Brief
A two-generation approach to public policies brings together worlds that are often separated (focusing only on children or only on parents) to modify or create new policies that focus on the needs of parents and children together. Two-generation policies reflect strong research findings that the well-being of parents is a crucial ingredient in children’s social-emotional, physical, and economic well-being. And at the same time, parents’ ability to succeed in school and the workplace is substantially affected by how well their children are doing. Two-generation programs and policies are not a…
Brief
Intended for prevention practitioners, this brief promotes the use of a positive youth development framework that addresses both risk and protective factors to address alcohol abuse and suicide among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) adolescents. It begins by providing an overview of the scope of these related problems in Indian Country and identifying four key factors that have been shown to protect AI/AN youth: attachment with caring adults, mastery and self-control, a sense of belonging, and spirituality. These factors are discussed and illustrative examples of positive youth…
Brief
The Fatherhood Research and Practice Network (FRPN) convened a workgroup of experts in the field of fatherhood and father involvement to develop a research agenda that defines the state of the current research in this area, identifies extant gaps in this research, and generates suggestions for future research. The goal is for the workgroup's ideas to inform subsequent funding by the FRPN for evaluation and research projects that seek to enhance our collective understanding of the important role fathers play in the lives of their children and how programs and policies can strengthen this role…
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This brief focuses on paternal involvement in high school. I find that young adults who as teens had involved fathers are significantly more likely to graduate from college, and that young adults from more privileged backgrounds are especially likely to have had an involved father in their lives as teens. (Author abstract)
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This brief uses new, nationally representative data from The National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) —funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—to describe critical elements in the decision-making process of parents and other caregivers regarding the non-parental care of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Respondents (usually parents) in 4,340 households in which the “selected child” is age birth to 60 months were asked about the following types of care:…
Brief
This brief summarizes data on the impact of the family environment on adolescent well-being. Findings indicate: 65% of adolescents have parents who say they can communicate very well with their child about things that really matter; less than half of adolescents eat meals with their families at least six nights a week, although it is more common among poor families, Hispanic families, and first- or second-generation immigrant families; smoking is more common among single parents, particularly among Hispanic families and those with incomes at or above poverty; over 80% of adolescents with…
Brief
This brief seeks to identify patterns and transitions during emerging adulthood to obtain a better understanding of the likelihood that young adults will experience a lower-risk transition to adulthood. Panel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was analyzed (Add Health, N=12,166), using person-centered analyses, to examine the odds of youth engaging in lower-risk patterns/trajectories, specifically, minimal problems with heavy alcohol use, illicit drug use, criminal behavior, and financial hardship. Lower risk transitions were defined as avoiding or overcoming…
