Adult Fathers Research Articles

Influências paternas no desenvolvimento infantil: revisão da literatura

Este trabalho teve como objetivo revisar a produção científica na literatura nacional e internacional indexada, entre 1999 e 2003, de estudos empíricos que descreviam o relacionamento pai-filho de pais adultos com filhos de zero a seis anos ou que correlacionavam esse relacionamento com o desenvolvimento infantil. Foi realizada uma busca sistemática em três bases de dados bibliográficos (PsycInfo, LILACS e Periódicos Capes), utilizando as palavras-chave: pai (“father”), envolvimento paterno (“paternal involvement”), criança (“child”) e desenvolvimento infantil (“child development”). Foram identificados 12 artigos (quatro nacionais e oito internacionais) que foram analisados considerando diferentes aspectos (periódicos em que foram publicados, variáveis relacionadas, técnicas de coleta de dados utilizadas, principais resultados obtidos e indicações para pesquisas futuras). Constatou-se a carência de estudos sobre o tema em questão, principalmente no contexto brasileiro.

A interação pai-bebê entre pais adolescentes e adultos

Embora muitos estudos investiguem a maternidade na adolescência, poucos têm investigado a paternidade adolescente. Uma vez que o adolescente precisa cumprir diversas tarefas próprias da fase na qual se encontra, ele tenderia a ficar sobrecarregado com as tarefas adicionais decorrentes da paternidade. Em virtude disso, sua interação com o bebê seria menos responsiva do que a de pais adultos. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste estudo foi examinar eventuais diferenças entre pais adolescentes e adultos na interação com o bebê aos 3 meses de vida. Participaram do estudo 20 pais, sendo 9 adolescentes e 11 adultos, que esperavam seu primeiro filho. Quando o bebê completou 3 meses, foi realizada uma observação domiciliar da interação da díade pai-bebê. As análises não revelaram diferenças significativas na interação pai-bebê entre adolescentes e adultos. Estes resultados sugerem que a idade não é necessariamente um fator determinante da responsividade do pai em relação ao bebê. Ao contrário da expectativa inicial, estes adolescentes mostraram-se tão responsivos ao bebê quanto os pais adultos.

Support for adult biological fathers during termination of their partners’ pregnancies

Nobody denies the fact that termination of pregnancy has an effect on women, but very few people realise that termination of pregnancy also has a major impact on men.OpsommingNiemand ontken dat die beëindiging van swangerskap ‘n uitwerking op die vrou het nie, maar baie min mense besef dat die beëindiging van swangerskap ook ‘n beduidende invloed op mans het.
 
 *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.

Commentary: consensual adolescent sexual activity with adult partners--conflict between confidentiality and physician reporting requirements under child abuse laws.

Over the past several decades, sexual activity between unmarried adolescents and adult partners has received increased public scrutiny, especially as it relates to teenage pregnancy.1 Although the total adolescent birth rate has declined over the past decade, the birth rate for teenagers younger than 15 years has remained stable.2 Adult fathers are responsible for one quarter of births to adolescents <15 years of age, and they typically are nearly 9 years older than the mothers.3 Because this sexual behavior is associated with an increase in teenage pregnancy, with all of its associated social consequences, public policy has dictated better enforcement of laws that prohibit such activity. This is one reason for the revision and increased enforcement of many state statutory rape laws that criminalize certain sexual activity between adolescents and adult partners. Individuals, however, generally do not have a legal duty to report a crime. Thus, physician reporting of such sexual behavior under these criminal statutory rape laws is premised on ethical and other considerations. Physicians encountering teenagers involved in sexual relationships with adults may, however, be mandated to report such activity because of reporting requirements of child protection laws (ie, abuse and neglect), if the sexual activity is construed as abuse or neglect. A physician who becomes aware of sexual activity between an adolescent and an adult partner must then decide between confidentiality and disclosure. Physicians may be ethically troubled about maintaining confidentiality when parents are unaware of such activity, particularly if reporting to child protection agencies is also needed. Conversely, confidentiality between adolescents and their physicians is essential for their continued participation in medical care.4,5 In fact, physicians who specialize in treating adolescents prefer to maintain confidentiality about most consensual sexual situations between adolescents and adult partners, except for those relationships with a …

Odds that a Teenager's Infant Has an Adult Father Rise Sharply if the Father Has Inadequate Level of Schooling

The likelihood that a young teenagers pregnancy involved a father who was 20 years old or older increases if either parent does not have an age-appropriate level of education if the mother was born outside of the US or if the father is Black of Hispanic. This is evidenced by an analysis of California birth certificate data which included 12317 single firstborn infants of women who were younger than age 15 when they conceived and who delivered between 1993 and 1995. Results of the analysis showed that men older than age 20 fathered 27% of the babies born to very young mothers. On average men involved with 13-14 year old adolescents were 22.5 years old. In addition results of the regression analysis indicated that the combination of mothers birthplace and fathers education was a significant predictor for adult paternity. In conclusion variations in adult paternity by race or ethnicity highlight the importance of the role of cultural beliefs and practices on adolescent pregnancy.

Demographic characteristics in adult paternity for first births to adolescents under 15 years of age

Purpose: To examine parental demographic characteristics by adult (≥ 20 years at baby’s conception) and teenage (< 20 years at baby’s conception) paternity in births to very young adolescents (< 15 years at baby’s conception). Methods: This was a population-based, retrospective cohort analysis of all 12,317 very young adolescent mothers residing in California with a first singleton live birth during 1993–1995. Risks for adult, compared to teenage, paternity were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Adult fathers, responsible for 26.7% of births to very young adolescents, were a mean of 8.8 years older than the mother. The risk factors for adult compared to adolescent paternity were as follows: father’s educational attainment of at least 3 years below that considered adequate for his age [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 8.34], father’s (AOR = 2.46) or mother’s (AOR = 1.36) educational attainment 1–2 years below that considered adequate for their age, mother’s birthplace outside the United States (AOR = 3.12), and father’s Hispanic ethnicity (AOR = 1.60) or African-American race (AOR = 1.50). Conclusions: Adult fathers were responsible for over one quarter of the births in our study. Adolescent pregnancy prevention focusing on younger adolescents must programmatically address adult paternity. Variations in adult paternity patterns across cultural groups suggest that we need further study of the role that cultural beliefs and practices play in very young adolescent pregnancy.

What has Gender got to do with it ? Exploring Physically Abusive Behaviour Towards Children

This article explores the lack of impact that feminism has had on analyses of physical abuse. It links this to the kinds of feminist theory which have been used to explore family violence generally. These have been based on fixed notions of men, women and children. It argues for perspectives which are characterized by an appreciation that gendered positions are neither fixed nor inevitable, but, rather, subject to constant struggle and redefinition. It argues that the concept of power may not be the most helpful concept to use when exploring emotional relationships which are characterized by vulnerability and dependency, and that the concept of domination may be more helpful. Finally, the paper draws on the work of Virginia Goldner and her associates to posit the possibility of working on a number of levels, from the psychological to the material. (Abstract Adapted from Source: British Journal of Social Work, 2002. Copyright © 2002 by British Association of Social Workers, Oxford University Press) Feminist Theory Female Violence Female Offender Adult Violence Adult Parent Adult Offender Adult Mother Adult Female Adult Father Adult Male Male Offender Male Violence Parent Offender Child Abuse Offender Child Abuse Causes Child Physical Abuse Offender Child Physical Abuse Causes Domestic Violence Causes Domestic Violence Offender Gender Differences 08-02

Risk factors for adult paternity in births to adolescents

To examine the risk factors for adult (aged 20 years and older) paternity in births to teenagers (14-17 years of age). This was a population-based, retrospective cohort analysis of 27,215 adolescent mothers residing in California who had a live singleton birth during 1993. Adjusted risks for adult paternity by paternal and maternal characteristics were derived from comparisons of adult-teen and teen-teen couples. Adult fathers, who were responsible for 49.2% of births to teenage mothers, were a mean of 6.4 years older than the mother. The most important risk factors for adult paternity were as follows: father's (odds ratio [OR] 5.19; 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.43, 6.08) or mother's (OR 1.33; 95% CI 1.14, 1.55) educational attainment of at least 3 years lower than expected for their age, two or more previous live births (OR 3.34; 95% CI 2.48, 4.53), mother's birthplace outside the United States (OR 2.33; 95% CI 2.11, 2.58), father's (OR 2.16; 95% CI 1.98, 2.36) or mother's (OR 1.28; 95% CI 1.15, 1.42) educational attainment 1-2 years lower than expected for their age, one previous live birth (OR 1.92; 95% CI 1.75, 2.12), and Asian (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.04, 1.62) or African American race (OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.06, 1.46) of the father. Teenage pregnancy prevention programs must address adult paternity, which contributed to almost half of the births in our study. These programs should consider education adequacy, cultural beliefs and practices, previous live births, and race and ethnicity when designing programs to decrease the number of adults involved in teenage births.

Paternal support provided by adolescent versus adult fathers

Paternal support provided by adolescent versus adult fathers

Childhood conditions and adult height

Self-reported height and childhood conditions among 1711 Danish male general workers born between 1923 and 1940 were analysed. No significant associations were found between adult height and father's occupation, growing up with both parents, paternal unemployment, sickness among the parents, parents receiving disability pension, economical problems in childhood, area of residence in childhood, and years at school. The study therefore provides no support for the hypothesis that poor childhood conditions are the cause of low adult height in this socially very homogeneous sample.

Perceptions of Parenthood Among Adolescent Fathers

To investigate perceptions of parenthood among adolescent fathers, we studied three groups of first-time fathers: adolescent fathers with adolescent partners (n = 21), adult fathers with adolescent partners (n = 14), and adult fathers with adult partners (n = 55). Subjects were interviewed during the immediate postpartum period and then again 3 months later. Group differences were noted concerning items related to paternal involvement, sex stereotypic behaviors, and stress, but not concerning preparation for parenthood. Fathers' perceptions appeared to be influenced by both their ages and those of the mothers as well as an interaction between these two fathers (adult fathers with adolescent partners v adult fathers with adult partners). Our results suggest that fathers with adolescent partners may benefit from interventions designed to promote more active involvement in parenthood.

Adolescent fathers: A group potentially at risk for parenting failure

Recent attention has focused on the role of father-child interaction and relationships in child development. Usually neglected in such discussions, however, is the special group of fathers who are adolescent. For various reasons, children of adolescent fathers may receive less adequate parenting than children of adult fathers. Men who begin parenthood during adolescence frequently obtain less formal education, achieve less vocational success, and have higher divorce rates than peers who delay parenthood. Because of situational factors and, possibly, developmental factors, many young fathers may be faced with excessive amounts of stress with which they may have difficulty coping. These factors serve to interfere not only with father-chiid interaction, but also with mother-father relationships. Both relationships have an important influence on child development. Within the last decade, researchers have paid increasing attention to the influences that fathers have on their children's development. As a result, there has emerged an appreciation that children develop in the context of a family system in which each parent affects the child's development directly as well as via hisher influence on the other parent's relationship with the child.'-3 In a recent contribution to this journal, Lamb reviewed the available evidence concerning the ways in which fathers affect the socioemotional and cognitive development of their infant^.^ Several conclusions emerged from this literature review. First, as in the case of mothers, the security of the father- infant relationship appears to depend on the degree to which the adult is sensitively responsive to the infant's signals and needs .* Secure attachment relationships have positive long-term consequences, whereas insecurely- attached infants are later less persistent in task situations, less sociable with adults, and less socially competent with peer^.^-'^ The security of both infant- mother and infant-father attachments have independent influence on the