This analysis draws on longitudinal, qualitative interviews with disadvantaged mothers and fathers who participated in the Fragile Families Study (a U.S. birth cohort study) to examine how issues related to men's employment, social support, skills, and motivation facilitated their care of young children in different relationship contexts. Interviews with parents indicate that while some motivated and skilled men actively chose to become caregivers with the support of mothers, others developed new motivations, skills, and parenting supports in response to situations in which they were out of…
This study, the first of its kind, provides an estimate of the taxpayer costs of father absence. More precisely, it estimates the annual expenditures made by the federal government to support father-absent homes. These federal expenditures include those made on thirteen means-tested antipoverty programs and child support enforcement, and the total expenditures add up to a startling $99.8 billion. (Author abstract)
Presents data from the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities about inmates who were parents and their minor children. This report compares estimates of the number of incarcerated parents and their children under the age of 18, by gender, age, race, and Hispanic origin in state and federal prisons in 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, and 2007. It presents the total number of children who were minors at some time during their parent's incarceration. The report describes selected background characteristics of parents in prisons, including marital status, citizenship,…
The subject of this paper is the association between the transition to fatherhood and men's work effort. We test three hypotheses: 1) that the transition to fatherhood is associated with an increase in work effort; 2) that the positive association (if any) between the transition to fatherhood and work effort is greater for fathers who are married at the time of the transition; and 3) that the association (if any) is greater for men who make the transition at younger ages. The data are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort. We find that the transition to fatherhood is…
This paper examines how child support, frequency of contact with children, and the relationship between nonresidential parents influence early adolescent reports of the involvement of fathers and mothers in their life. Data come from the Young Adult Study of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) that has followed the children of NLSY mothers from birth into their twenties. Results show that increases in child support and in contact with the child after separation are linked to a better coparental relationship at ages 11/12. This better relationship between parents is, in…
This study tested a model hypothesizing mothers' level of involvement as well as marital conflict, mothers' work hours, and father's status as biological or step father as influences on coresident father involvement. The analysis also tested hypotheses about mother involvement as a potential mediator of the effects of marital conflict and maternal work hours on father involvement, and hypotheses about factors influencing mother involvement. Primary data were provided by children aged 10-14 from the NLSY79 who resided with their biological or step father and with their mother. A composite…
Although research has demonstrated the importance of early parental interactions to the development of later adult romantic relationships, the influence of young adults' relations with their parents has yet to be determined. This paper examined how the relationship of young men and women with their own parents affects the quality of their later adult romantic relationships. Males and females (ages 17-34 years old) who participated in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - Young Adult Survey 2004 and were either cohabiting with a partner or married were included in the current study…
Over 1.5 million children in this country currently have one or both of their parents incarcerated. In addition to the trauma of this loss, these children face tremendous uncertainty in their living arrangements, relationships with loved ones, and family financial stability. Short-term coping responses and heavy stigma are common, both of which may lead to long-term emotional and behavioral challenges. This report reviews the current research on children with incarcerated parents and offers recommendations on how to reduce the negative impact of parental incarceration, with particular…
