Resident Fathers Research Articles

Romantic Relationship Quality of Youth with Two Biological Parents and Stepfathers

This study uses data from a sample of 7,404 respondents from Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine how the quality of relationships between parents (mother–father) and relationships between parents and children during adolescence (mother–adolescent and resident father–adolescent) influence children’s romantic relationship quality in young adulthood. This study also examined whether these family of origin factors operate similarly or differently for children raised with biological fathers and married stepfathers. Results indicate that mother–(step)father, mother–adolescent, and resident (step)father–adolescent relationship quality are all positively associated with adult children’s romantic relationship quality. However, the association between mother–(step)father relationship quality and young adult children’s romantic relationship quality was stronger for those who resided in stepfamilies.

The Minimum Wage and Fathers’ Residence with Children

The minimum wage is an important determinant of earnings among lower-skilled parents and may have implications for their children’s living arrangements. We used nationally representative data to examine associations between the minimum wage and fathers’ residence with their biological children. Results revealed no association between the minimum wage and father residence among all low-income families. However, this finding masks important heterogeneity within these families based on which parent’s earnings were sensitive to minimum wage levels. In families where only fathers’ earnings were sensitive to minimum wage levels, fathers were more likely to live with their children as minimum wages increased, consistent with research that shows the importance of economic stability for fathers’ residence and custody arrangements. In contrast, in families where only mothers’ earnings were sensitive to minimum wage levels, higher minimum wages were negatively associated with fathers’ residence, consistent with theories of maternal independence. These associations with residence were not observed in situations where both parents’ earnings were sensitive to the minimum wage. Results indicate that these economic policies may be consequential for family processes and well-being in key subsets of low-earning families.

Father absence and sexual partner preference amongst women in Masvingo urban, Zimbabwe

Father absence is a trend that has been on the surge globally and locally, and its effects can be felt in children’s lives up to adulthood. This study sought to explore how father absence mediates sexual partner preference amongst women who would have grown without their biological fathers. This was achieved by comparing the sexual partner preferences of women who grew up without fathers against those who grew up with their fathers. A quantitative approach was taken, particularly employing an ex post facto research design. A one-stage cluster sampling strategy was used to select 392 women, who participated in this study. Of the 392 participants, 168 were women who had grown up in father-absent homes, whereas the remaining 224 had grown up with a resident father. A standardised instrument, the mate preference questionnaire, was used to collect data. This study revealed that father absence influences the preference of a sexual partner, particularly the age gap with the preferred romantic partner, physical aspects of the sexual partner and values about chastity. Women who grew up in fatherless homes showed a preference for good looks and masculinity in a romantic over issues such as good financial prospect and ambitiousness and industriousness. The most preferred characteristic expressed by women who emerged from father-absent homes was that the romantic partner should be a father figure. This study recommends that voluntary organisations that promote fatherhood programs should be set up to raise awareness on the importance of fathering. Moreover, future research should explore the impact of father absence amongst married women so as to ascertain if father absence affects relationships within a marriage. Keywords: Partner preference, father absence, romantic partner, women, relationship.

Longitudinal relations between coparenting and father engagement in low-income residential and nonresidential father families.

Coparenting relationship quality and father involvement are closely linked but few studies have investigated this relationship using samples of socioeconomically disadvantaged families. The current study used family systems theory to examine the longitudinal and bidirectional relations between coparenting relationship quality and father engagement in caregiving and play, using a large and racially diverse sample of low-income residential and nonresidential fathers in the Building Strong Families project (N = 1,908). Structural equation modeling tested cross-lagged relations between couple-level coparenting and father engagement at two time points for both residential and nonresidential father families. For residential fathers, positive coparenting at 15 months predicted father engagement in caregiving at 36 months. There was no support for a bidirectional or unidirectional model between coparenting and father engagement in play for either residential or nonresidential fathers. There were significant concurrent relations between coparenting and father engagement in caregiving and play for both residential and nonresidential fathers, providing support for positive spillover in line with family systems theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Fathering quality in early childhood and kindergarten achievement in low-income racial-ethnic minority children.

The relative lack of attention to fathers' effects on children's achievement is even more apparent when examining fathering among low-income racial-ethnic minorities. We examined relations of fathering qualities when children were 2-3 years old with subsequent reading and mathematics achievement in kindergarten in a sample of low-income African American (n = 119) and primarily Mexican-origin Latino children (n = 193) from multiple neighborhood areas of a large city in the southwestern United States. Measures of parenting qualities were based on qualitative ratings of videotaped observations of father-child and mother-child interactions collected in the home during semistructured play activities. Mathematics and reading achievement scores were based on administration of the Woodcock-Johnson Revised (Woodcock & Muñoz-Sandoval, 1993) or the Batería Woodcock-Muñoz (Woodcock & Munoz-Sandoval, 1996), as appropriate depending upon the child's language. A structural equations model in which kindergarten mathematics and reading achievement were regressed on early childhood fathering displayed good model fit, χ2(72) = 131.30, p < .001, comparative fit index = .954, root mean square error of approximation = .051, standardized root mean square residual = .079. Results indicated that sensitive support from African American and Latino resident fathers was associated with their children's mathematics achievement even after controlling for mothers' sensitive support, but fathering quality was not associated with reading achievement. The implications of these findings for the study of fathering in racial-ethnic minority populations as well as for the development of early preventive interventions to support academic achievement are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Paternal and maternal prescription opioid use and misuse: General and specific risks for early adolescents’ substance use

BackgroundParent substance use is a risk factor early adolescents’ substance use. Theoretical models of deviance and general substance use risk may not apply to risk-transmission pathways involving parents’ prescription opioid misuse (POM) and child outcomes. Thus, we examined predictions of children’s alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana (ATM) use in early adolescence, from parental POM, delinquency, depressive symptoms, and ATM use. MethodChildren (n = 216; 121 female) participated from early childhood to ages 11–12 or 13–14 years with their 111 fathers and 136 mothers. At all available waves, self-reports were collected on each parents’ POM, ATM, prescription opioid use (POU), depressive symptoms, and delinquent behavior, and children’s ATM use. ResultsPoisson regressions were run separately by parent, controlled for child age and gender and paternal age at child’s birth, and accounted for clustering of children in families. Child ATM use was predicted by paternal POM, but the effect was better explained by paternal ATM use, which was a stronger effect in families with higher father–child residential contact. In contrast and unexpectedly, mothers’ POU but not POM predicted child ATM use, and the effect was not explained by the significant predictions from maternal ATM use and delinquency. ConclusionFathers’ POM and mothers’ POU predicted child ATM use by early adolescence. Findings generally were consistent with parent–child risk–transmission processes described for other substances. Resident fathers’ substance use and multiple maternal risk factors are worthy foci for prevention of the intergenerational transmission of substance use.

Nonstandard Work Schedules and Father Involvement Among Resident and Nonresident Fathers.

We examined associations between resident and nonresident fathers' nonstandard work schedules, work hours, and their level of involvement with their young children in the United States. Nonstandard work schedules may negatively impact father involvement either directly by reducing fathers' availability or indirectly by taking a toll on their wellbeing. Prior research on nonstandard schedules and father involvement has focused on two-parent households, yet nonstandard schedules may pose similar or greater challenges to nonresident fathers. Using data on 1598 resident and 759 nonresident fathers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we estimated regression models to test associations between fathers' nonstandard work schedules, work hours, and fathers' involvement-accessibility, engagement, and responsibility-controlling for confounding factors and using residualized change models. For nonresident fathers only, we estimated associations between nonstandard schedules, work hours, and child support. Among nonresident fathers, working evenings was associated with lower engagement relative to working standard hours only and other nonstandard schedules, and in some models, working a variable schedule was associated with greater responsibility relative to other nonstandard schedules. Among resident fathers, working any nonstandard schedule versus standard hours only was associated with greater responsibility, and total work hours were negatively associated with each measure of involvement. Findings suggest that fathers' work schedules may be an important factor in understanding resident and nonresident fathers' involvement with their young children.

Examining multiple dimensions of father involvement as predictors of risk-taking intentions among black adolescent females

Although scholars have highlighted the differential impacts of father involvement on the outcomes of sons and daughters, less attention has been given to the impact of father involvement on Black adolescent females. This line of inquiry is important given the unique risks Black females face, such as increased likelihood of early unintended pregnancy, increasing rates of delinquency and increased interaction with law enforcement. Given its potential impact, it is important to explore the ways in which father involvement matters to female adolescents’ intentions to engage in risky behaviors. The current study utilized a national, cross-sectional sample of 287 adolescent females from the Black Families Project. Participants ranged in age from 13 to 17 years old (M = 15.4 years; SD = 1.25) and completed the study survey via Qualtrics Panels. ANOVA results suggest that adolescent perceptions of father involvement differ by father residence type. A three-step hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to understand which dimensions of father involvement matter to a daughter’s intent to engage in risky behaviors. Results indicate that among Black female adolescents with biological resident and non-resident father-figures, significant predictors of their intent to engage in risky behaviors included father- daughter closeness and engagement in activities. These dimensions of father involvement were not significant for adolescents living in households with a social father. Implications for practice are discussed.

Supplemental Material for Longitudinal Relations Between Coparenting and Father Engagement in Low-Income Residential and Nonresidential Father Families

Supplemental Material for Longitudinal Relations Between Coparenting and Father Engagement in Low-Income Residential and Nonresidential Father Families

Parenting Practices and Emerging Adult Sexual Health: The Role of Residential Fathers.

Emerging adulthood is a developmental period with high rates of sexual risk behavior. Effective parenting practices can reduce the likelihood of this behavior, but most research on the protective effects of parenting focuses on mothers. Research is needed to assess the role of paternal parenting in regards to their children's sexual risk behavior, particularly for children of teen mothers, who show a greater likelihood of risky sexual behaviors than those with older mothers. We investigated associations between residential fathers' parenting processes-communication, disapproval of teen sexual behavior, parental presence, and closeness-during adolescence and sexual risk behaviors reported by their children in emerging adulthood. Using multiple group structural equation modeling with data from 7399 participants at Wave I and Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we examined whether and how residential fathers' parenting relates to their children's sexual risk behavior independent of mothers' parenting processes, and whether these associations differ across children's sex and for children of teen and older mothers. We found that adolescents' perceptions of higher father disapproval of teen sexual behavior predicted lower levels of sexual risk behavior during emerging adulthood with no significant differences across emerging adults' sex or for children of teen relative to older mothers. Our findings suggest that teens' relationships with their fathers during adolescence are important for their future sexual health, despite a general understanding of emerging adulthood as a period characterized by independence and separation from parents. Additionally, our results suggest that even though children of teen mothers show greater likelihood of risky sexual behaviors than those of older parents, the processes through which fathers can support teens' sexual health may be similar.

Communicative Support and Parental Knowledge among African American Residential Fathers: Longitudinal Associations with Adolescent Substance Use

The current examines how African American residential fathers’ communicative support and parental knowledge influence adolescents’ substance use across a 3-year period. Additionally, this study examines whether these associations vary for African American boys and girls. Participants were 665 African American adolescents (M = 13.1 years of age; 49% female) from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth-1997. All adolescents resided with their fathers or father figures. Individual and parallel process growth curve analyses examined how communicative support and parental knowledge were associated with initial levels and rate of change in African American adolescents’ substance use. Although African American girls exhibited higher initial levels of substance use, there was greater growth in boys’ substance use over time. Analyses indicated that residential fathers’ parental knowledge was associated with substance use over time for both girls and boys. Findings also revealed that demographic factors more strongly predicted father–daughter relational characteristics. Our study highlights how African American residential fathers’ parenting practices influence adolescent substance use. Further, this investigation suggests that gender and demographic variation in relation to African American girls’ and boys’ substance use is highly nuanced. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Father-Adolescent Conflict and Adolescent Symptoms: The Moderating Roles of Father Residential Status and Type.

The purpose of this study was to examine if the longitudinal associations between father-adolescent conflict and both externalizing and internalizing symptoms in youth were moderated by fathers' residential status (i.e., whether or not he lived in the home) and type of residential father (i.e., biological or step). Adolescents (N = 146) completed a measure about conflict with their father or stepfather in 8th and 9th grade. At the same time points, mothers completed measures about the youths' externalizing and internalizing symptoms. The association between 8th grade conflict and 9th grade externalizing symptoms was moderated by fathers' residential status. Conflict with fathers in 8th grade was positively associated with 9th grade externalizing symptoms when youths resided with their father (biological and stepfathers were included); in contrast, higher levels of father-adolescent conflict were associated with lower levels of subsequent externalizing symptoms when fathers did not live with the youth. Externalizing symptoms in 8th grade did not significantly predict father-adolescent conflict in grade 9. Regarding internalizing symptoms, the association between father-adolescent conflict in 8th grade and internalizing symptoms in 9th grade was moderated by father's residential status; conflict predicted higher levels of internalizing symptoms when the biological father lived elsewhere. Higher levels of 8th grade internalizing symptoms also significantly predicted greater conflict between adolescents and their fathers in 9th grade for residential fathers only. The associations among adolescent emotional and behavioral outcomes and paternal-child relationship qualities vary with symptom type and family structures and, thus, warrant further comprehensive study.

Maternal Depressive Symptoms, Adolescent Daughters’ Substance Use, and Father Residence in Minority Families

abstractBackground: Maternal depression has been linked to substance use in adolescents, but the mechanisms of the relationship between maternal depression and adolescent substance use are less clear. Specifically, previous literature has overlooked the role of fathers as a potential protective or exacerbating factor in buffering this relationship. Objectives: The goal of this study was to investigate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and adolescent substance use, exploring father’s residential status as a moderator for adolescents living with a mother with depressive symptoms. Method: Paper-and-pencil surveys were administered to a sample of 176 mothers and their adolescent daughters aged 14-18, predominantly identifying as African American/Black. Participants included a subset of mothers with HIV. Results: The results revealed that maternal depressive symptoms were not directly associated with adolescent substance use. However, father’s residential status was found to be a significant moderator in the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms and adolescent substance use. Specifically, when fathers were involved in the daughter’s life (residential or non-resident), substance use was higher in adolescents of mothers with high depressive symptoms than in those of mothers with low depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The results suggest that varied family dynamics are critical to understanding engagement in substance use among adolescent girls, including the influence of both mothers and fathers.

Investigating and Prioritizing Factors Affecting Health Literacy in University Students of Yazd Using Artificial Neural Network Technique

Introduction: Current university students are potential and actual parents of future generations. The level of their health literacy affects health and health literacy level of future generations. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was investigating and prioritizing the factors affecting the health literacy of students in Yazd (a city in central Iran) using an artificial neural network technique. Methods: This study was cross-sectional and descriptive and it was conducted on 400 university students in Yazd during autumn 2018. Data were collected using a questionnaire on health literacy and 14 independent variables. Data were analyzed with SPSS software via descriptive statistics, one sample T-test, and artificial neural network. Results: The mean of students' health literacy was 80.65±12.21. The most important factors affecting the level of students' health literacy were the grade, college, father's education level, age, and residence. Conclusion: Since grade had the greatest impact on health literacy of students, it is suggested that university officials consider the campus to hold classes, lectures, workshops and distribute appropriate resources such as brochures, booklets among students and also provide health information stations at locations such as dining room, university entrance, and dormitory to promote students' health literacy in lower grades

THE INTERGENERATIONAL STABILITY OF PUNISHMENT: PATERNAL INCARCERATION AND SUSPENSION OR EXPULSION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

I extend the life-course theory of cumulative disadvantage to focus on continuity in punishment across generations. Specifically, I examine (1) the association between paternal incarceration and elementary school suspension or expulsion and (2) the extent to which behavior problems and weakened social bonds explain this association. Analyses rely on logistic regression, propensity score matching, and mediation methods with data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N=3,201), a birth-cohort of children born in large United States cities between 1998 and 2000. The odds of school punishment among children who had a residential father incarcerated by age five are 75% greater than the odds for children in a matched control group. About one-third of this association is accounted for by behavior problems and weakened social bonds. Even after accounting for behavior problems and social bonds, children whose father was incarcerated are at greater risk of school punishment. I find evidence of an intergenerational stability of punishment and mixed support for an intergenerational extension to cumulative disadvantage theory. Paternal incarceration is associated with children's likelihood of experiencing formal punishment in elementary school, and behavior problems and weakened social bonds explain part of this association.

The Persistence of Poverty and Residential Father Absence in Low Birthweight Children's Family Environments Trajectories: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study of American Children

Background: Low birthweight infants are more often born to poor and single mothers. We examined if such disparities in poverty and residential father absence persisted throughout the first five years of life. Methods: Four waves of data from The Fragile Families Child and Wellbeing Study linked to individual medical records were analysed for 2638 children born to unmarried mothers. Sequence analysis of poverty and residential father absence was used to characterize childhood family environment trajectories (FETs). In addition to describing the types of FETs that these children experienced, we used multinomial logistic regression to predict FET by low birthweight adjusting for maternal education, race, and age. Findings: We find that that low birthweight children continue to suffer disproportional levels of poverty and residential father absence relative to their non-low birthweight peers thought-out their childhood years. Low birthweight children had an elevated risk of growing up in a family environment characterized by poverty and cohabiting motherhood (relative risk ratio 2·12, 95% CI 1·23-3·66), or in a family environment typified by poverty and residential father absence (1·60, 1·07-2·59). Interpretation: The persistence of poverty and residential father absence that low birthweight children experience is striking, even when considering a subpopulation of high-risk children in isolation and adjusting for socio-demographic confounders. Understanding and addressing the consequences of these childhood disparities at the family environment level is paramount in reducing long-term health risks for vulnerable low birthweight children. Funding Statement: This study was in part supported by the Carlsberg Foundation, grant number 2013_01_0817. Lisbeth Loft is currently supported by the European Research Council, grant number 707099. Declaration of Interests: Lisbeth Loft has nothing to disclose Ethics Approval Statement: This study was conducted with approval by University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Social Sciences (j.nr.: 514-0070/19-2000). The data used in this study had been stripped of all identifying information and of any potential links back to identifiers before the author was granted access. For this reason, this study was considered exempt.

Assessing Policy Effectiveness to Measure Inequality of Opportunity in Wellbeing and Education: Case of Tunisia

This paper aims to examine the effects and evolution of unequal opportunities on the distribution of wellbeing indicators covering the period 2005 to 2010. We used parametric and non-parametric approach for well-being and Dissimilarity-Index for education. Father's education, residence area, and connection to drinking water appear to be the most important background variables affecting well-being profile. Child’s sex appears to be the most important determinant of the accessibility to education. Policy makers must make appropriate policies to reduce intergenerational transmission of parental background and sex discrimination and to overcome traps of inequality for future generations. We found that the place of residence with a contribution rate of 22.25%. Thus, the influence of the place of residence on the distribution of accessibility to education can be explained by the fact that the inhabitants of rural areas remain disadvantaged compared to urban dwellers in terms of lack of basic infrastructure (the distances that separate households from public primary or secondary establishments).

Sociosexuality, testosterone, and life history status: prospective associations and longitudinal changes among men in Cebu, Philippines

Abstract Sociosexuality is defined as an individual's interest in uncommitted sexual activity and can be measured in terms of both psychological orientations and behavioral expression. In socio-ecological contexts in which adults monogamously partner and cooperate to raise children, individuals with unrestricted sociosexuality are likely to prioritize mating/competition over committed partnering and parenting. Given the importance of mother-father cooperation in the evolutionary past, humans may have the capacity to facultatively and opportunistically downregulate sociosexuality to focus on priorities related to invested partnering and parenting. To date, no prior studies have used longitudinal data to track within-individuals changes in sociosexuality as it relates to such life history transitions. Given the lack of prior longitudinal research in this area, it is likewise unknown what physiological mechanisms might mediate within-individual changes in sociosexuality through time but testosterone is a plausible candidate. To explore these questions, we drew on a large, long-running study of Filipino men (n = 288), who were single non-fathers at 25.9 years of age and were followed up 4–5 years later. We found that men with more unrestricted sociosexuality at baseline were more likely to experience relationship dissolution by follow-up, consistent with past work. Compared to men who remained single non-fathers at follow-up, men who became married residential fathers showed shifts towards more restricted global sociosexuality as well as sociosexual behavior. Relative to their own baseline values, married residential fathers also had more restricted sociosexuality in all domains at follow-up. They were the only group for whom this was found. We found theoretically-consistent but modest support for positive correlations between men's testosterone and their sociosexuality, but no evidence that the two change in tandem together through time. Our results suggest that some amount of between-individual differences in sociosexuality are not stable and can facultatively shift alongside other aspects of male reproductive effort.

Psychological Distress Among Resident and Nonresident Fathers: Findings From New Zealand’s Who Are Today’s Dads? Project

When fathers live away from their children, taking an active paternal role may become challenging and can add to paternal psychological distress. In a large ( N = 3,980) diverse cohort, we found that nonresident fathers are more likely to be psychologically distressed than resident fathers (27.4% vs. 15.2%) and more likely to report wanting a change in the level of involvement they have in their child’s life (76.6% vs. 58.1%). Nonresident fathers were more likely to suffer economic hardship, unemployment, poor health, and have a depression and anxiety history ( ps &lt; .001). However, the factors associated with increased psychological distress were largely the same across resident and nonresident fathers. The biggest stressors were managing work alongside family responsibilities and commitments, arguments with the partner, prior history of depression, and economic hardship or deprivation. Fathers’ actual levels of involvement and desired levels of involvement with their child did not predict their psychological distress.

Fatherhood and psychobiology in the Philippines: Perspectives on joint profiles and longitudinal changes of fathers' estradiol and testosterone.

Research on the psychobiology of partnering and fathering has focused on testosterone (T), oxytocin, and prolactin (PRL) as mechanisms that potentially mediate life history trade-offs related to those roles. Less is known about other hormones that might be responsive to life history transitions and implicated in fathering, such as estradiol (E2). We examined how E2 changed during the transition to marriage and fatherhood, its correlation with fathers' caregiving, and its joint within-individual production with other hormones (T, PRL). Data were collected from a total of 913 Filipino men (aged 25.9 years ± 0.3 SD at follow-up) enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study. Morning saliva samples collected at baseline (2005) and follow-up (2009) were assayed for T and E2 (n = 329), dried blood spots from baseline were assayed for PRL. Fathers reported on caregiving in 2009. When compared with men who remained single non-fathers over the study period, men who became married residential fathers experienced larger declines in E2. This effect was non-significant when we controlled for longitudinal changes in T. E2 was not significantly related to fathers' caregiving, controlling for T. In cross-sectional analyses for PRL, T, and E2, married residential fathers exhibited within-individual profiles of reduced T and elevated PRL, whereas single non-fathers exhibited the opposite profile of elevated T and reduced PRL. Our findings point to the need for future research to consider the mutually regulatory dynamics and/or combinatorial implications of multiple physiological axes acting within individuals to underpin life history trade-offs and behavioral strategies.