Report, Other
Children need and deserve financial and emotional support from both their parents. You will see from this webpage report how important it can be to have dad's involvement in children's education. The positive effects of father involvement have been a fairly consistent finding in studies of two-parent families. Now a growing body of research is showing that financial support and the positive involvement of a father, including cooperation between parents, increase positive outcomes for children who do not live with both of their parents. Moreover, research that separates father involvement…
There is overwhelming evidence that a parent's involvement in a child's education makes a very positive difference. In the past, often an unstated assumption was made that 'parent involvement' meant 'mothers' involvement.' New research shows that the involvement of both mother and father is important. Given this finding, together with the lack of previous work on expanding fathers' involvement, this report describes new opportunities in this area. Research has shown that fathers, no matter what their income or cultural background, can play a critical role in their children's education.…
Since father absence is associated with adverse outcomes for children, one would expect greater father involvement to obviate the negative effects of experiencing a single-parent family. Yet, many studies do not demonstrate that greater father-child interaction has beneficial effects for children and adolescents. This is because the quality of father involvement may be more important for children's wellbeing than the quantity. Using data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement, this paper examines how father-child closeness may mediate the effects of family…
Research indicates certain qualities of the parental relationship can serve as a benchmark for the degree of involvement of unwed fathers and their children. This paper explores characteristics of parental relationships and unwed paternal involvement, as well as other causal factors that can affect the role of unwed fathers in their children's lives. The authors examined data in the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, a large longitudinal study of parental relationships, involvement, and child well-being and development. A total of 3,600 children born to unmarried parents in 20 large…
This study examines the role and influence of fathers and father figures in the lives of African American adolescent girls (N=302) from a representative sample of poor and low-income families. Sixty five percent of the adolescents identified a primary father, of whom two-thirds were biological fathers and one-third were father figures. Adolescent girls reported more contentious and less close relationships with biological fathers than with father figures. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that fathers' emotional disengagement predicted greater depressive symptomatology and behavioral…
This report is the latest in a series based on the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities. Results of the survey show that in 1999 state and federal prisons held an estimated 721,500 parents of minor children. A majority of state (55 percent) and federal (63 percent) prisoners reported having a child under the age of 18. Forty-six percent of the parents reported living with their children prior to incarceration. The survey estimates that 336,300 U.S. households with minor children are affected by the imprisonment of a resident parent. The parents reported having…
The third in a series of biennial reports describes state programs and efforts intended to promote healthy child development and family relationships, school readiness, and economic security. State profiles highlight programs funded in fiscal year 2000 that focus on child development and family relationships in the general population. Policies regarding wage and income supports, child care assistance, and health and nutrition assistance also are identified as initiatives supporting economic security. Nationwide, the states utilized four types of programs to serve infants and toddlers and…
