Resident Fathers Research Articles

Fathering Promotes Child Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Through Specific “Active Ingredient” Caregiving Activities

SYNOPSIS Objective. We do not know which specific paternal caregiving practices are associated with more advanced child development in understudied low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The current investigation attempts to identify such caregiving practices. Design. Maternal reports of six specific paternal caregiving practices which may be uniquely associated with early childhood development were examined in a sample of 159,959 families with 3- to 4-year-old children from 51 LMICs. Both father caregiving practices and early childhood development scores were quantified using measures from UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Linear regression models examined which paternal caregiving practices were associated with early childhood development after controlling for the contributions of mothers and children’s other caregivers engaging in the same practices as well as father residence in the home and multiple aspects of the physical home environment and national context. Results. When fathers read to their children, named/counted/drew with their children, or sang to their children, their children demonstrated more advanced overall development. When fathers read, named/counted/drew, and told stories to their children, their children also demonstrated more advanced development in literacy/numeracy and approaches to learning. Some effects depended on whether fathers resided in the home. Fathers naming/counting/drawing with their children was associated with more advanced child development in approaches to learning, and fathers reading to their children was associated with more advanced child socioemotional development only if fathers resided in the child’s home. Conclusions. Fathers reading to their children, naming/counting/drawing with their children, and singing to their children appear to be specific “active ingredients” that promote child development in LMICs. Some of these ingredients only actively promote child development when fathers reside in the child’s home environment. These practices should be supported and encouraged in policy and practice. Fathers’ caregiving matters for child development across a wide swath of LMICs in the world.

Paternal Self-Efficacy Scale for Nonresident Fathers: Scale Development and Validation

Previous research points to the importance of parenting self-efficacy in facilitating father engagement, thereby promoting optimal developmental outcomes in children. Nonresident fathers’ engagement differs from resident fathers, resulting in a need for a novel measure of paternal self-efficacy (PSE). This article presents two studies: Study 1—the development of a measure of nonresident PSE and Study 2—the validation of this measure with low-income, nonresident fathers. Nine focus groups were conducted at nine urban responsible fatherhood programs in low-income, high-poverty areas in the northeastern United States ( n = 71), yielding seven items for PSE. The Father Appraisal Inventory (FAI) was disseminated through a survey to nonresident fathers ( n = 542) in responsible father programs to assess convergent and predictive validity. Analyses demonstrated convergence with father satisfaction and predicted quantity and quality of father involvement and co-parenting.

Parenthood, earnings, and the relevance of family formation sequences

Prior research sheds little light on how shifts in family formation trajectories have implications for recent cohorts' earnings gains and losses with childbearing. Using longitudinal data from a contemporary cohort, we examine how the pay premium or penalty for parents varies by their relationship status at childbirth and subsequent changes in the status. Fixed effects models show that children born to unpartnered women are associated with substantial pay penalties for the mothers. Conversely, women giving birth within cohabiting or marital unions experience small or no motherhood penalties. For residential fathers, only children born after marriage are linked to pay increases. Men having children while cohabiting or unpartnered receive no fatherhood premiums even if they later transition into marriage. Married mothers' earnings outcomes also depend on their sequence of marriage and childbearing. Whereas women bearing children before marriage encounter a substantial motherhood penalty, those doing so after marriage face none. The variation in parenthood penalties or premiums by childbearing context cannot be entirely elucidated by the differences in the age of entering parenthood, ethnoracial composition, education, or pre-parenthood earnings growth rate among people having children in various contexts. We suggest that the family formation sequence is related to individuals’ expectations and the support they receive for their parental roles, which shape parenthood earnings outcomes.

Correlates of Sexual Behavior Across Fatherhood Status: Finding From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), 2016-2018.

Amid national trends in postponed parenthood and more diverse family structures, the fatherhood identity may be important to men's sexual behaviors. This study examined factors associated with reports of consistent contraceptive use and multiple sexual partners across fatherhood status. Using public data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), Wave V (2016-2018), two sexual behaviors were examined among 1,163 men aged 32 to 42 years. Outcomes were two binary indicators: consistent contraceptive use with partner and having multiple (≥2) sexual partners in the past year. Fatherhood status was categorized as nonfather, resident father, and nonresident father. Demographic (e.g., race/ethnicity, education, income, and relationship type) and health-related (e.g., drinking, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and insurance status) factors were considered. Logistic regression analysis produced odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals and were stratified by fatherhood categories. In the sample, 72% of men were resident fathers, 10% were nonresident fathers, and 18% were nonfathers; 28% reported consistent contraceptive use and 16% reported multiple sexual partners. For nonfathers, relationship type and race were associated with reporting multiple sexual partners. For resident fathers, relationship type was the crucial factor associated with consistent contraceptive use and reporting multiple sexual partners. In nonresident fathers, relationship type, education, and income were important factors to consistent contraceptive use and reporting multiple sexual partners. Key findings suggest that relationship type, income, and education are crucial factors to men's sexual behavior. Heterogeneous effects were observed across fatherhood status. This study adds to limited research on fatherhood and sexual behavior among men transitioning from young adulthood to middle age.

Stolen Youth: Case Study on Psychological Effects of Parental Separation

Family is the cradle of every person. It builds a foundation or core principles that a person carries throughout life. This study focuses on an in-depth investigation of the parent-child relationship, mental health, and academic life of a student with separated parents. This qualitative research was approached using a case study model and purposive sampling technique with one subject, after which semi-structured interviews were conducted through Google Meet, and then finally, results were analyzed thematically. Results revealed seven main themes with corresponding subthemes, such as, but not limited to, early independence, loss of a mother figure, and personal and academic life overlap. The parental separation negatively affected the subject, shown through depression, anxiety, abandonment and trust issues, exclusion, emotional isolation, self-harm attempts, and suicidal ideations. Negative impacts were also placed on the subject’s interest in building a future family, affecting academic life, as the subject unhealthily copes with being dismissive of emotions. The subject lost contact with their mother, leaving the residential father as the only parent figure; hence, he needs a genuine and comfortable environment, especially family-wise. Nonetheless, the subject could use the circumstances as fuel to succeed. The findings provide grounds for further research on the psychological effects of parental separation on students while emphasizing the importance of giving undivided attention to children during such a challenging time.

Closeness and Direct Engagement: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Non-Resident Father Involvement

Measures of father involvement have predominantly comprised quantitative/frequency measures of direct engagement activities with children. Such measures tend to show that non-resident fathers are less involved than resident fathers and limit our understanding of non-resident fathering. This study’s purpose was to identify a construct of non-resident fathering that included an affective dimension, father–child closeness, among racially/ethnically diverse fathers and their nine-year-old children ( N = 1267). A confirmatory factor analysis using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study was conducted using father- and mother-reports of paternal direct engagement and child reports of father–child closeness. Results indicated a good model fit and that father–child closeness and direct engagement were appropriate indicators of non-resident father involvement. Results suggest that researchers should consider including both affective and frequency measures when studying father involvement, and practitioners should attend to the potential value of promoting father–child closeness among racially/ethnically diverse, low-income fathers.

Explaining the Link Between Paternal Socioeconomic Position and Small for Gestational Age Birth: The Effect of Maternal Unhealthy Behaviors.

To determine the proportion of small for gestational age (weight < 10th percentile, SGA) births among fathers with lifelong low (compared to high) socioeconomic position (SEP) attributable to white and African-American women's unhealthy pregnancy-related behaviors. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition methods were conducted on the Illinois transgenerational dataset of infants (1989-1991) and their Chicago-born parents (1956-1976) with appended US census income data. The neighborhood income of father's residence at the time of his birth and at the time of his infant's birth were used to estimate his lifetime SEP. Maternal unhealthy pregnancy-related behaviors were defined as cigarette smoking, inadequate prenatal care, and/or low weight gain during pregnancy. Among African-American women, births (n = 4426) to fathers with lifetime low SEP had an SGA rate of 14.8% compared to 12.1% for those (n = 365) born to fathers with lifetime high SEP (p < 0.0001). Among white women, births (n = 1430) to fathers with lifetime low SEP had an SGA rate of 9.8% compared to 6.2% for those (n = 9141) born to fathers with lifetime high SEP (p < 0.0001). Adjusting for maternal age, marital status, education, and parity, African-American and white women's unhealthy pregnancy behaviors accounted for 25% and 33%, respectively, of the disparity in SGA rates among infants of lifetime low (compared to high) SEP fathers. A significant proportion of the disparity in SGA rates between fathers with lifelong low (compared to high) SEP is explained in both races by maternal unhealthy pregnancy behaviors.

Becoming a Father, Staying a Father: An Examination of the Cumulative Wage Premium for U.S. Residential Fathers

Abstract The instability of fathers’ co-residence with children has become an increasingly prevalent experience for U.S. families. Despite long-standing scholarship examining the relationship between fatherhood and wage advantages, few studies have investigated how variation in fathers’ stable co-residence with a child may produce temporal changes in the wage premium over the life course. Building on prior explanations of the fatherhood wage premium, I test if the wage premium grows with time since the birth of a resident child and if the premium depends on fathers’ co-residence with a child. I use marginal structural models with repeated outcome measures and data from 4060 men in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 to assess the cumulative influence of co-residential biological fatherhood on wages. I find that each year of residential fatherhood is associated with a wage gain of 1.2 percent, while the immediate wage benefit to residential fatherhood is minor. Thus, the fatherhood premium is better understood as an unfolding process of cumulative advantage rather than a one-time bonus. Furthermore, the wage premium ceases to accumulate once fathers lose co-residential status with a child, which highlights the contingency of the premium on stable co-residence. Together, these findings shed light on one pathway through which family (in)stability—a phenomenon fundamentally embedded in individual life experiences—stratifies men’s wages across the life course.

The Ecology of Early Development: Fathers’ Home Involvement and Child’s Later Educational Outcomes

This study examined the relationship between young children’s cognitive development and fathers’ engagement in early childhood. The study examined fathers’ home engagement patterns based on literacy, play, and caregiving activities when their children were 9-month-old and these patterns of engagement in 9-month-old were related to children’s cognitive development in preschool. Latent class analysis (LCA) procedure was used to create subgroups/classes of fathers based on their actual engagement. The study employed multiple data sources from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). The data sources include a self-administered resident father survey, direct child assessment, and parent interviews. The results of the study suggested that there were five distinct classes of fathers based on their actual engagement. A total of 6.200 fathers were included in the analysis to create father classes. In the regression analysis, a total 0f 4.800 children were included. Although father classes were mostly similar, there were two distinct father classes with different actual engagement patterns based on child’s gender. Although, the class of fathers with the highest likelihood of engaging their infant girls had a negative effect on girls’ literacy and mathematics scale score in preschool, the results regarding children’s later educational outcomes were mixed.

Examining parents' susceptibility: Coparenting relationships and parental involvement in low‐income families

AbstractObjectiveThis study investigated whether fathers' involvement in play with young children was more susceptible than mothers' involvement to coparenting relationships in low‐income families and examined child gender and fathers' residential status as moderators of susceptibility.BackgroundParental involvement in developmentally appropriate and stimulating activities benefits young children. The coparenting relationship plays an important role in shaping parental involvement, and its impact may be stronger for fathers, rendering fathers more susceptible.MethodData were drawn from 4606 families in the Building Strong Families project. Mothers and fathers reported coparenting relationship quality and involvement in play with children at 15‐ and 36‐month follow‐up studies. Cross‐lagged panel models were used incorporating actor‐partner interdependence.ResultsOverall, fathers' involvement was more strongly affected by coparenting relationship quality than mothers' involvement. Elevated susceptibility to coparenting did not apply to all fathers. The involvement of fathers of girls (vs. fathers of boys) and non‐resident fathers (vs. resident fathers) was more strongly affected by fathers' perceptions of coparenting. The actor effect from coparenting to involvement was stronger for fathers than mothers in families with non‐resident fathers. No significant differences were found in partner effects.ConclusionThis study reveals that parents' susceptibility is multiply determined and highlights the importance of considering the interrelated nature of family subsystems. Intervention programs targeting parenting and coparenting should spare more efforts to involve fathers, especially those whose engagement in parenting may be most susceptible to family processes.

A Study to Assess the Stress and Coping Behavior among B.Sc Nursing first year Students at Selected Nursing College in Chengalpet District.

Stress is a natural phenomenon that every individual goes through in his or her life and is caused by causative stressfactors or stressors. Constant stress leads to changes in the balance of hormones in the body which can lead to a situationor thought that makes us feel frustrated, angry, nervous or anxious. The objectives of the study are to identify the levelof stress and coping behaviour among First Year B.Sc. Nursing Students, to Associate the level of stress and copingwith selected Demographic variables among First year B.Sc. Nursing Students. The sample size was 250. The researchdesign used in this study is Cross- Sectional study design. The results study shows that among 250 Based on stress 89%(n=222) had severe stress and 11% (n=28) had Moderate stress. Based on coping 85% (n=213) had good coping skill 10%(n=24) had Moderate coping and 5% (n=13) had excellent coping skill. Regarding Association of Demographic variableswith the stress level and coping level, the result shows that there is a significant association between stress level withSex, Percentage of Higher secondary marks, Leisure Time Activities and state belongs to the student and there is nosignificance association between stress level with Age, place of residence, education and occupation of father, medium oflanguage in schooling and course chosen by. In coping result shows that there is a significant association between copinglevel with state and there is no significant association between level of coping with Age, sex, place of residence, leisuretime activities, education and occupation of father, medium of language in schooling, course chosen by and percentageof higher secondary marks

Psychological Distress, Destructive Conflict, and Parenting among Residential and Nonresidential Fathers

We utilized the Determinants of Parenting process model to examine correlates of paternal parenting by father’s residential status. Data consisted of fathers (N = 1,784) who participated in a federally funded Responsible Fatherhood program. Study variables were assessed through fathers’ self-reports. Using a structural equation modeling framework, the results of multi-group analyses revealed differences in parenting by father’s residential status. For residential fathers, both psychological distress and destructive conflict related to less nurturance and involvement, and destructive conflict was a mechanism through which psychological distress promoted harsh parenting. Nonresidential fathers were less involved when destructive conflict was present. These findings underscore fathers’ sensitivity to the context of interpersonal relationships and suggest that fatherhood education programs address the needs of both residential and nonresidential fathers.

Exploring the roles of fathers from the perspective of informal women workers: a longitudinal mixed methods study from Durban, South Africa

ABSTRACT Informal women workers are vulnerable to poverty and job insecurity, but little is known about how they manage multiple childcare and work responsibilities without maternity protection. We explore perspectives of informal working mothers about the role played by their child’s father. A longitudinal mixed-methods study was conducted among women informal workers. In-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted at transition points from pregnancy until after women returned to work. Focus group discussions (FGDs) explored the social support systems participants relied on. Twenty-four informal workers were enrolled; 87 IDIs conducted; 14 women participated in three FGDs. Participants had low-paid, insecure informal jobs. Twenty-three participants were in a relationship with the child’s father, and nine were living with him. Fathers played a central role providing emotional, practical and financial support, particularly fathers living in the same household. Most resident fathers took a strong practical role caring for the household and for the baby but traditional practices limited non-resident father’s ability to provide emotional or practical support. Most fathers had low incomes and were unable to provide financial support, so many women returned to work early. Fathers are willing to provide substantial support that is crucial for family well-being, but non-residence is a barrier.

Improvements in father-child interactions: Video observations from the Just Beginning study

The Just Beginning intervention aims to improve the quality of interactions between fathers with low income and their young children. This intervention was implemented at a fatherhood program site in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fathers participated in up to five sessions of the Just Beginning program, which included unstructured play sessions with their young child. In this paper, we use growth curve models to estimate patterns of change across the five sessions in the quality of the father-child interactions, drawing on 152 video observations from 53 father-child dyads. We find that fathers’ positive regard toward their children increased across JB sessions, but do not find statistically significant changes in other indicators of fathers’ positive parenting behaviors or in fathers’ negative parenting behaviors. Estimating results for non-resident and resident fathers, we find that improvements in positive parenting behaviors appeared to be larger and more widespread for non-resident fathers than they were for fathers who lived with their focal children.

Gender role attitudes and father practices as predictors of nonresident father-child contact.

Due to an increasing number of parental union dissolutions, a growing number of fathers does not cohabit with their biological children. This article analyses individual and societal gender role attitudes as well as societal father practices as determinants of nonresident father-child contact. Previous research shows that individual-level factors influence the relationship between nonresident fathers and their children. Research on resident fathers indicates that individual attitudes and societal contexts affect father-child involvement. Little is known on the relationship between individual gender role attitudes as well as societal gender role attitudes and father practices and nonresident fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives. To shed more light thereon, we examine data from eleven Eastern and Western European countries from the first wave of the Gender and Generations Survey. We analyze two samples: One consisting of nonresident fathers of children aged 0 to 13 and one of fathers of adolescents aged 14 to 17. Logistic regression models assess if individual and societal gender role attitudes as well as societal father practices predict the probability of monthly father-child contact. Contact between nonresident fathers is affected by different factors depending on whether the focus is on children or adolescents. Societal gender role attitudes and societal father practices predict the probability of monthly contact between fathers and their children; individual gender role attitudes are less important. Individual gender role attitudes, on the other hand, predict the probability of monthly contact between nonresident fathers and their adolescent children; societal factors matter less for this age group.

Examining the Effects of Fathers' Residency Status on Childhood Obesity.

To examine whether fathers' residency status is associated with increased BMI z-scores among young and pre-adolescent children. Propensity score matching was used to examine the effects of fathers' residency status on child BMI z-scores for children between the ages of 2-5 and 9-11years old. Fathers self-reported their residency status as either being residential or nonresidential, based on the amount of time they lived in the same household as the child enrolled in the study. We conducted a series of cross-sectional matched analyses using three waves of data from 1448 families who participated in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. We did not find a difference in BMI z-scores among children based on their father's residency status for children between the ages of 2-5years old but did find a marginally significant difference in BMI z-scores for children between 9 and 11years old. Our findings suggest that fathers' residency status is not associated with increased BMI z-scores among young children but may be slightly predictive of differences in BMI z-scores among pre-adolescent children. The results from our study begin to explore the scientific gains of analyzing the influence of diverse family structures on childhood obesity outcomes. Our focus on fathers' residency status adds to the literature by highlighting some of the risks and resources that fathers from diverse family structures bring to family functioning and children's health and wellbeing.

Resident and Non-resident Father Involvement, Coparenting, and the Development of Children's Self-Regulation Among Families Facing Economic Hardship.

Self-regulation, or the ability to effectively manage emotions and behavior, is a critical skill to develop in early childhood. Children living in a context of economic hardship are at an increased risk for developing self-regulation difficulties. However, few studies have comprehensively examined how multiple aspects of the caregiving environment, including fathers’ parenting and coparenting quality, may contribute to child self-regulation. Thus, this study applied a family systems perspective to examine whether coparenting and resident and non-resident fathers’ reports of parenting quantity and quality were associated with observations of children’s self-regulation. Participants were drawn from the Embedded Developmental Study (n = 257) of the Three-City Study, a longitudinal study of children and families facing economic hardship. At Wave 1, when children were 2–4 years old, reports of parenting (i.e., quantity and quality) and coparenting (i.e., support) were obtained. At Wave 2, when children were 3–6 years old, children participated in a snack delay and gift wrap task, which assessed their self-regulation. Multi-group path analyses indicated that resident fathers’ harsh parenting at Wave 1 predicted decreased levels of self-regulation at Wave 2. Non-resident fathers’ reported hours of involvement at Wave 1 predicted greater levels of self-regulation at Wave 2. Additionally, supportive coparenting among families with a non-resident father predicted greater self-regulation. Supportive coparenting was not associated with child self-regulation in families with a resident father. The implications for research focused on facilitating positive father–child relationships in diverse family contexts are discussed.

Are Separated Fathers Less or More Involved in Childrearing than Partnered Fathers?

Separated fathers are generally assumed to be less involved with their children than partnered fathers. Yet, extant research on separated fathers has mainly focused on nonresident fathers without taking into consideration the existing diversity in post-separation residence arrangements. In fact, separated resident and shared residence fathers may possibly be more involved than partnered fathers, because the former likely bear primary childcare responsibilities, while the latter often act as secondary caregivers. This study extends previous research by investigating father involvement via regular care and leisure activities across a full range of separated fathers, and how it compares to that of partnered fathers, as well as whether patterns differ by father’s education. Data from the New Families in the Netherlands survey (N = 1592) reveal that as compared to partnered fathers, shared residence fathers and especially resident fathers are more actively involved in the regular care of their child, whereas nonresident fathers are less involved. Results are similar for leisure, except that partnered fathers are similarly involved as shared residence fathers in this activity. Education also matters: involvement of fathers across different post-separation residence arrangements is more similar to that of partnered fathers when being highly educated. These findings suggest that including resident and shared residence fathers in the picture offers a more optimistic view of fathers’ post-separation parenting role, because these separated fathers are actually more actively involved in childrearing than partnered fathers.

Latino resident fathers’ early involvement with infants.

Despite the growing number of Latino families in the United States (Passel et al., 2011), Latino fathers are an understudied segment of the population. We examined a subsample of Latino residential fathers (n = 859) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Measures of fathers' generational status and fathering beliefs, including adherence to traditional gender roles and fathering identity salience, were collected at child's birth; father involvement was collected at infant age one year. We tested longitudinal mediations between fathers' generational status, fathering beliefs, and involvement using structural equation modeling. Fathers' generational status impacted the amount of time fathers spend with their children in tasks relating to direct caregiving, but not necessarily cognitive engagement. Findings highlight the importance of considering cultural context in early Latino father involvement.

Black Female Adolescents’ Sexuality: Pleasure Expectancies, Sexual Guilt, and Age of Sexual Debut

This study examined individual and familial influences on Black female adolescents’ (N = 1426) sexual pleasure expectancies, sexual guilt, and age of sexual debut using data from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent to Adult Health. Results indicated significant differences between Black female adolescents that were sexually active and those that were not. Religious importance, having a residential father, and perceived pubertal timing were significantly associated with sexual guilt and pleasure expectancies. Religious importance and perceived pubertal timing were also associated with later ages of sexual debut. These results have implications for sexuality education and future research using sex positive and intimate justice frameworks.