Fathers Of Children Research Articles

Quality of Life of Mothers and Fathers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Jordan.

Parenting children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is widely identified to be associated with life-long impairment in parents' quality of life (QoL). However, there has been little information on the QoL of parents of children with ASD in the Jordanian context. This study aimed to assess the QoL among mothers and fathers who have children with ASD in Jordan and to identify factors associated with it. In this cross-sectional study, respondents were mothers and fathers of children with ASD attending autism rehabilitation centers in Amman. Data were collected from 206 participants using a validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, T-test, ANOVA and logistic regression, were applied. Overall quality of life was low (mean= 2.32). The physical dimension scored the highest (mean =2.79), and the environmental dimension scored the lowest (mean= 2.06). Results indicated that fathers and parents with low education reported significantly lower QoL scores (p = .024 and 0.001, respectively). Among parents of children with ASD, parents at risk for low QoL were recognized. Our results can be utilized to design interventions to support mothers and fathers at risk in Jordan to enhance their QoL.

Prevention of congenital Chagas disease by screening of mothers and monitoring of serological tests of neonates: the seven years' experience.

Approximately 14000 immigrants coming from the Cochabamba area of Bolivia, with an increased risk of congenital Chagas Disease (CD), are currently living in Bergamo, Italy. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation (2011), prevention of congenital CD involves testing all pregnant women at risk of infection and performing follow-up of their newborns. In our study, all pregnant women of Latin American origin were tested for the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies and children, born to mothers found to be positive, were followed up after delivery. T. cruzi antibodies were detected using a chemiluminescence immunoassay. The test was also performed on siblings and fathers of children with CD, and women of childbearing age to prevent the congenital infection, as proposed by 2011 WHO recommendation. In the study period 1105 patients were tested for CD, using a serological test: 934 (85%) were females and 171 (15%) were males. Of the 62 newborns, from mothers who tested positive, 28 were females and 34 were males. The number of positive adults and siblings identified was 148 (14%). Among the adults and siblings born between 1991 and 2011 only 3 (2%) of females tested positive to serological test. All neonates, with the exception of one, were classified as non-infected according to the follow-up of index value of CD serology. This study confirms the usefulness of serological tests and of their index value as follow-up. The difference of positivity rate for CD antibodies between people born before and after 1990 should be further investigated to generate information that potentially improve the prevention and control of CD.

Parental sociodemographics of medically assisted reproduction births in the United States: a dyadic population-level study

To study how men's and couples' sociodemographic characteristics predict the probability of having a birth conceived using medically assisted reproduction (MAR) in the United States. Population-based study. Not applicable. Men and women in the National Vital Statistics Birth certificate data from 2009 to 2019. None. Proportion of MAR births out of total births by parental sociodemographic categories and probability of having a MAR birth. Between 2009 and 2019, the overall prevalence of MAR births among men was 1.81%. Fathers of children conceived using MAR tended to be older, higher educated, and white compared with fathers of naturally conceived children. During the period of 2009-2019, these sociodemographic profiles remained largely unchanged. Controlling for maternal age and birth order only partially reduced disparities by education and race. In 2019, highly educated fathers were 2.04 percentage points (95% confidence interval, 1.97-2.12) more likely to have a MAR-conceived birth than fathers with a low educational level, and black fathers were associated with a reduction in the probability of having an MAR-conceived child by - 1.07 percentage points (95% confidence interval, -1.11 to -1.04) compared with white fathers. The dyadic analysis using parents' education and race interactions revealed that partnering with someone of a higher educational level increases the likelihood of having a MAR birth, beyond what would be observed by considering only individual-level characteristics. To comprehend the environment in which MAR-conceived children are born and raised, performing dyadic analyses that examine the characteristics of both partners is essential. The findings underscore the enduring presence of substantial social disparities in MAR use in the United States, with MAR-conceived children raised in environments of relative advantage, which may impact their future health and development.

Controversy of Adopted Children Status and Foster Father in the Marriage Process Based on Islamic Law Perspective

This paper seeks to explain the controversy regarding the status of adopted children and adoptive fathers in a marriage procession by using a normative juridical approach, it is concluded that the status and position of adopted children in the Islamic legal system does not break the kinship relationship between the adopted child and his biological parents so that the adoptive father does not become the guardian of his adopted child except through the mandate given by the child's biological parents. This study uses a normative approach and method, conducted by examining theoretical matters concerning Islamic legal norms and positive law. Primary sources are the Koran, hadith, Compilation of Islamic Law, and Marriage Laws. Secondary sources refer to the opinions of experts, as well as references related to the issues raised. The results of this study explain that the validity of the marriage guardian for adopted children is to remain with the lineage guardian if his whereabouts are still known and cannot be replaced by anyone except the lineage guardian is unknown, then the marriage guardian can be replaced by a judge's guardian. However, if in practice the adopted child is not known who the biological parents are, then the adopted daughter's marriage guardian is the adoptive father, or if the adoptive father receives a mandate from the child's biological father, then the marriage is valid as stated by al-Bahuti

Moving beyond the mother-child dyad: a commentary on Oppenheim etal. (2023).

The research presented by Oppenheim etal. (J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 2023) breaks important new ground by moving beyond the mother-child dyad and investigating the coparenting alliance between mothers and fathers of young children with autism. By integrating family systems thinking, developmental science, and research on autism spectrum disorder, this line of research is bound to improve our understanding of how family systems influence the social emotional development of young children with autism, how children's development and learning can be optimized, and how parents' marital relationship and mental health can be strengthened. Future research should investigate the coparenting alliance across a range of family functions aside from triadic play (e.g. caregiving, teaching, attachment, and behavior management) and move beyond nuclear family structures to capture the lived experiences of families within industrialized countries more adequately and embrace cultural differences across the globe.

Disclosure and child exploration of surrogacy origins in gay father families: Fathers' Adult Attachment Interview coherence of mind matters

ABSTRACT Objective The present study aimed at investigating whether gay fathers’ coherence of mind within the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) moderated the influence of parental disclosure on children’s exploration of their surrogacy origins during middle childhood and early adolescence. Background Once children of gay fathers are disclosed to about their surrogacy conception, they may start exploring the meanings and implications of their conception. Very little is known about the factors that may enhance such exploration in gay father families. Method A home-visit study was conducted with 60 White, cisgender, gay fathers and their 30 children born through gestational surrogacy, all residing in Italy and with medium to high socioeconomic status. At time 1, when children were aged 6–12 years (M = 8.31, SD = 1.68), fathers were rated for AAI coherence of mind and interviewed about their disclosure of the surrogacy origins to their child. At time 2, approximately 18 months later (M = 9.87, SD = 1.69), children were interviewed about their exploration of their surrogacy origins. Results In the context of more information disclosed about the child conception, only children whose fathers showed greater AAI coherence of mind explored their surrogacy origins in more depth. Conclusion Gay fathers’ ability to show an internally consistent, but not emotionally overwrought, state of mind regarding their own attachment experiences impacted the extent to which their children felt safe and legitimated in sharing their curiosity about their conception.

Digitally mediated code-switching in transnational families in Australia: Fathers and children

The article focuses on Polish-speaking families residing in Australia and their digitally mediated communication practices. Against the backdrop of social changes influencing family roles, a new father–child relationship characterised by presence and active involvement in a child’s life has recently transpired. As the fathers’ role in minority language transmission has not been given much prominence in research, this article offers novel insights into how Polish fathers endeavour to maintain Polish through digitally mediated communication. Research on digital practices in the context of code-switching (CS) has been scant, despite the fact that everyday reality of transnational multilingual families has been permeated by technology. With this article, I aim to touch upon the themes situated at the intersection of transnationalism, family multilingualism, language transmission, as well as new media and their role in contemporary communication practices. Six excerpts containing examples of CS practices among three different families, where instant messaging via Messenger has been adopted to maintain Polish will be scrutinised.

Parent Gender and Assessment of Children's Health.

Caregiver-reported data on children's health are typically provided by mothers. We investigated whether measures of children's health would significantly differ between mother and father respondents to a nationally representative survey. This study used de-identified data on children age 0 to 17 years from the 2016-2019 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). The primary exposure was whether the survey was completed by the child's father (cases) or mother (controls). Outcome variables included general health, special health care needs (SHCN), and unmet health care needs. We identified 85 191 children meeting inclusion criteria, of whom 35.1% had a father respondent. After propensity score matching, 27 738 children with a father respondent were matched to an equal size group of children with a mother respondent. On conditional logistic regression analysis of the matched sample, we found that poor health, SHCN, and unmet health care needs were less likely to be reported for children in the sample by father respondents.

Parental Stress Scale: Psychometric Properties in Parents of Preschool Children with Developmental Language Disorder.

Parents of children with developmental disabilities experience more stress compared to those of typically developing children; therefore, measuring parental stress may help clinicians to address it. The Parental Stress Scale (PSS) is a self-rceport measure in the public domain that assesses stress related to child rearing. The present study tested the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the PSS in 204 parents (mean age: 39.4 ± 5.7, 124 mothers and 80 fathers) of kindergarten children diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) after a clinical assessment. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to confirm the original four-factor structure. The results showed that the original four-factor structure (parental rewards, parental stressors, lack of control and parental satisfaction) is valid in this specific Greek population. The reliability was high (ω = 0.78) and there were weak correlations (r = -0.372, r = -0.337, r = -0.236), yet of statistical significance (p < 0.001), with similar psychological constructs (quality of life, emotional functioning and worries). Our data confirmed that the PSS is a reliable and valid tool to measure parental stress in parents of children with DLD. Greek clinicians (mental health professionals, speech-language pathologists) can evaluate parental stress and design early interventions targeting specific stress aspects, along with core language interventions for the children.

Individuals with numerical and structural variations of sex chromosomes: interdisciplinary management with focus on fertility potential.

Diagnosis and management of individuals who have differences of sex development (DSD) due to numerical or structural variations of sex chromosomes (NSVSC) remains challenging. Girls who have Turner syndrome (45X) may present with varying phenotypic features, from classical/severe to minor, and some remain undiagnosed. Boys and girls who have 45,X/46,XY chromosomal mosaicism may have Turner syndrome-like features and short stature; therefore, unexplained short stature during childhood requires karyotype analysis in both sexes, particularly if characteristic features or atypical genitalia are present. Many individuals with Klinefelter syndrome (47XXY) remain undiagnosed or are only diagnosed as adults due to fertility problems. Newborn screening by heel prick tests could potentially identify sex chromosome variations but would have ethical and financial implications, and in-depth cost-benefit analyses are needed before nationwide screening can be introduced. Most individuals who have NSVSC have lifelong co-morbidities and healthcare should be holistic, personalized and centralized, with a focus on information, psychosocial support and shared decision-making. Fertility potential should be assessed individually and discussed at an appropriate age. Oocyte or ovarian tissue cryopreservation is possible in some women who have Turner syndrome and live births have been reported following assisted reproductive technology (ART). Testicular sperm cell extraction (TESE) is possible in some men who have 45,X/46,XY mosaicism, but there is no established protocol and no reported fathering of children. Some men with Klinefelter syndrome can now father a child following TESE and ART, with multiple reports of healthy live births. Children who have NSVSC, their parents and DSD team members need to address possibilities and ethical questions relating to potential fertility preservation, with guidelines and international studies still needed.

Relation between young children's anger and fathers' mental health during the COVID‐19 epidemic: Moderating role of gender and child number

AbstractThe father–child interaction deserves attention during the COVID‐19 epidemic. This study administrated the Child Anger Questionnaire and the SCL‐90 Symptom Checklist to collect primary data from 1862 fathers of Chinese young children during the COVID‐19 outbreak, examined the relation between young children's anger and their fathers' mental health, and verified whether the relation was moderated by the gender or the child number. The results demonstrated that the detection rate of anger among Chinese young children was 60.08%, the scores of SCL‐90 factors of their fathers were significantly lower than the Chinese normal adult male norms and those of infant parents, and the anger of young children had a significant effect on their fathers' mental health. Gender and child number moderated this relation. It is of great significance to strengthen the attention to the anger of young children and the mental health of fathers during the period of public health emergencies, and to promote the harmonious interpersonal relationship between young children and their fathers.

Males Should Mail? Gender Discrimination in Access to Childcare

This study investigates discrimination against women when searching and applying for childcare in a nationwide field experiment. We send emails from fictitious parents to 9,313 childcare centers in Germany inquiring about access to childcare. We randomize whether the email is sent by the child's mother or father. Our results show that women receive shorter and less positive responses than men. The probability of receiving a response does not differ by gender, highlighting the importance of going beyond response rates to detect discrimination. We provide suggestive evidence that regional differences in gender discrimination are related to gender norms.

The influence of socioeconomic status and appearance-reality understanding on pre-schoolers' sharing and generosity.

Prosocial behaviour can be defined as any voluntary action that is performed to benefit another individual. Despite accumulating evidence of the importance of environmental variables (e.g., socioeconomic status; SES), and individual characteristics (e.g., theory of mind - ToM - skills), in influencing prosocial behaviours in young children, it is unknown how these factors relate to the underlying motivations for prosocial behaviours. Accordingly, both extrinsically (sharing) and intrinsically (generosity)-guided prosocial behaviours are measured in this study. We explore the influences of SES and ToM skills on young children's sharing behaviour and generosity, while controlling their age, working memory and language skills. Sixty-six 4- to 6 year olds (Mage = 5.24 years, SD = 0.73) from diverse SES (measured by parental education level) and ethnic backgrounds in Singapore completed tasks assessing the ToM measures of false belief and appearance-reality understanding, working memory, language skills, generosity, and sharing behaviour. The results of hierarchical regression analyses demonstrate that the father's education level and children's appearance-reality understanding were significant predictors of sharing, after controlling for age, working memory, language skills, and the mother's education level. Children's appearance-reality understanding was the sole predictor of children's generosity. Our findings highlight the impact of children's ability to hold different views of reality and their family's education levels on the development of sharing and generosity in early childhood.

BIRTH LENGTH AND FATHER'S EDUCATION RELATED TO STUNTING EVENTS IN TOLLS AGED 7-59 MONTHS

Chronic malnutrition experienced from childhood is the cause of stunting which is determined based on indicators of nutritional status of height according to age (TB/U). One of the factors causing stunting is the length of the child's birth body, and the father's level of education. This study sought to ascertain the association between father education and birth length and the prevalence of stunting in toddlers between the ages of 24-59 months. In the form of a cross sectional, this study used an analytical observational design. This study was conducted at five health centers in North Pontianak, namely Siantan Hilir Health Center, Siantan Hulu Health Center, Middle Siantan, Khatulistiwa Health Center and Telaga Biru Health Center with a sample of 384 toddlers aged 7-59 months who were selected by purposive sampling. Data on height measurement and determination of nutritional status were measured using a microtois device, while data on father's education and birth length were taken by conducting direct interviews with the respondent's mother using a questionnaire. Data on height and nutritional status of TB/U were analyzed descriptively, while to see the relationship between variables, chi-square analysis was used. Toddlers who have a history of short birth weight have more stunting nutritional status by 25.6%. Stunting and the history of the child's birth length were significantly correlated (p=0.019). Short-born infants are 2.29 times more likely to experience stunting as toddlers. The incidence of stunting is correlated (p = 0.033) with the educational level of fathers of children under five. Toddlers whose fathers have less education have 39.8% more normal nutritional status.

Father and Toddler Language During Shared Book Reading with Text‐Based and Wordless Picture Books

AbstractWhile the association between shared book reading (SBR) and child language development is well documented, there has been less focus on how book characteristics may differentially elicit parents' language input and hence differentially relate to children's language skills during this activity. Moreover, despite the positive and unique role that fathers have been shown to play for children's language, the father‐child SBR evidence base is small. Accordingly, the present study examined variation in father and child language quantity, quality, complexity, and function during SBR with text‐based and wordless picture books and explored associations between fathers' language and children's language during these episodes. Participants were 46 father‐child dyads (20 females). Fathers' mean age was 38.74 years (SD = 5.74), and children's mean age was 37.89 months (SD = 2.71). Findings indicate that fathers in the text‐book condition produced significantly greater language quality, extended the topic more, and produced more conversational utterances but described and labeled pictures less than fathers in the wordless picture book condition. Fathers' language during both SBR episodes showed differential links with child's language and may suggest that fathers were fine‐tuning their language in accordance with their child's language skills (effect sizes ranged from r = .45 to r = .78). It is possible that variation in book content may encourage different types of learning with distinct effects on different domains of child language. Should future research replicate such differential relations, findings may inform caretakers and early childhood interventions with the aim of promoting children's books tailored to specific language areas of interest.

Support for Older Parents in Need in Europe: The Role of the Social Network and of Individual and Relational Characteristics.

Adult children form the backbone of informal care for older parents. To date, limited attention has been paid to the complex mechanism of providing support to older parents. The present study investigated mezzo- and micro-level correlates of provision of support to older parents. The focus was on the child-parent relationship in childhood and in the present. Data were derived from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The analytic sample comprised respondents who participated in SHARE Waves 6-8 and reported having an unhealthy mother (N = 1,554) or father (N = 478). We used hierarchical logistic regression to address 3 models including individual resources, child-parent characteristics, and social resources. We conducted separate analyses for mothers and fathers. Providing support to a parent depended primarily on personal resources followed by the quality of the relationship with the parent. A larger social network of the care provider was also related to increased likelihood of providing support. Support to a mother was associated with positive evaluations of the relationship with her in the present and in childhood. At the same time, negative evaluations of the relationship with the father in childhood were negatively related to providing support to him. The findings point to a multidimensional mechanism, in which adult children's resources are a prominent factor in shaping caregiving behaviors toward their parents. Clinical efforts should focus on adult children's social resources and the quality of the child-parent relationship.

A preliminary investigation of the mental health of parents of young children who stutter

IntroductionWhile research has shown that parents of preschool-aged children who stutter (CWS) may be negatively affected by their child's stuttering, few studies have investigated their mental health. If parents of CWS have poor mental health, this may impact stuttering treatment choices, the conduct of treatment, stuttering treatment outcomes, and the development of stuttering treatments. Methods82 parents (74 mothers and 8 fathers) of preschool-aged children who stutter (aged 1–5) were recruited upon application for an assessment for their child. A survey battery extracting quantitative and qualitative information about symptoms of potential depression, anxiety, stress, and psychological distress, as well as the emotional effect of stuttering on parents was administered and the results summarized. ResultsData from standardised measures revealed similar incidence as normative data for the presence of stress, anxiety or depression (1 in 6 parents) and distress (almost 1 in 5 parents). However, more than half of the participants reported experiencing a negative emotional effect due to their child's stuttering and a large proportion also reported that stuttering influenced their communication with their child. ConclusionsSpeech-language pathologists (SLPs) should broaden the scope of their duty of care to include the parents of CWS more fully. Parents should be provided with informational counselling or other support services that will help reduce worry and anxiety related to negative emotions.

Parental stress mediates the effects of parental risk factors on dysfunctional parenting in first-time parents: A dyadic longitudinal study.

Both parental psychological well-being (e.g., depressive symptoms) and parental relationship functioning (e.g., negative communication) are common parental risk factors for dysfunctional parenting. The spillover process from these parental characteristics to dysfunctional parenting is assumed to be amplified by parental stress, which is particularly common among mothers and fathers of young children. However, few studies have examined dyadic spillover processes from parental risk factors and parental stress on parenting in early childhood. In the current study, we first examined direct actor and partner effects of parents' depressive symptoms and negative communication at 10months postpartum on dysfunctional parenting at 48months postpartum in 168 primiparous mixed-gender couples. Second, we analyzed indirect effects via one's own and the partner's parental stress at 36months postpartum using Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Models (APIMeM). We found direct actor effects for mothers' depressive symptoms and negative communication on their dysfunctional parenting. Additionally, indirect actor effects were found for depressive symptoms and negative communication among mothers and fathers. Specifically, mediating effects of depressive symptoms and negative communication on one's dysfunctional parenting through one's parental stress were found. There were no indirect partner effects through parental stress. These findings highlight the important role of parental stress in early childhood as a mediator between both individual and relationship parental risk factors and dysfunctional parenting. These results further underscore the importance of longitudinal dyadic analyses in providing early and tailored interventions for both mothers and fathers of young children.

Reflections on Leonard J. Arrington

Reflections on Leonard J. Arrington

Preliminary Validation of the Multidimensional Father Involvement Scale for Low-Income Fathers

Abstract: The current study represents a preliminary validation of the Multidimensional Father Involvement Scale (MFIS), a measure to assess father involvement among cohabiting and non-cohabiting low-income fathers of children (6 months– 11 years old). The 43-item scale includes items modified from the Inventory of Father Involvement (A. Hawkins et al., 2002) and Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (Bronte-Tinkew et al., 2007) and additional items to assess indirect behavioral and nonbehavioral (affective, cognitive, and ethical) involvement. Study 1, which included interviews with low-income fathers (15 Black and 4 Latino), supported face and construct validity. Study 2, which included 125 (61.6% White, 16.8% Black, and 15.2% Latino) low-income cohabiting fathers, supported concurrent and discriminant validity. Although confirmatory factor analysis did not support the hypothesized factors, the MFIS had strong internal consistency (α = .95) and appears to be a promising measure for assessing a broad range of father involvement among low-income and racial minority fathers.