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Journal Article Recent trends in marriage and fertility have increased the number of adults having children by more than 1 partner, a phenomenon that we refer to as multipartnered fertility. This article uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the prevalence and correlates of multipartnered fertility among urban parents of a recent birth cohort (N = 4,300). We find that unmarried parents are much more likely to have had a child by a previous partner than married parents. Also, race/ethnicity is strongly associated with multipartnered fertility, as is mothers' young age at…
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Journal Article In "Fatherhood, Cohabitation, and Marriage," Wade F. Horn, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services, summarizes the importance of fathers to child well-being. He explains that "fatherlessness is a significant risk factor for poor developmental outcomes for children." This connection has led some observers to view cohabitation as a substitute or at least an alternative to marriage. Horn argues, however, that marriage is the best option for children and that cohabitation is a weak family structure compared with marriage. Children in households…
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Journal Article This research links residence with biological and nonbiological married and unmarried parents to the cognitive achievement and behavioral problems of children aged 3-12, controlling for factors that make such families different. The data were drawn from the 1997 Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Achievement differences were not associated with father family structure per se, but with demographic and economic factors that differ across families. In contrast, behavioral problems were linked to family structure even after controls for measured and unmeasured…
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Journal Article The present study was conducted to investigate differences in nurturant fathering, father involvement, and young adult psychosocial functioning among small samples of three nontraditional family forms. A total of 168 young-adult university students from three family forms (27 adoptive, 22 adoptive stepfather, 119 nonadoptive stepfather) completed retrospective measures of nurturant fathering and father involvement and measures of current psychosocial functioning. Results indicated that adoptive fathers were rated as the most nurturant and involved and that nonadoptive stepfathers were…
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Journal Article This article uses a sample of 867 African American households to investigate differences in parenting practices and child outcomes by type of household. Results indicate that mothers provide similar levels of parenting regardless of family structure. Secondary caregivers, however, show a great deal of variation in quality of parenting. Fathers and grandmothers engage in the highest quality parenting, stepfathers the poorest, with other relatives falling in between. These differences in parenting do not explain family structure differences in child behavior problems. Results suggest that…
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Journal Article Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the authors explore how aspects of stepfather involvement are related to adolescent well-being and whether these relationships depend on maternal involvement, non-residential father involvement, or amount of time in the household. Results indicate that a close, nonconflictual stepfather-stepchild relationship improves adolescent well-being, but it is most beneficial when the adolescent also has a close, nonconflictual mother-child relationship. Engaging in shared activities with the stepfather decreases depression when the…
Part One: Coming to Know Fathers' Stories. Chapter 1) Studying Men, Mothering, and Fathering. Chapter 2) Knowing Fathers' Stories Through Gossamer Walls. Chapter 3) Understanding Fathers as Primary Caregivers. Part Two: Do Men Mother? Fathering and Responsibilities. Chapter 4) Fathers and Emotional Responsibility. Chapter 5) Fathers and Community Responsibility. Chapter 6) Fathering, Mothering, and Moral Responsibility. Part Three: Conclusion and Postscript: Men and Fathering. Chapter 7) Conclusion: Men Reconstructing Fathering.
Written from a Christian perspective, this text discusses the God-given role fathers have to protect and provide for their families. The first two chapters explain authentic manhood and authentic fatherhood. The chapters explore God's creation of man, the power of fathers, and the role of fathers as spiritual leaders of the family. Chapter 3 probes the experiences of men with their own fathers and describes strategies for reconciling with parents to come to terms with the past. The following chapters discuss the importance of creating bonding experiences with a son and mistakes all dads make…
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Journal Article The father-child relationship and father's parenting style are examined as predictors of first delinquency and substance use, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, Rounds 1 to 3 (N= 5,345), among adolescents in intact families. Discrete time logistic regressions indicate that a more positive father-child relationship predicts a reduced risk of engagement in multiple first risky behaviors. Having a father with an authoritarian parenting style is associated with an increased risk of engaging in delinquent activity and substance use. Two-way interaction models further…
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Journal Article Narrative analysis of semistructured interviews with 64 young adults (98% African American) revealed their idealized views of biological fathers. Interviews contained descriptions of current father contacts as well. Data were informed by prospective quantitative information on father-child contact from infancy to age 15. Ideally, biological fathers give children personal presence, material support, counsel, and guidance. Each relationship was classified as either: deceased, unknown, known but not involved, or involved; analysis showed that the extent of early contact tended to predict these…
