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Journal Article This study examined social-emotional variables and parenting views of fathers of infants born to adolescent mothers. A convenience sample consisted of 15 fathers of infants born to adolescent mothers, 15 age-matched non-parenting male peers, and 15 adolescent mothers. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were used. Although results showed significant differences between fathers and peers and between fathers and adolescent mothers, the fathers and adolescent mothers were more alike than the fathers and peers. Although the majority of fathers and peers view parenthood as increased…
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Journal Article The articles in this issue of The Prevention Researcher highlight findings about the involvement of teen fathers in the lives of their children and the link between teen fatherhood and delinquent behavior. Studies cited in the journal indicate that father involvement depends primarily on the relationship between the child's parents. Fathers who resided with their child's mother or who maintained a good relationship with her had greater contact with their children. Other influences included ethnocultural socialization, family history, relationships with the mother's family, and welfare reform…
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Journal Article Although teenage pregnancy is at the center of much current social concern and political debate, the focus tends to be on the young mothers and their children. The lives and parenting experiences of young fathers typically receive less attention from researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. This article presents findings from a qualitative research study of 25 low-income young fathers. Young men were asked questions about their own life experiences and social contexts, their connections with their children and female partners, and the implications these had for sense of self. They were…
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Journal Article Stricter child support enforcement may reduce unwed childbearing by raising the costs of fatherhood. The authors investigate this hypothesis using a sample of young women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, to which they add information on state child support enforcement. Models of the probability of a teenage premarital birth and of teenage premarital pregnancy and pregnancy resolution provide tentative evidence that during the early 1980s, teens living in states with higher rates of paternity establishment were less likely to become unwed mothers. This relationship is stronger…
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Journal Article We identify explanatory risk variables associated with the co-occurrence of two problem behaviors: juvenile offending and adolescent fatherhood. Data were gathered from a 5-year prospective, longitudinal study of 531 incarcerated juvenile offenders as they transitioned from youth correction facilities back into the community. Of the total sample, 125 (28.3%) of the male participants reported fatherhood before their 20th birthday. Six risk variables were predictive of adolescent fatherhood in this sample: (a) gang member, (b) resided with non-biological parent as primary caretaker, (c) low SES…
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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…
Brief
For the roughly 150,000 babies born each year to unwed minors, paternity establishment is a complicated issue. Paternity establishment provides children with crucial financial and emotional support and access to larger extended families. At the same time, it can cause problems for minor parents: immature youngsters might enter an ill-advised marriage; a young man might sign an acknowledgment for a child who is not his genetic offspring; or a young woman who is a victim of incest or statutory rape might be better off if paternity is not established. The potential rights, limitations, and…
