmarried teenage pregnancy. During and after the pregnancy, the adolescents and their parents were interviewed separately and responded to standardized instruments. Family members' closeness to, communication with, and opinions about the baby's father were significantly different as a function of family role and stage of the pregnancy. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed. (Author abstract)
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Journal Article The author investigated the relationship between self-image and parental behavior of adolescent fathers. The study included a convenience sample of 43 African American unwed adolescent fathers. Data were collected from a questionnaire. Findings indicated that attitudes regarding family of origin and sexuality as well as coping skills influenced parental responsibility. (Author abstract)
Adolescent fathers have remained an understudied and underserved population. While teen fatherhood appears to be associated with similar consequences to those observed for teen mothers, most national programs serving low-income families focus on mothers rather than fathers. Recently, attempts to include young fathers in services have increased,but relatively few programs for young fathers exist. This fact sheet presents fast facts about teenage males. (Author abstract, modified)
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Journal Article Although teenage pregnancy is at the center of much current social concern and political debate, the focus tends to be on the young mothers and their children. The lives and parenting experiences of young fathers typically receive less attention from researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. This article presents findings from a qualitative research study of 25 low-income young fathers. Young men were asked questions about their own life experiences and social contexts, their connections with their children and female partners, and the implications these had for sense of self. They were…
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Journal Article Until the early 1980s, the needs of young fathers went largely unnoticed by policy makers and social service providers. Many programs for adolescent fathers originally started in order to benefit teenage mothers and their children (Leitch et al., 1993). It was later recognized that young fathers also need assistance to successfully become productive and responsible adults (Robinson, 1988; Leitch et al., 1993; Kiselica, 1995). Program designs have been based on a set of implicit assumptions: 1) if programs are offered, young fathers will enroll; 2) the services will meet the needs of…
The teen birth rate has continued to decline after peaking in 1991. Yet some teens are still becoming fathers at a young age. Research indicates that this early fatherhood typically is unintended, regularly occurs outside of marriage, and has implications for teen fathers, their children, and their families. Some key demographic differences shape who becomes a teenage father, as well as the consequences of being a teen father. This fact sheet discusses the importance and implications of teen fatherhood
Training Materials, Other
This DVD and workshop guide are designed to be used to with young parents or teens who are not yet parents. The DVD features a 28-minute documentary on young fathers and seven teachable moment clips from the film that are 1 to 7 minutes each. The documentary focuses on two young fathers and highlights the needs and circumstances of many low-income fathers, including those who have been involved with the criminal justice system. It addresses the challenges of early parenthood, the role of fathers in their children's lives, the need to build solid co-parenting relationships, and attitudes about…
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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 This study investigated factors associated with adolescent unmarried, nonresident fathers' prenatal involvement with the teenaged mother. The sample consisted of 57 adolescent couples. Father characteristics and social-context factors were expected to predict fathers' prenatal involvement. Results of the multivariate analysis revealed a significant relationship between romantic involvement and fathers' prenatal involvement. Also, interparental conflict was negatively associated with father's prenatal involvement after controlling for romantic involvement. In addition, teenage fathers were…
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Journal Article Stricter child support enforcement may reduce unwed childbearing by raising the costs of fatherhood. The authors investigate this hypothesis using a sample of young women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, to which they add information on state child support enforcement. Models of the probability of a teenage premarital birth and of teenage premarital pregnancy and pregnancy resolution provide tentative evidence that during the early 1980s, teens living in states with higher rates of paternity establishment were less likely to become unwed mothers. This relationship is stronger…
