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Journal Article Literature in developmental psychology suggests that mothers and fathers both play unique and important roles in their children’s development. However, research investigating the unique contributions and psychological functioning of fathers of youth with developmental disabilities, and the role that fathers play in effective intervention, remains limited. Whereas evidence suggests that parent-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can lead to increased engagement from parents, and reduced stress and psychopathology commonly experienced by parents of youth with…
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Journal Article Lower baseline testosterone (T) among men is generally associated with more sympathetic and nurturant responses to infant stimuli. The effect of exposure to infant crying on men’s levels of T, however, is not well understood. The present study aimed to measure men’s T responses to high and low levels of infant crying. Changes in fathers’ (n = 18) and non-fathers’ (n = 28) salivary T levels from baseline were measured in response to caring for an infant simulator programmed to cry often (high-demand condition) or infrequently (low-demand condition) during a 20-min caregiving simulation. Men…
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In August 2015, the HHS Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) awarded the New Hampshire Department of Education a multi-year Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) Program grant to support teen fathers and their families. The E3 Teen Fatherhood Program aims to increase the likelihood that teen fathers will develop skills and knowledge to lead successful lives and to fully engage in the parenting of their child(ren). To this end, the E3 program approach is to improve education, employment, and family engagement for teen fathers and to build a sustainable network of stakeholders and partners to serve the…
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Journal Article The majority of teen pregnancy literature and practice is deficit based, focusing on the consequences of teen pregnancy; significantly less research is devoted to the teens’ strengths. This article discusses the strengths-based perspective as a viable framework for clinicians and school social workers to implement to help teen parents and their families ameliorate some of the challenges they encounter. This article emphasizes the importance of clinicians, school social workers, and the community to adopt a strengths-based perspective when working with teen parents in order to cultivate…
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Journal Article African American paternal grandmothers serve an important role in influencing teenage fathers’ involvement with their children in that grandmothers’ support of their sons’ fathering practices is associated with increased father involvement. We used qualitative data from 53 paternal grandmothers to compare satisfaction with teenage sons’ fathering practices with their expectations for ideal fathering and identify reasons for inconsistencies between the two. Paternal grandmothers characterized three practices (providing financial support, being attentive, and performing day-to-day care) that…
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Journal Article Objectives. Because of their youth, adolescent parents often lack the interpersonal skills necessary to manage the relationship challenges involved in parenting, leaving them and their children vulnerable to the health risks associated with relational stress and conflict. The primary goal of this study was to test the efficacy of the Young Parenthood Program (YPP), a 10-week counseling program administered during pregnancy and designed to facilitate interpersonal skill development and positive parenting among adolescent parents. Methods. Participants included 105 pregnant adolescents and…
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Journal Article This study examined whether coparenting support and social support had a stronger effect on father engagement with 3-year-olds among adolescent fathers compared with adult fathers. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 1,540), we found that coparenting support and paternal social support had a significantly stronger positive effect on adolescent fathers than adult fathers. The associations among coparenting, social support, and adolescent father engagement did not depend on whether the father and mother were romantically involved with each other. The results…
Every baby that is born has a father as well as a mother. As obvious as that seems, when it comes to teen parents-- particularly unmarried teen parents-- the father often gets lost in the shuffle. The focus is on the infant, as it should be, and on the mother who has gone through the rigors of childbirth and now faces the sometimes overwhelming responsibilities of motherhood. Nevertheless, the young father also has feelings and worries and responsibilities to face. He too may feel overwhelmed and alone, but actually he is one of many adolescent males who finds themselves in this situation…
Written to welcome young dads into school and hospital programs or as a gift to encourage young fathers, this guide comes with a soft cover so it can be rolled up and put into a young dad's pocket. Thoughts of a young dad, getting along with the baby's mother and family, establishing paternity, plans for career and education, understanding pregnancy and birth, the importance of fathers, and caring for a crying baby are among the many topics. It also has an extensive resource section. Written for young dads-to-be between the ages of 13 and 25, this book is an easy and fast read. (Author…
After-school specials about teenage pregnancy abound. Whether in television or in society, the focus tends to towards young girls coping with all of the emotional and physical burdens of pregnancy. Rarely is the perspective of the teenage fathers portrayed.
In this informative book, Mark Kiselica draws on his many years of counseling teenage fathers to offer a compassionate look at the difficult life circumstances and the complicated hardships these young men experience. Through vignettes of real-life experiences, based on Kiselica's many years of counseling, readers are offiered a…
