This text reviews the impact of fatherhood on the adult developmental process. The interdisciplinary perspective addresses lifespan issues within the domains of self, social relationships, and work. Specific topics include the variety of fathering arrangements, theories about parenting, the benefits of fatherhood for men, emotional aspects of fathering, the influence of faith and morality, health, and community involvement. In addition to a review of previous research, the discussion reports the findings of a qualitative study of the experiences of 40 fathers aged 20 to 45 years old. Major…
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The Parenting Wisely intervention is a self-administered, computer-based program that teaches parents and their 9- to 18-year-old children important skills for combating risk factors for substance use and abuse. It uses a risk-focused approach to reduce family conflict and child behavior problems, including stealing, vandalism, defiance of authority, bullying, and poor hygiene. The program is designed to: (1) teach parents effective child supervision and disciplinary skills and increase parental involvement; (2) teach parents and their children communication skills; (3) improve family problem…
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Journal Article This study examined the association between fathers' alcoholism and other risk factors such as parental depression, family conflict, infant temperament, and parent-infant attachment. The quality of parent-infant interactions was hypothesized to be a proximal mediator of the associations among alcoholism and other risk factors and attachment. The participants were 223 families (104 nonalcoholic families and 119 alcoholic families) with 12-month-old infants recruited through birth records. Infants in families with two parents with alcohol problem had significantly higher rates of insecure…
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Journal Article Recognizing that most poor families are single-parent families, the federal welfare reform law of 1996 emphasized the responsibility of both parents to support their children. In addition to strengthening the child support enforcement system, the law included several provisions designed to decrease childbearing outside of marriage and to promote two-parent families. This article focuses on the important role that fathers play in children's lives and how public policies have affected childbearing and father involvement. Key observations are: Compared with children living with both biological…
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Journal Article This paper argues that the determination of legal parenthood should fundamentally be about identity; that is, it should be seen as providing an answer to the question: to which family does this child belong? The paper approaches the issue by, first, noting that the determination of legal parenthood has become one of the most contentious issues in family, and that this has ironically happened because of the combination of greater certainty in the determination of biological paternity, and greater instability in family relationships. The historic strategy of using the stigma against…
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In Colorado, it is estimated that 15,500 children currently have a parent in prison. A much larger number have experienced the incarceration of a parent at some point in their lives. Serving time in prison does not mean that you have lost your right to make decisions about the care of your children or that your relationships with your children have become any less important. This manual gives parents ways to keep their family together behind the wall as well as help them to understand the importance of dealing with custody issues. (Author abstract, modified).
Helping Your Kids Connect provides you with a variety of different activities that will help keep your children connected to their parent while he or she is away. This handbook is divided into six sections to help you quickly find the activities that are age appropriate for your children. The first five sections are divided by age groups and the last section is a mixture of activities for all age groups. When you have a moment, we suggest you read through all of the sections. With a little bit of creativity, you can change the other activities to be age appropriate for your children. (Author…
This booklet describes strategies adults can use to co-parent effectively whether living together or apart. Information is provided on the benefits of co-parenting, developing a parenting plan, building a strong parenting team, communicating effectively, working out disagreements, providing appropriate discipline to children, and working as a team with your co-parent. Specific tips are then given for co-parenting when parents are living apart.
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Training Materials Designed for parents, this notebook includes exercises for the Raising Resilient Youth parent training component of the Creating Lasting Family Connections Curriculum, a curriculum for promoting the healthy development of youth at risk for alcohol and other drug abuse. After providing information on the Council on Prevention and Education: Substances, Inc. (COPES), the notebook outlines the individual training components that make up the Creating Lasting Family Connections prevention program model and includes an overview of the Raising Resilient Youth training. Brief articles, exercises,…
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Training Materials Designed for trainers, this manual presents the Raising Resilient Youth parent training component of the Creating Lasting Family Connections Curriculum, a curriculum for promoting the healthy development of youth at risk for alcohol and other drug abuse. After providing information on the Council on Prevention and Education: Substances, Inc. (COPES) and research findings on the effectiveness of the Creating Lasting Connections project, the manual outlines the individual training components that make up the Creating Lasting Family Connections prevention program model and provides an overview…
