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Journal Article The purpose of this study was to explore the relation between self-esteem, sociodemographic factors, father-daughter relationships, and sexual risk-taking in an economically diverse group of late-adolescent African American girls. Participants were 100 African American adolescent girls from the Southeast region of the U.S. Regression analyses revealed that fathers' education was the most powerful predictor of sexual risk, with self-esteem emerging as a significant, yet less powerful predictor. A subset of the initial sample participated in a secondary, qualitative study explicitly examining…
There has been a growing national emphasis over recent years on increasingfathers' (and particularly, noncustodial fathers') involvement with theirfamilies, an emphasis that focuses on everything from financial supportto emotional nurture. However, it has become apparent that low-incomenoncustodial fathers have been affected very differently by these effortsthan have been wealthier fathers. Many of the recent legislative and policyinitiatives have been directed at augmenting noncustodial fathers' financialsupport of their children. For fathers whose children receive (or havereceived) public…
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Journal Article Using the 1994-1998 waves of the Current Population Survey--Child Support Supplement (N =5,387), the aims of this study are to document child support obligation rates of nonresident fathers, to examine the effect of the obligation rate on child support compliance, and to calculate the trade-off between fathers' financial responsibility and children's well-being, paying particular attention to low-income fathers. The results indicate that low-income fathers have high child support obligation rates, which significantly reduce their child support compliance. Although lowering the obligation rate…
Brief
This brief is on father-involvement programs that seek to sustain and grow low-income, nonresidential fathers' emotional and financial involvement in their children's lives. Such programs can strengthen families by enabling: Low-income children to receive emotional support from both parents; Poor children to have improved economic circumstances if increased child support raises family income; Noncustodial fathers to overcome child support problems and insufficient employment, both of which are primary barriers to father involvement; and Human service agencies to attend to the whole family,…
This book explores barriers facing disadvantaged young men and policies that can be implemented to improve the educational and employment opportunities available to disconnected young men, particularly African American and Hispanic young men. It specifically focuses on the following areas of policy: enhancing education, training, and employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth by focusing on individual policy components and on building these components into community systems; improving the incentives of less-skilled young workers to accept employment by raising minimum wages or…
Data and sources of information on the effects of father absence on poverty, maternal and child health, incarceration, crime, teen pregnancy, child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, education, and childhood obesity.
This chapter draws upon 14 years of related ethnographic studies to uncover the principal features that characterize family life among the poor. Experiences dealing with multiple agencies are discussed, as well as experiences dealing with health problems in the context of the U.S. medical care system, and the aftermaths of household emergencies. 34 references.
This chapter reviews how theorists and policymakers portray the state’s capacity to alter the behavior and beliefs of low income parents and then highlights findings from a study of two women’s experiences in their efforts to find jobs and supportive resources. Finding a job and securing welfare supports were linked to their parenting pathway, however, the mothers’ first concern was their children’s well-being. The chapter concludes by exploring whether the motivating power of raising children might lead to a more effective family policy. 34 references. (Author abstract modified)
Findings are shared from a longitudinal, qualitative study that examined the links between urban poverty-related conditions and the quality of parent-child relationships in 10 families, specifically the care and protection of infants and toddlers. The effects on parenting of the family cap, subsidized child care, and welfare-to-work requirements are discussed. 22 references.
This chapter synthesizes the results of both quantitative experimental and qualitative research about how low-income children fare as their mothers spend more time in the labor market and attempt to strike a new balance between work and parenting. Findings indicate policies that effectively increase parental income as they increase employment improve the well-being of young children and are the most promising for helping families cope. Numerous references.
