red dot icon
Journal Article Literature in developmental psychology suggests that mothers and fathers both play unique and important roles in their children’s development. However, research investigating the unique contributions and psychological functioning of fathers of youth with developmental disabilities, and the role that fathers play in effective intervention, remains limited. Whereas evidence suggests that parent-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can lead to increased engagement from parents, and reduced stress and psychopathology commonly experienced by parents of youth with…
red dot icon
Journal Article Despite high heritability, no research has followed children with ADHD to parenthood to study their offspring and parenting behaviors. Given greater prevalence of ADHD in males and lack of research involving fathers, this study evaluated offspring of fathers with and without ADHD histories for ADHD and disruptive behavior and compared fathers’ parenting behaviors. Male fathers (N = 29) from the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS) participated with their preschool-aged offspring. Fathers completed self-reported measures, and father-child dyads completed an interaction task. ADHD…
red dot icon
Journal Article The "My Brother's Keeper" initiative (Obama, 2014) has helped to attract public attention to the vulnerabilities faced by many boys of color (BOC). In this article, I review what is known about the developmental status of BOC, identify key family practices that are critical to their development, and consider the implications of both for early intervention. The lack of school readiness skills and early reading competence are seen as the most serious early concerns. BOC struggle with language, literacy, and the regulation of behavior and emotions. These problems are evident at school entry,…
red dot icon
Journal Article The ongoing longitudinal Adverse Childhood Experiences Study of adults has found significant associations between chronic conditions; quality of life and life expectancy in adulthood; and the trauma and stress associated with adverse childhood experiences, including physical or emotional abuse or neglect, deprivation, or exposure to violence. Less is known about the population-based epidemiology of adverse childhood experiences among US children. Using the 2011–12 National Survey of Children’s Health, we assessed the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and associations between them…
red dot icon
Journal Article Objective: The present study investigated the extent to which father-daughter relationships predicted risk-taking in a sample of female college students. Specifically, this study examined whether female adolescents' models of father psychological presence predicted substance use and sexual risk-taking, over and above impulsivity, depression, and other risky behaviors. Methods: A sample of 203 female college students were administered several scales assessing father psychological presence, sexual risk-taking, substance use, impulsivity, and depression. Results: Father psychological presence…
red dot icon
Journal Article The intergenerational transmission of school adjustment was explored in a sample of 213 children and their fathers. The fathers were participants in a longitudinal study that began when they were in the 4th grade, and their children have been assessed at the ages of 21 months and 3, 5, and 7 years. Two components of school adjustment were measured: academic achievement and peer relations. Results show that the fathers' academic achievement and peer relations were directly related to the same factors in their offspring even when the fathers' educational attainment, and both the fathers' and…
red dot icon
Journal Article Self-regulation ability is an important component of school readiness and predictor of academic success, but few studies of self-regulation examine contributions of fathering to the emergence of self-regulation in low-income ethnic minority preschoolers. Associations were examined between parental child-oriented parenting support and preschoolers' emerging self-regulation abilities in 224 low-income African American (n = 86) and Latino (n = 138) children observed at age 30 months in father-child and mother-child interactions to determine unique predictions from fathering qualities. Child-…
red dot icon
Journal Article Since Amato and Gilbreth's (1999) meta-analysis of nonresident father involvement and child well-being, nonmarital childbirths and nonresident father involvement both have increased. The unknown implications of such changes motivated the present study, a meta-analytic review of 52 studies of nonresident father involvement and child well-being. Consistent with Amato and Gilbreth, we found that positive forms of involvement were associated with benefits for children, with a small but statistically significant effect size. Amounts of father-child contact and financial provision, however, were…
red dot icon
Journal Article This paper documents a model for outreaching, connecting, and serving low-income, ethnically diverse, non-custodial fathers. Men are engaged "where they are" by building their strengths and addressing their needs. The Male Involvement Network's (MIN) collaborative model was created in Connecticut to help fathers become positive and healthy role models by increasing their attachment to their children and families (Smith, 2003). This clinically informed, case management model addresses their physical, emotional, mental, economic and spiritual health needs. Through a relational approach and…
red dot icon
Journal Article This study examines the efficacy of ParentCorps among 4-year-old children (N = 171) enrolled in prekindergarten in schools in a large urban school district. ParentCorps includes a series of 13 group sessions for parents and children held at the school during early evening hours and facilitated by teachers and mental health professionals. ParentCorps resulted in significant benefits on effective parenting practices and teacher ratings of child behavior problems in school. Intervention effects were of similar magnitude for families at different levels of risk and for Black and Latino…
