red dot icon
Journal Article Father involvement in families of urban American Indians has been a neglected area of research. In this study, the authors examined the associations among parental relationship quality, father involvement, and coresidence. The authors conducted a multiple group analysis through structural equation modeling comparing 107 American Indian fathers with fathers of the general population in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Although the results were similar between groups, findings indicated two key differences for urban American Indians. First, emotional supportiveness had a stronger…
red dot icon
Journal Article In response to decreasing marriage rates among childbearing couples, public policy has sought to reinforce the notion that marriage and fatherhood are a package deal. However, what remains unclear is whether the ideology and values of the policymakers promoting marriage and fatherhood as a package deal represent the values of the men targeted by the policy initiatives. In an attempt to respond to this question, this preliminary study presents the findings from a qualitative analysis of 33 African American adult males’ attitudes toward marriage and romantic relationships. The findings revealed…
red dot icon
Journal Article This grounded theory study examined how 20 newly divorced, nonresidential fathers believe their physical involvement with their children allows them to maintain an Involved Father identity. Their identities, however, were negatively influenced by five barriers--Rushed Time; The Legal System; Geographic Distance; Negative Perception of Child Support; and Higher Conflict Former Spouse Relationships. Finally, fathers described four ways they were able to reframe their barriers, which negated their negative influence: Reframing Priorities; Reframing Time; Reframing the Relationship with Former…
red dot icon
Journal Article This study investigated the associations between fathers' contributions to housework and childcare and both spouses' parenting aggravation. It was hypothesized that greater father contributions to domestic labor would be associated with more paternal aggravation but less maternal aggravation. Data are from a four-wave study of 178 married couples undergoing the transition to first parenthood. Dyadic growth-curve models revealed gender differences in aggravation trajectories over the first year of the child's life. Fathers were higher in initial aggravation, but mothers' aggravation grew at a…
red dot icon
Journal Article Prior research has established the importance of co-parenting for child outcomes, yet little is known about how co-parenting influences parents themselves. The current study expands on the prior literature by examining an important aspect of co-parenting, perceived parenting agreement, and exploring the longitudinal association of perceived parenting agreement with new parents' depression, positive affect, and relationship satisfaction during the transition to parenthood. Using a dyadic approach, results indicated there were significant actor effects of parenting agreement on both mothers'…
This guide addresses the importance of promoting healthy family and marital relationships as an effective strategy to improve interpersonal relationships and productivity in the workplace. This guide focuses on specific steps employers can take to support employees, enhance their interpersonal skills, and reduce family stress by improving coping skills. It also highlights promising practices by leading American companies that recognize the importance of investing in healthy relationships for both hourly workers and full-time staff. (Author abstract)
red dot icon
Journal Article Background: Previous studies suggest a link between parental separation or divorce and risk of depression in adolescence. There are, however, few studies that have prospectively examined the effects of timing of biological father absence on risk for depressive symptoms in adolescence while controlling for a range of confounding factors.Method: We examine the association between father absence occurring in early (the first 5 years) and middle childhood (5-10 years) and adolescent depressive symptoms in a sample comprising 5631 children from the UK-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and…
red dot icon
Journal Article Substantial declines in employment and earnings among disadvantaged men may be exacerbated by child support enforcement policies that are designed to help support families but may have the unintended consequence of discouraging fathers' employment. Disentangling causal effects is challenging because high child support debt may be both a cause and a consequence of unemployment and low child support order compliance. We used childbirth costs charged in unmarried mothers' Medicaid-covered childbirths, from Wisconsin administrative records, as an exogenous source of variation to identify the…
red dot icon
Journal Article We investigated the association of prenatal assessments of mothers' and fathers' self-reported romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance with the time mothers and fathers reported in proximity-focused and exploration-focused engagement with their infants at 9 months postpartum. Our sample of 136 dual-earner couples came from a larger longitudinal study of the transition to parenthood. Time in proximity-focused (interactions that emphasize physical or emotional connection) and exploration-focused (activities that stimulate and build knowledge of the world) engagement on workdays and nonwork…
red dot icon
Journal Article We introduce a conceptual framework incorporating the various domains that programs and services must address when considering the needs of separating and separated/divorced fathers. The three core domains are: (1) Support for reconfiguring family structure, attending to transitions associated with decoupling while maintaining a co-parenting relationship; (2) Support for parenting, including acquisition of parenting skills and knowledge about the effects of separation/divorce on children; and (3) Support for psychosocial needs, addressing issues such as mental health, substance abuse, and…
