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Journal Article Exposure to community violence is a risk factor for internalizing and externalizing problems; however, resources within the family can decrease the likelihood that adolescents will experience internalizing and externalizing problems as a result of such exposure. This study investigates the potential moderating effects of kinship support (i.e., emotional and tangible support from extended family) and parental involvement on the relation between exposure to community violence (i.e., witnessing violence and violent victimization) and socioemotional adjustment (i.e., internalizing and…
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Journal Article This study explored the relationship between the involvement of biological fathers and the sexual risk behaviors and dating violence/victimization and/or perpetration of adolescent girls. The data used in this cross-sectional analysis were drawn from the second wave of the public release of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Only adolescents who reported their biological sex as female, reported a history of being sexually active, and reported having a romantic partner in the previous 18 months were selected (N = 879). This study focused on overall positive sexual behaviors…
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Journal Article Background: Despite robust evidence of fathers' impact on children and mothers, engaging with fathers is one of the least well-explored and articulated aspects of parenting interventions. It is therefore critical to evaluate implicit and explicit biases manifested in current approaches to research, intervention, and policy. Methods: We conducted a systematic database and a thematic hand search of the global literature on parenting interventions. Studies were selected from Medline, Psychinfo, SSCI, and Cochrane databases, and from gray literature on parenting programs, using multiple search…
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Journal Article This special issue is the result of a successful collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and researchers leading four important longitudinal studies on intergenerational patterns of violence: The Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study (E-Risk); the Family Transitions Project (FTP); the Lehigh Longitudinal Study; and the Rochester Youth Development Study. The papers included in this issue investigate the role of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and social contexts in the lives of children and their caregivers, provide insight into complex…
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Journal Article Purpose: Harsh, abusive, and rejecting behavior by parents toward their children is associated with increased risk for many developmental problems for youth. Earlier research also shows that children raised by harsh parents are more likely to treat their own children harshly. The present study evaluated nurturing and supportive behaviors of spouses or cohabiting romantic partners hypothesized to strengthen co-parent relationships and help break this intergenerational cycle of harsh parenting. Methods: Data come from the Family Transitions Project, a 22-year, 3-generation study of a cohort of…
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Journal Article The situation of children exposed to intimate partner violence ( IPV) raises certain issues related to child neglect. Little is known about how children exposed to IPV perceive and describe their living conditions. This paper addresses this lack by analysing aspects of fathers' care in descriptions given by children whose fathers have subjected the mothers to IPV. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with 10 children aged 8-12 years. Three themes constitute the results. First, the fathers are not described by the children as engaged and responsible care providers. Second, in their…
Unpublished Paper
Guided by ecological resilience perspectives this study examined the association between various risk factors (neighborhood risk, discrimination, peer victimization, fathers' risk behaviors) and African American and Latino adolescent boys' physical and relational aggression. Fathers' parenting behaviors were examined primarily as mediators and moderators of those associations to determine how they might exacerbate or protect against those risks. Both adolescents and their fathers reported on fathers' parenting behaviors. Data were collected from 234 adolescents (mean age of 15.17, 34.2%…
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Journal Article A large percentage of men who perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV) are fathers who continue to live with or have visitation with their children. Yet, providers rarely consider that fathers who perpetrate IPV may benefit from a parent-child focused intervention. Therapeutic work with men who perpetrate IPV, especially with their children, is complex, considering that issues of child safety take precedence. This article is meant to provide (a) a rationale for considering father-child intervention in the context of IPV, (b) specific strategies for assessment, (c) guidelines for determining…
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Journal Article The current study examined the relationship of maternal- and paternal-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) to children's internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. Mother-child dyads (N = 53; child ages 8?11) reported maternal- and paternal-perpetrated IPV exposure and measures of child symptomatology. Results demonstrated that: (a) maternal- and paternal-perpetrated IPV have similar but not identical relations with child outcomes, (b) mothers' and children's reports of paternal-perpetrated IPV were positively related, (c) mother and child report of maternal- and paternal-…
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Journal Article This qualitative study represents one of the first efforts to examine how African American fathers protect their children from community violence. Eighteen African American biological and "social" fathers of preschoolers in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area participated in focus groups addressing parenting in violent neighborhoods. Fathers described seven protective strategies reflecting three major themes: monitoring children, educating children about safety, and improving community life. These strategies are discussed within the context of African American values, traditions, and…
