About one-third of births in the United States occur to unmarried parents. Evidence suggests that children who grow up in families headed by single parents have worse socioeconomic outcomes than those raised by married parents. "Fatherlessness" has become a byword in public debate and policymaking, yet fundamental questions about unmarried parents and their ideas of paternal responsibility remain unanswered.
In My Baby's Father, Maureen R. Waller draws on interviews with unmarried parents whose children receive welfare to address several basic, vital questions: How do low-income…
Qualitative research has provided valuable insights into the relationships between low income, urban, African American men and their children. This chapter summarizes findings from classic and recent studies about the impact of neighborhood characteristics, negotiations between fathers and mothers and their extended families, the social construct of fathers and mothers, and the variety of father figures who take responsibility for paternal tasks. Conducted by researchers in the fields of anthropology, education, human development, and sociology, the studies used techniques such as open-ended…
This chapter summarizes economic theory and evidence regarding the impact of welfare, child support enforcement, and labor markets on the lack of father involvement in circumstances such as divorce, legal separation, or nonmarital births. The discussion reviews trends in family structure and explains how public policy can enhance child well-being by promoting family structures that facilitate father involvement in children's lives. All economic theories about family structure are based on the assumption that individuals make the decision to marry or divorce by weighing the benefits of each…
Economic theory can be used to explain family behavior and trends in marriage, divorce, births, and child development. This chapter provides an economic perspective to explore questions about why some nonresident fathers withhold financial and emotional support from their children. The economic model includes variables such as the level of consumption by each parent and child, shared and private goods, the amount spent on children, parental cooperation, and differences in spending of fathers and mothers. The text summarizes evidence about trends in child support and visitation and the ability…
