American Fathers Research Articles

The Catholic Experience in America (review)

Reviewed by Andrew Greeley The University of Chicago The University of Arizona The Catholic Experience in America. By Joseph A. Varacalli. (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. 2006. pp. xxii, 314.) Part of a larger series "The American Religious Experience," the present volume is designed as a text book for senior high school students, presumably in Catholic high schools. The first half of the volume is about the past history of Catholicism in America. Professor Varacalli, of Nassau Community College, covers the basic facts and controversies of the past. His narrative is unexceptionable, though it does tend to celebrate the Catholicism of the decades after the end of World War II as an apogee. In more recent history, however, the book displays a traditionalist approach to Catholicism and a more conservative political stance—disapproving of what the author calls the "Kennedy-Cuomo" political orientation. True to the vision of his mentor Monsignor George A. Kelly, Varacalli laments the impact of [End Page 992] the Second Vatican Council on the religious behavior of American Catholics and advocates as desirable the return to stricter Catholicism of the pre-councilior days. He expresses the hope that Pope Benedict will restore discipline to the Church in this country. The book, therefore, will be very useful in those high schools which wish to emphasize the deterioration of Catholicism in the United States and the lack of political courage of Catholic politicians. High schools with a different orientation will probably find it offensive. Thus he mentions the statement Dignitatis Humanae (On Religious Freedom) only to caution on the risks of interpretation which will weaken the uniqueness of Catholicism. His young readers are not told that this statement was written in part by the American Father John Courtney Murray S.J. and is considered the major contribution of the American bishops at the Council, a reversal of the teaching that error has no rights (Murray, as the reader of this review doubtless knows, argued that erring people do have rights). It would be better if the book, if it were to say anything about the Council, would present a more nuanced perspective, especially on this all-important document. Students should understand at least that Professor Varacalli's "orthodox" ideology is not the only useful model for considering contemporary Catholicism.

Regular Work, Underground Jobs, and Hustling: An Examination of Paternal Work and Father Involvement

This paper analyzes data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine a sample of urban fathers, a majority of whom were unwed at the time of their child’s birth. Integrating research on race/ethnicity, poverty, family, work, and crime, this study explores how fathers’ participation in regular work, underground employment, and illicit hustles is related to engagement with their children; it also investigates how these relationships vary by race. The results show that the more time fathers spend in illegal hustling, the less engaged they are with their children. In contrast, time spent working in the formal economy has a positive effect on father engagement. Importantly, the effects of work on father engagement vary by race/ethnicity. The positive relationship between fathers’ participation in regular work and engagement with children is even greater for African Americans than whites. In addition, underground work has a more positive association with father engagement for African American fathers than white fathers. Finally, hustling has a more negative effect on engagement among African American fathers than among Latino fathers.

Challenging the Stereotypes of Mexican American Fathers

This critical review presents studies of Mexican American fathers in the United Sates to provide researchers with an understanding of contemporary fatherhood. It describes the myths that cause methodological and conceptual problems in interpreting the results of studies on Mexican American fathers. Several common challenges and limitations in those studies are identified and discussed, such as conflicting cultural perceptions, traditional and contemporary perceptions, and social stereotyping of the Mexican American fathers’ family roles. This review also provides guidelines for future research and practical applications on Mexican American fathers’ involvement in their children’s education. In doing this, it contributes to an emerging understanding of the complexity of Mexican American fathering.

Treatment Acceptability Among Mexican American Parents

There is a void in the literature with regard to Hispanic parents’ views about common interventions for children with behavior problems. The purpose of this study was to examine the treatment acceptability of child management techniques in a Mexican American sample. Parents’ acculturation was also examined to determine if it would account for differences in treatment acceptability. Mexican American parents found response cost, a punishment-based technique, more acceptable than positive reinforcement–based techniques (e.g., differential attention). Results suggest that Mexican American parents’ acculturation has little impact on acceptability of child management interventions. No association was found between mothers’ acculturation and treatment acceptability. However, more acculturated Mexican American fathers viewed token economy as more acceptable than less acculturated fathers. Results are discussed in the context of clinical work and research with Mexican Americans.

Bringing It All Back Home: The Influence of Robert Frost on Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon

Of all the contemporary Irish poets, it is Heaney and Muldoon who have been most profoundly influenced by Frost, though in very different ways. This essay explores the two Irish poets' different imaginative and poetic appropriations of Forst and considers how Heaney's and Muldoon's different readings of their American father have influenced the development of their own divergent poetics of home. Where Heaney turned to Frost for reassurance, focusing on Frost's notion of the poem as 'a momentary stay against confusion' to bolster his own theory of poetic 'redress', Muldoon is attracted to the elusive, sceptical Frost who was suspicious of any kind of fixity or notion of origin, and who specialised in a poetry of indirection, ambiguity, playfulness and openness.

African American Fathering in Violent Neighborhoods: What Role Does Spirituality Play?

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 styles. Study participants included 61 African American fathers of preschoolers attending Head Start. Findings revealed that, regardless of their child’s sex, highly spiritual fathers were more likely to use proactive parenting practices to decrease their child’s exposure to violence. Further, highly spiritual fathers were significantly more likely to use an authoritative parenting style and less likely to use a permissive style with their sons than fathers who reported spirituality as less important. Implications for future research are discussed.

Adolescent Sexual Debut

African American adolescents mature earlier and have their sexual debut (first voluntary penile-vaginal penetration) earlier in adolescence and thus are at a disproportionately greater risk for more sexual partners, STIs, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, and adolescent motherhood and fatherhood despite rate reductions for other adolescents over approximately the past 20 years. Although the focus of most studies has been mothers' influence in adolescents' reproductive health, fathers' influence has been found to make a difference. However, the influence of African American fathers' reproductive health communication has not been addressed. Not only could much be revealed in exploring the influence of African American fathers' reproductive health communication, but these findings could guide interventions, thus reducing African American adolescents' reproductive health morbidity.

Post-modern Perspective on the Economics of African American Fatherhood

The economics of African American fatherhood have not been effectively conveyed to social work practitioners. The prevailing assumption of African American fathers by practitioners is that they are absent or dysfunctional. Despite the existence of successful African American fathers, bias in the literature and practice reinforce deficit models as African American. To eliminate bias, social scientists and human service practitioners must devise constructs reflective of the strengths of African American fatherhood. The present paper will bring clarity to ecological factors that impact fatherhood for African Americans and provide human service practitioners more informed perspectives to assist in working with Black families.

An Approach to Preventing Coparenting Conflict and Divorce in Low‐Income Families: Strengthening Couple Relationships and Fostering Fathers' Involvement

In the context of current concern about levels of marital distress, family violence, and divorce, the SFI study is evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention to facilitate the positive involvement of low-income Mexican American and European American fathers with their children, in part by strengthening the men's relationships with their children's mothers. The study design involves a randomized clinical trial that includes assignment to a 16-week couples group, a 16-week fathers group, or a single-session control group. Couples in both group interventions and the control condition include partners who are married, cohabiting, and living separately but raising a young child together. This article presents the rationale, design, and intervention approach to father involvement for families whose relationships are at risk because of the hardships of their lives, many of whom are manifesting some degree of individual or relationship distress. We present preliminary impressions and qualitative findings based on our experience with 257 families who completed the pretest, and the first 160 who completed one postintervention assessment 9 months after entering the study. Discussion centers on what we have learned and questions that remain to be answered in mounting a multisite preventive intervention to strengthen relationships in low-income families.

Measuring Father Involvement Within Low-Income Families: Who is a Reliable and Valid Reporter?

SYNOPSIS Objective. This study assesses and compares the internal reliability and predictive validity of fathers’ versus mothers’ reports of father involvement. Design. Two hundred and twenty-seven fathers and mothers reported separately on 6 identical items regarding father involvement with a designated focal child. Mothers reported on their own parenting and child demographic characteristics. Direct assessments assessed child cognitive skills. Results. Reliable composites of father involvement were similar across father versus mother reports and across resident versus nonresident and African American versus Latin American fathers. Father reports and a combined reporter composite predicted children's reading and math skills; mother reports showed significant relations to only to children's math skills. Conclusions. Simple surveys that include either father or mother reports of father involvement can be used to create reliable father involvement measures. Father reports of father involvement showed more consistent predictive validity than mother reports of father involvement. Further measurement development and assessment are needed for more comprehensive measures of fathers’ involvement and contributions to children's well-being.

Low-Income African American Fathers' Involvement in Children's Lives: Implications for Practitioners

ABSTRACT We were interested in how low-income African American fathers of 12-year-old children in families identified as high risk viewed their role as father. Four focus group discussions involving 19 fathers were conducted. We had four key questions: (1) what the men perceived as the children's needs, (2) how they met those needs, (3) what motivated them to be involved, and (4) what barriers they faced. The fathers emphasized the children's need for love and support, and were concerned about materialism, violence, and promiscuity as they struggled to instill “good” values. They described the challenges of raising children in dangerous environments, and concerns about their daughters and their sexuality. Some men found it difficult to be a parent figure without being the biological father or by not living with the child. Many of their views on parenting were similar to those reported elsewhere by white as well as middle class men. Implications for practitioners are included.

Mexican American Fathers’ Occupational Conditions: Links to Family Members’ Psychological Adjustment

To examine the implications of fathers' occupational conditions (i.e., income, work hours, shift work, pressure, workplace racism, and underemployment) for family members' psychological adjustment, home interviews were conducted with fathers, mothers, and two adolescent offspring in each of 218 Mexican American families. Results underscored the importance of acculturation as a moderator. Fathers' income was negatively associated with depressive symptoms in highly acculturated families but not in less acculturated families. In contrast, fathers' reports of workplace racism were positively associated with depressive symptoms in less acculturated families but not in more acculturated family contexts. These findings were consistent across all 4 family members, suggesting that the "long arm" of the jobs held by Mexican American fathers extends to mothers and adolescent offspring.

Role of African‐American Fathers in Child‐Rearing and Oral Health Practices in an Inner City Environment ‐ A Brief Communication

This study assesses parenting behaviors, health behaviors and attitudes in a sample of disadvantaged African-American fathers and evaluates the potential of fathers as recipients of oral health promotion interventions. Participants were 60 African-American fathers whose children were enrolled in a childhood caries prevention study at Women and Infant Child Program (WIC) (n=25) or who were members of a Young Fathers' Program (n=35) at an urban health center. Demographic factors, oral health knowledge, dental self-efficacy, parenting behaviors, readiness to change, and health promotion behaviors were assessed. Participants averaged 30.8 years of age (sd=8.6); children averaged 2.1 years (sd=0. 9). Half of the fathers always have lived with their own children and 92% had regular physical contact with their children. Almost half of the sample reported 'fair/poor' oral health status, while less than 25% reported 'fair/poor' general health. Fathers had high oral health knowledge scores (x=7.7 correct of 9 items), and high readiness for change scores at the action stage (X=12.2 of 15; sd=1.9). dental self-efficacy scores were moderate (X=15.7 of 24; sd=5.5). Half of the fathers shared or had sole responsibility for brushing their children's teeth; 90% report children's teeth were brushed daily. African- American fathers participated in childrearing and oral health promotion behaviors.

African American Feminist Fathers’ Narratives of Parenting

This study investigated father involvement among African American feminist fathers. Five interrelated parenting themes emerged from a narrative analysis of individual semistructured interviews that each father deemed important: (a) nurturance and emotional intimacy with children, (b) politically conscious parenting, (c) nonviolent discipline, (d) supportive social arrangements, and (e) open attitudes concerning who can parent a child. Each man’s personal commitment to feminist principles reflected how his parenting went beyond wanting the best for his child and included what was best for women, African American communities, broad societal change, and the psychosocial development of African American men. The findings offer practical insights and recommendations for understanding the best practices of some African American fathers who connect with their children despite societal barriers.

Familial Ethnic Socialization Among Adolescents of Latino and European Descent

This article examines gender and family composition differences in 98 biethnic adolescents’ reports of familial ethnic socialization and ethnic identity. Using analysis of variance, four groups (i.e., adolescent males with Latina mothers and European American fathers, adolescent females with Latina mothers and European American fathers, adolescent males with European American mothers and Latino fathers, and adolescent females with European American mothers and Latino fathers) are compared on the above measures. Results indicate that sons of Latina mothers reported the highest levels of familial ethnic socialization. No significant differences emerge between groups on a measure of ethnic identity.

75: Pregnancy among African American teens: The father’s perspective

75: Pregnancy among African American teens: The father’s perspective

‘Death to the Prancing Prince’: Effeminacy, Sport Discourses and the Salvation of Men's Dancing

For much of the 20th century, dance writers and critics regularly bemoaned a shortage of male dancers. As one writer put it, the average American father would rather see his son dead than performing on stage in tights. This article looks at commentary about male dancing as a means of understanding popular conceptions of effeminacy. It addresses the way discourses about sport, physical prowess and hard bodies have been appropriated in attempts to validate the manliness of male dancers. Drawing on works by dance educators, critics and dancers, such as Gene Kelly and American modern dancer Ted Shawn, the article looks at gendered notions of the body and movement and the way these have been shaped by the late 19th-century conflation of effeminacy and homosexuality. The athleticism and muscularity of male dancers were to have brought them mainstream respect; that they have yet to do so at all but elite levels reminds us that even the hardest bodies must be read through the limitations of the discursive contexts in which they move.

Poor African American Fathers: An Evolutionary Perspective

Poor African American fathers are a highly visible but poorly understood group. This article outlines some of the psychological and socioeconomic features of their lives. Principles of evolutionary psychology are explained, critiqued, and used to illuminate some of their behaviors. Intervention strategies informed by this approach and two case summaries are also discussed.

African American Fathers

Much of the literature on African American fathers has tended to perpetuate a stereotype of absent and unsupportive parenting. This study employs a life course perspective to investigate the extent and predictors of involvement by young fathers. Data come from the Rochester Youth Development Study, a longitudinal study that has followed a representative sample of urban youth since they were in the seventh or eighth grade. Analysis is based on the young men in the sample who became fathers by age 22, of whom 67% are African American. Results suggest that African American fathers do not differ significantly from other young fathers in their contact with and support provided to their eldest biological child. For African American fathers, fulfilling a father role is, as hypothesized, related to the success of transition to adult roles and relationships and to prosocial behavior and problem behavior.

Fathers massaging and relaxing their pregnant wives lowered anxiety and facilitated marital adjustment

Summary This study examined the effects of fathers massaging their pregnant wives and practicing relaxation with them. Participants were married American fathers who completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Paternal Fetal Attachment Scale. The fathers learned to massage their pregnant wives, learned relaxation techniques with their wives, or received no intervention. Massage therapy lowered the fathers’ self-reported anxiety levels on the STAI and improved marital adjustment on the DAS.