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Journal Article Theory and research suggest that the transition to parenthood is a major life transition, and that adaptation to the parenting role is influenced by a complex set of factors, including the relationship with the child's mother, family of origin, and how the father is situated within sociocultural contexts. The father-mother relationship is particularly important for men making the transition to fatherhood. This study examined patterns of fathering among young fathers (15?24 years) and investigated how fathers' relationships with the mothers of their young children (infants and toddlers) were…
Brief
Many of the nation's most vexing domestic problems are linked with negative behaviors of and problems experienced by adolescent boys and young men. Delinquency and crime, school dropout, unemployment and nonwork, nonmarital births, and poverty are all associated disproportionately with young men. Two sets of public policies--wage subsidies and work requirements--that hold promise for helping young men increase their employment and earnings could thereby alleviate many of these social problems, especially poverty. (Author abstract)
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Journal Article We identify and discuss mothers' early strategies to recruit nonresidential biological fathers, intimate partners, male family members and friends, and paternal kin to support the needs of young children in low-income families. Using the concept of kinscription and longitudinal ethnographic data on 149 African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White families from Welfare, Children and Families: A Three-City Study, we developed a model of recruitment that includes three related processes: the search for legitimacy with conventional fathers and partners, the consequences of maternal advocacy…
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Journal Article To further examine culture-specific patterns of paternal involvement in childcare, assessments were made of fathers' and mothers' perceptions of their involvement in caring for and stimulating infants in 41 urban Kadazan families in Sabah, Malaysia. Mothers exceeded fathers in the amount of time they spent in cleaning, feeding, and playing with infants and in their levels of engagement in direct care of infants. With the exception of feeding and singing, fathers and mothers reported engaging in similar amounts of care and stimulation of infant boys and girls. The results are discussed in the…
Brief
Churches are bulwarks of marriage in urban America. Analyses of data from the Fragile Familiesand Child Wellbeing Study indicate that urban parents who attend church frequently are significantlymore likely to marry before the arrival of children or to marry in the wake of a nonmaritalpregnancy, and they are more likely to experience higher levels of relationship quality. The churchattendance of fathers is a particularly powerful predictor of marital behavior and relationshipquality. Religious attendance appears to foster behavior among urban fathers that makes them moreattractive mates and…
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Journal Article The salience of spirituality in African American family life is well documented. However, less is known about the role of spirituality in the parenting styles and practices of African American fathers generally or among those fathers rearing children in under-resourced, high-violence neighborhoods. African American families are disproportionately represented in communities characterized by violence, crime, and drug activity. This study explores how fathers residing in these neighborhoods rear their preschool sons and daughters and how spirituality relates to their fathering practices and…
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Journal Article Data from the Fragile Families and Child-Wellbeing Study were used to examine predictors of involvement among fathers of young children (N=2,215) born to adolescent and young adult mothers (ages 14-25; N=2,850). Participants were interviewed immediately following their baby's birth and at 3-years postpartum regarding co-parental relationship quality, fathers' caretaking behavior ("father involvement"), and fathers' provision of material support for the child ("in-kind" support). Early postnatal and 3-year postpartum parental relationship quality and father-child cohabitation predicted 3-…
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Journal Article Data from the Fragile Families and Child-Well-being Study were used to examine predictors of involvement among fathers of young children ( N=2,215) born to adolescent and young adult mothers (ages 14-25; N=2,850). Participants were interviewed immediately following their baby's birth and at 3-years postpartum regarding co-parental relationship quality, fathers' caretaking behavior ("father involvement"), and fathers' provision of material support for the child ("in-kind" support). Early postnatal and 3-year postpartum parental relationship quality and father-child cohabitation predicted 3-…
