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Journal Article This article reviews research findings on the role of fathers in teenage parenthood. Findings indicate that the men who father children by teenage mothers tend to be a few years older than their teenage partners, and tend to be from low socio-economic backgrounds, experience lower educational attainment, and have fewer employment opportunities than their childless peers. They also tend to experience greater psychological and emotional difficulties and may have a history of delinquent behavior. While relationships between fathers, teenage mothers, and their children appear prone to…
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Journal Article Teenage birthrates remain higher in the United States than any other developed country. While there is broad consensus that teenage pregnancy is a major societal problem, the fathers of these children usually receive little attention. The purpose of this study is to provide understanding about the procreative consciousness and responsibility of 14 young fathers. The findings indicate that they have not learned much, if anything, about sex from their parents or schools. Their sexual activities seem to reveal little concern about preventing unwanted pregnancy. Yet, the reality of new offspring…
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This tip sheet offers ten tips for parents related to guidelines on dating and parental expectations. It encourages parents to talk with their children about sex, and that it will not encourage them to become sexually active. It explains the importance of parental involvement and role modeling.
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Research and policy in the United States have focused much more on teen mothers than on teen fathers. One reason for this discrepancy is that birth certificates contain limited information on the birth fathers, which makes it difficult to even get an accurate count of teen fathers. However, new Child Trends' estimates show that 9 percent--or 900,000--young men between the ages of 12 and 16 in 1996 (reflecting the group of young men examined in this brief) became fathers before their twentieth birthday. Despite the size of this group, relatively little is known about the characteristics and…
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Journal Article We investigated maternal perceptions of responsible fathering among pregnant and parenting teenage mothers by interviewing 10 adolescent mothers. Mothers responded to what being a responsible father means to them and described the degree of involvement by the father of their children. Five primary themes emerged as characteristics of responsible fathers: "being there" for the child, helping to take care of the child, loving and caring for the child, providing financial support, and playing with the child. Seven major themes developed in response to mothers' perceptions of their children's…
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Journal Article This article presents research results concerning the relationships young fathers have with social service organizations, in particular, those which offer assistance specifically tailored to young fathers' needs or those responsible for child and youth protection. These results are drawn from a broader qualitative study in which interview and focus-group data were collected from fathers who had had a child at an early age. A literature review first provides an overview of various facets of the experience of young fathers and of the services they need. The literature and the voices of young…
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Journal Article The purpose of this study was to examine ethnic and marital status differences in family structure, risk behaviors and service requests among African American and Hispanic adolescent fathers participating in a community-based fatherhood program. Demographic factors, risk behaviors, and service requests were gathered at program entry. The results indicated that each group demonstrated distinct patterns associated with family structure, sexual risk behaviors, substance use, and criminal behavior. In comparison to African American fathers, Hispanic fathers were younger and were more likely to be…
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Journal Article This study explored the lived experience of parenting that may inform individual health practices and behavior of young, ethnic minority, primarily Latino parents, participants in a HIV prevention intervention. Narrative accounts from parents (N = 90) were analyzed to illuminate the impact of parental protectiveness and aspirations for the child. Focus groups (n = 23) were utilized to generate a nuanced understanding of young parenthood. Self-reflective, complex, and multidimensional perspectives on parental protectiveness emerged along themes: (a) "growing up thoughtful," (b) "you gotta…
In 1991, P/PV designed the Young Unwed Fathers Pilot Project to see if young, economically disadvantaged fathers would enter a program that provided job training, education, counseling and parenting services for up to 18 months, and if participation would lead to an increased capacity to support their children, both financially and developmentally. This report presents a detailed look at selected aspects of the lives of the young fathers before and during program participation, including their attitudes and relationships with the mothers of their children. It also evaluates employment and…
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Journal Article Data from the Fragile Families and Child-Well-being Study were used to examine predictors of involvement among fathers of young children ( N=2,215) born to adolescent and young adult mothers (ages 14-25; N=2,850). Participants were interviewed immediately following their baby's birth and at 3-years postpartum regarding co-parental relationship quality, fathers' caretaking behavior ("father involvement"), and fathers' provision of material support for the child ("in-kind" support). Early postnatal and 3-year postpartum parental relationship quality and father-child cohabitation predicted 3-…
