This report presents findings from an in-depth qualitative exploration of adults’ perceptions of the threats facing children. Surveys were conducted with geographically, ethnically, and age-diverse group of parents, step-parents, grandparents, step-grandparents, grown siblings, aunts, uncles and other adults (n=100) on a wide range of topics including: top perceived threats to the welfare, wellness and well-being of today’s children, barriers currently in their path can interfere with the future of young people, physical and emotional issues, including health, obesity, bullying, and teen…
This paper discusses the need for targeted public investment in children’s mental and behavioral health and opportunities presented by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) for promoting children’s cognitive, affective, and behavioral health. The following points are made: emphases within the ACA for prevention and coordination of care enable more family focus, or the two-generation framework, however, important gaps remain that threaten the reach of evidence-based, family-focused health care and ultimately, healthy development; there are untapped opportunities to deliver…
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Journal Article When their children are born, most unmarried parents have high expectations for the future, but they are particularly vulnerable to financial and relationship instability. Their children are disproportionately likely to experience negative health and wellbeing outcomes, in part because of low father involvement. We provide an overview of the findings in this area, drawing primarily from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and two studies conducted by the Child and Family Research Partnership at The University of Texas at Austin. We conclude that father involvement is largely a…
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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,…
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Journal Article Increasing the involvement of fathers in child safeguarding is an issue which has seen relatively little practice innovation in mainstream services. This article concerns a bold attempt to improve practice in this domain through a systemic approach. Key findings are presented from an evaluation of a Fatherhood Institute project in six English local authorities. The intervention was positively received and the self-efficacy of children's services staff improved on most measures as a result of training. However, not all planned aspects of the project could be implemented. The article reflects…
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Journal Article The objectives of the present study are to identify sociodemographic factors associated with father nurturance and assess the relationship between parental (mother and father) nurturance and youth psychological well-being among 216 African American college-aged youth. Participants attended a historically Black college in the Mid-Atlantic region. Findings indicated that the frequency and duration of the participants’ interactions with their fathers were associated with levels of father nurturance. Youth whose mothers and fathers were married or cohabitating, compared with those who were…
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Journal Article This issue on fathers was conceived as a rallying cry for all professionals to examine their practices of including fathers in their services. For too long, infant mental health professionals have either ignored fathers' important influences on infants and toddlers or have given lip-service to their importance while allowing the status quo of not including fathers to continue. This article provides history and context for the impetus behind --and the hurdles to--moving from focusing on dyads to family systems, and it highlights a few forward-looking new programs and initiatives already…
Brief
This brief discusses ways to leverage policy and practice opportunities to support positive outcomes for young men of color. It offers a set of solution-centered policies and strategies to address barriers to success for them, including education equity, workforce development and training, youth development and wellbeing, and public investment in young people.
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Journal Article Fathers’ parenting behavior is a likely key mechanism underlying the consistent associations between paternal mental health difficulties and poor emotional–behavioral outcomes for children. This study investigates the association between fathers’ mental health trajectories and key parenting behaviors (warmth, hostility, consistency) spanning the first 8–9 years postpartum. Secondary analyses of 5 waves of data from 2,662 fathers participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were conducted. Latent growth class analysis was used to identify distinct trajectories of fathers’…
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Journal Article Extant research on parental involvement in education has been conducted largely without respect to which parent is involved. The implicit assumption is that family–school relationship frameworks function similarly for fathers and mothers. Although there is a growing body of research examining fathers’ involvement in education, this assumption has not been tested. In this meta-analysis, we examined the relative strength of the association between educational involvement of fathers versus mothers and achievement of school-age children (kindergarten to 12th grade). The association of…
