Unwed Fathers Research Articles

Smaller System Predictors of Satisfaction with Low-Income Paternal Involvement of Noncustodial African American Fathers

Purpose: Shifts in the rates of divorce, marriage, and childbirth are accompanied by shifts in rates of diverse family structures. The science to date is mixed on the predictors of father involvement among unwed fathers: The current study investigated the impact of smaller system predictors on the paternal satisfaction of African American noncustodial fathers’ (NCFs) paternal involvement. Methods: 163 noncustodial with and without multipartnered fertility were selected for study. Results: The study authors investigated the extent to which offspring status (whether they only have children with the custodial parent without multipartnered fertility; or have other children with other mothers, which is multipartnered fertility, has on the duration of their relationship with the custodial parent before their child was conceived, and after their child was conceived. Additionally, the current study seeks to determine whether offspring status impacts NCFs overall parental involvement satisfaction levels. Discussion: Future research on practice with unwed fathers with children with different partners is highlighted.

Illegitimacy under Hindu Law: A Case for its Abandonment

Abstract Under Hindu law, while anciently an illegitimate child was not an alien to his kin as under Common law, the position under the codified Hindu law stood altered, likely as a consequence of the English influence during the colonization of India. This paper, critiquing the treatment of illegitimate children under Hindu law traces the historical link between legitimacy and marriage, and its legal and sociological basis. This link has been perpetrated across societies, over time, and through legal and moral media, and has also been justified by sociologists as a means to preserve the society, by preserving its fundamental constituent – a normative family. The Indian State machinery (courts, the government and the legislature) too suffers from an anxiety to protect the normative family (barring notable exceptions), and has been dismissive of any alternative, notwithstanding that the rights of illegitimate children is the collateral damage. Regardless, today this distinction contravenes the constitutional safeguards in India. More importantly, with the acceptance of novel reproductive techniques (such as artificial insemination), and familial setups (same-sex relationships), the sociological basis for the preservation of this distinction has become irrelevant. Accordingly, this paper argues for this distinction to be removed from the statutes, which would benefit all the three stakeholders relevant to the illegitimacy equation, namely, the unwed father, the mother, and the child.

Lost and Found: Young Fathers in the Age of Unwed Parenthood

In Lost and Found: Young Fathers in the Age of Unwed Parenthood, psychologists Paul Florsheim and David Moore consider the experiences of fathers on their transition to parenthood in a unique context—teen fathers who were participants in the authors’ co-parenting program and living in Salt Lake City or Chicago. The authors address a number of relevant themes for this topic including (1) the decoupling of marriage and childbearing, (2) structural inequalities and barriers to father involvement, (3) the transition to parenthood and its linkages with parental well-being and romantic relationships, (4) co-parenting, (5) parental identity and attachment, and (6) policy and program implications to support young, unwed fathers. Primary analyses in Lost and Found stem from couple-level interviews. Interview data from mothers and fathers are consistent on most topics—with a noteworthy exception being the intention to avoid pregnancy. Based on the description of the data, a few things remain unclear: (1) the degree to which the experiences of the 22 couples in Lost and Found represent patterns and themes present in the broader sample, (2) when (i.e., calendar year) interviews occurred, and (3) how many couples remained in analyses from the baseline (prebirth) to the final follow up interview (2 years after the birth). Key findings illustrate that many teen fathers successfully transition to fatherhood better than expected given the significant structural barriers these young men face concerning both stable employment and relationships. In addition, the authors demonstrate that romantic relationships among teen parents—which some prior research has trivialized—can be significant sources of both support and strain for parents’ well-being. In short, findings align with much of the existing scholarship on fatherhood in an era of unwed childbearing by emphasizing that unwed teen fathers, like their older, unwed counterparts report (1) higher risks of unplanned births, (2) economic uncertainty, (3) elevated family instability, and (4) high risk of incarceration—to name some barriers to father involvement. In spite of these challenges, some enter relationships with birth mothers that are characterized by high levels of stability and relationship quality. Many others, who are unable to make the romantic relationships with the mother “work,” are able to effectively coparent with former partners.

The talk of unwed adolescent fathers of Mexican origin: A discourse analysis

The aim of this study was to apply Gee’s theory and method for discourse analysis to arrive at a theory of how unwed, adolescent fathers of Mexican origin talk about fatherhood and how fatherhood discourses reveal aims to attain self-defined social goods, including power, status, and recognition. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants who were unwed biological fathers of one or more children, 18 or 19 years old, identified as being of Mexican origin and spoke either English or Spanish. Interview data were analyzed using Gee’s 42 questions for discourse analysis. Findings contribute to the literature on biological father absence, fragile families and child wellbeing, and teenage pregnancy from the adolescent father’s perspective.

Illegitimate Citizenship Rules

In 2017, the Supreme Court decided Sessions v. Morales-Santana, a challenge to 8 U.S.C. §1409, the law governing the conferral of U.S. citizenship to children born abroad to parents who are U.S. citizens. As the Court noted in a forceful opinion, §1409 imposed different and more onerous physical presence requirements on unwed fathers than unwed mothers, making it difficult for nonmarital fathers to transmit their U.S. citizenship to their foreign-born children. Such distinctions, the Court concluded, were rooted in archaic gender stereotypes and thus incompatible with equal protection principles. Although Morales-Santana corrected the gender discrimination inherent in §1409, it said nothing of the statute’s other constitutionally infirm provisions. Although it has drawn little attention, §1409 also discriminates on the basis of illegitimacy, which like gender, is a quasi-suspect classification for purposes of equal protection law. Specifically, §1409 requires nonmarital children to prove that they have been legitimated by their unwed U.S. citizen fathers to establish their derivative citizenship claim. By contrast, foreign-born children in wedlock need not show that they have been legitimated; by virtue of their parents’ marriage, they are legally recognized as “legitimate” children. These legitimation requirements have made it more difficult for foreign-born nonmarital children of U.S. citizen parents to prove what should be regarded as their pre-existing citizenship. Crucially, in general, laws such as these that distinguish on the basis of a parents’ marital status constitute illegitimacy discrimination. Yet, the Court in Morales-Santana neglected to acknowledge this unequal treatment of nonmarital children, focusing instead on how §1409 discriminated on the basis of gender, and effectively allowing this unconstitutional practice to continue. This Article calls attention to the prevalence of illegitimacy classifications in immigration law by identifying what we term “illegitimate citizenship rules.” In highlighting the pervasiveness of this form of discrimination, this Article makes three contributions. As a descriptive matter, these rules demonstrate the unfinished project within equal protection law of eviscerating discrimination against nonmarital children, which includes the treatment of such children in immigration law. As a doctrinal matter, the Article argues that the Supreme Court’s narrow focus on the sex equality dimension of §1409 rendered invisible the discrimination of nonmarital children. Finally, as the Article makes clear, by discriminating against nonmarital children, illegitimate citizenship rules promote and perpetuate the “traditional” family and thus discriminate against those families that do not comport with the heterosexual marital family model. The Article concludes by recommending that Congress seize the opportunity created by Morales-Santana to address and eventually eradicate the ongoing discrimination against nonmarital children who are born abroad.

The Constitutionalization of Fatherhood

Beginning in the 1970s, the Supreme Court heard a series of challenges to family law statutes brought by unwed biological fathers, questioning the constitutionality of laws that treated unwed fathers differently than unwed mothers. The Court’s opinions created a starkly different constitutional status for unwed fathers than for unwed mothers, demanding additional actions and relationships before an unwed father was considered a constitutional father. Although state parentage statutes have progressed beyond their 1970s incarnations, the doctrine created in those family law cases continues to have impact far beyond family law. Transmission of citizenship in the context of immigration law and the inheritance rights of children of unwed parents whose fathers died without a will echo the reasoning of the family law cases, including two unwed father principles giving legal imprimatur to stereotypes about fathers. Across multiple areas of law, therefore, unwed fathers are not constitutional fathers. It is not enough, however, to simply revive past challenges to such statutes: individual criticisms of each line of cases have not prompted reconsideration of the cases purely on their own terms. This paper identifies a new approach, however, using modern precedents to provide a clearer theory of constitutionalizing fathers: Obergefell v. Hodges illustrates a methodology of analyzing claims that involve the unequal application of a fundamental right, and Sessions v. Morales-Santana provides the substantive rejection of gendered parental stereotypes that fills out Obergefell’s framework. The result is an unambiguous argument rooted in the Equal Protection Clause that will constitutionalize fathers across the law.

Establishing Paternity Under the Indian Child Welfare Act

The Utah Supreme Court in In re Adoption of B.B. identified a new standard by which to establish paternity under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) -- a federal reasonableness standard. This approach contrasts with the state law approach and imperfectly-fulfilled state law approach used by other courts. Under current law, In re Adoption of B.B. was incorrectly decided; courts must adopt a state law standard for acknowledging and establishing paternity under ICWA. However, a state law standard does not sufficiently advance the purpose of the statute, and it improperly balances the rights of Indian children, parents, tribes, and the state. Congress should amend ICWA to permit unwed fathers to establish paternity by either (1) fulfilling the enumerated requirements of the federal statute or (2) fulfilling the requirements of their tribal law or custom.

‘Papa has now me only’: Charlotte Brontë and the Houses of Unwed Daughters and Widowed Fathers

By examining Charlotte Brontë’s domestic responsibilities in her West Yorkshire home after the deaths of her siblings, this essay considers the relationship of unwed daughters and widowed fathers in real life and nineteenth-century fiction. Early biographical depictions, beginning with Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Life of Charlotte Brontë, tend to present Brontë during these years as an angel-in-the-house literary figure, sacrificing her independence as an intellectual and writer in order to care for her ageing father and maintain the domestic sphere of the parsonage. This essay attempts to reconcile this romanticized, and perhaps mythologized, depiction of Brontë with a more realistic vision of her productive literary life.

Prenatal Abandonment: 'Horton Hatches the Egg' In the Supreme Court and Thirty-Four States

This article addresses an issue critical to forty-one percent of fathers in the United States: prenatal abandonment. Under prenatal abandonment theory, fathers can lose their parental rights to non-marital children if they do not provide prenatal support to the mothers of their children. This is true even if the mothers have not notified the fathers of the pregnancy and if the mothers or fathers are unsure of the fathers’ paternity. While this result may seem counterintuitive, it is necessitated by demographic trends. Prenatal abandonment theory has been structured to protect mothers, fathers, and fetuses in response to a number of social factors: the link between pregnancy and increased rates of sexual assault, domestic violence, and domestic homicide; the high non-marital birth rate; the commonality of casual sexual relationships; the likelihood that non-marital children will live in poverty; and poverty’s deleterious effects upon children. The 2013 United States Supreme Court’s decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl endorsed prenatal abandonment theory and elevated the rights of pregnant women and fetuses while tying an unwed father’s rights to the responsibilities he assumes from the moment of conception. This Article analyzes relevant socio-demographics and comprehensively reviews existing case law to conclude with recommendations for the structure of prenatal abandonment theory as it now exists in various forms in thirty-four states.

Regulating Passion: Sexuality and Patriarchal Rule in Massachusetts 1700–1830 by Kelly A. Ryan (review)

Regulating Passion: Sexuality and Patriarchal Rule in Massachusetts 1700-1830. By Kelly A. Ryan. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. 288. Cloth, $55.00.)Reviewed by Kara M. FrenchIn Regulating Passion, Kelly A. Ryan has expertly crafted a history of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Massachusetts that is fully intersectional in its understanding of how hierarchies of gender, race, class, and age created an enduring system of white male dominance. Her work deftly builds upon the arguments made by women of color feminists such as Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, who have long championed that identity and oppression are intersectional, and reinforces the idea that gender as a category of analysis cannot be understood in isolation. Ryan argues that sexuality and patriarchy are inextricably linked because Governmental, social, and private authority over Indians and African Americans derived from the power that fathers and husbands had over wives and children (59). Regulating Passion also demonstrates that patriarchal control was not a casualty of the War of Independence. Rather it transformed and evolved, the direct of the colonial era replaced by a new standard of sexual reputation promoted by the moral reformers and print literature of the early republic (4-5).The American Revolution is the hinge on which Ryan's analysis of sexuality and patriarchy swings. The first half of the book focuses on how elite white men used their status as patriarchs to control the sexuality of white women, poor white men, African Americans, and Native Americans through the legal system, while simultaneously ensuring that their own indiscretions remained shielded from public scrutiny. The statistical evidence Ryan has assembled from court records is very persuasive, and her analysis of the legal system's regulation of white women's sexuality is a highlight of the book. The court records plainly show that by 1760, only women were facing criminal prosecution for unmarried sex in Massachusetts. Unwed fathers were not, however, subject to the same fines or physical punishments as unwed mothers in the late colonial period. What is striking is that the courts continued to punish white women for fornication even in cases where they married the child's father or suffered a miscarriage. As Ryan notes, the court's interest in such cases had little to do with the maintenance of the child and a great deal more to do with punishing white women for activity outside of marriage.Even more telling is that magistrates did not prosecute Native American women and enslaved women for fornication with the same regularity as they did white women. Such prosecutions would have brought the indiscretions of elite white men with slaves and servants out of the shadows and into the public eye. The courts only seemed to take an interest in cases of infanticide, when the loss of an enslaved woman's child would have resulted in a loss of property for her master. Enslaved men were similarly not prosecuted for interracial liaisons with white women because compelling an enslaved man to support a child would have given enslaved men a right to patriarchy that undermined the slave system.Regulating Passion is also innovative for noting the ways in which white men's and women's participation in the American Revolution was not only gendered but highly sexualized. …

An Alleged Father's Family Medical History: An Introduction to the Nonidentifying Paternal Information Form

Today, the number of single mothers, unwed fathers, and unwed mothers is higher than it was twenty years ago. No longer does the common law presumption of legitimacy apply to a large percentage of U.S. families. Studies have shown that, over time, an unmarried father's involvement with his child decreases. If a medical emergency occurs and the father is unable to be contacted or located, the father's health information should be available in his absence. Due to the growing public health concern for children born with genetic birth defects and mental illness, this Note proposes a pilot program to help children have access to necessary medical information in order to address the medical and health needs of children born into the evolving familial structure of unmarried families. The pilot program will require hospitals to ask unmarried fathers to complete a Nonidentifying Paternal Information Form. This form will not establish paternity. The sole purpose of the form is to gather the father's medical and health history for the well‐being of the child. Key Points for the Family Court Community Discusses the importance of children knowing their fathers' medical history in order begin potential mitigate inherited illnesses. Points out a potential resource—the Nonidentifying Paternal Information Form—to assist children, parent and medical personnel in gathering relevant medical information from alleged fathers. Presents information about genetically inherited illnesses that may potentially affect children. Discusses resources utilized in semi‐open adoptions to help children know their paternal medical history. Presents the idea that best opportunity to request medical and health information from an alleged father is immediately after the in‐hospital birth of a child.

Introduction: Masculinity, identity, and the health and well-being of African American men.

The status of African American boys and men is of significant concern. This article reviews the literature on African American males within the field of the psychology of men and masculinity. We focus on theory and research that describe African American men's masculinity, and how traditional masculinity and racial identity relate to the health and well-being of African American men. The article provides a context for introducing this special series of articles on African American men that advance our understanding of psychosocial factors associated with the health and well-being of African American men. Gibbs's classic 1988 book, Young, Black, and Male in America: An Endangered Species, brought much needed attention to the status of young African American males and suggested that there had been marked deterioration compared with past generations. Compared with earlier cohorts, young African American males were more likely to be unemployed, involved in the criminal justice system, unwed fathers, and victims of homicide and sui- cide. Almost 25 years later the status of African American boys and men continues to be an issue of significant concern. For example, African American men have the shortest life expectancy of all race/gender groups (National Center for Health Statistics, 2005). In 2006, the rate of new HIV infection for African American men was six times higher than European American men, nearly three times that of Hispanic/Latino men and twice that of African American women (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2010). Further, African American men are six times more likely than European American men to be incarcerated (National Urban League, 2007). Lastly, the growth rate of African American men enrolling in college is the lowest among minority groups in the United States (Harvey, 2003). While these data are discouraging, other research has high- lighted strengths, progress, and psychosocial patterns character- ized by resilience. Compared with the national averages, African American men had lower rates of alcohol use and binge drinking from 2004-2008 (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Service Administration, 2010), and lower rates of mood disorders than both African American women and Whites (Breslau, Su, Kendler, Aguilar-Gaxiola, Kessler, 2005; Brown & Keith, 2003; Robins et

Capabilities and Contributions of Unwed Fathers

Young, minority, and poorly educated fathers in fragile families have little capacity to support their children financially and are hard-pressed to maintain stability in raising those children. In this article, Robert Lerman examines the capabilities and contributions of unwed fathers, how their capabilities and contributions fall short of those of married fathers, how those capabilities and contributions differ by the kind of relationship the fathers have with their child's mother, and how they change as infants grow into toddlers and kindergartners. Unwed fathers' employment and earnings vary widely among groups but generally rise over time. At the child's birth, cohabiting fathers earn nearly 20 percent more than noncohabiting unwed fathers, and the gap widens over time. Still, five years after an unwed birth, the typical unwed father is working full time for the full year. Although most unwed fathers spend considerable time with their children in the years soon after birth, explains Lerman, over time their involvement erodes. Men who lose touch with their children are likely to see their earnings stagnate, provide less financial support, and often face new obligations when they father children with another partner. By contrast, the unwed fathers who marry or cohabit with their child's mother earn considerably higher wages and work substantially more than unwed fathers who do not marry or cohabit. These results suggest that unwed fathers' earnings are affected by family relationships as well as their education and work experience. Lerman notes that several factors influence the extent to which unwed fathers stay involved with their children. Better-educated fathers, those who most identify with the father's role, and those with good relationships with the child's mother, are most likely to sustain a relationship with their children. Some studies even find that strong child support enforcement increases father involvement. For many years, policy makers approached the problem of noncustodial, unwed fathers on a single track--by trying to increase their child support payments. Today's policy makers are recognizing the limits of that strategy. New programs focus on improving the relationship and communication skills of unwed fathers. In addition, targeted training programs, such as apprenticeships, enable unwed fathers to earn a salary while they learn skills.

ADOPTION OF INFANTS BORN TO UNAWARE, UNWED FATHERS: A STATUTORY PROPOSAL THAT BETTER BALANCES THE INTERESTS INVOLVED

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Unwed fathers’ ability to pay child support: New estimates accounting for multiple-partner fertility

We present new estimates of unwed fathers' ability to pay child support. Prior research relied on surveys that drastically undercounted nonresident unwed fathers and provided no link to their children who lived in separate households. To overcome these limitations, previous research assumed assortative mating and that each mother partnered with one father who was actually eligible to pay support and had no other child support obligations. Because the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study contains data on couples, multiple-partner fertility, and a rich array of other previously unmeasured characteristics of fathers, it is uniquely suited to address the limitations of previous research. We also use an improved method of dealing with missing data. Our findings suggest that previous research overestimated the aggregate ability of unwed nonresident fathers to pay child support by 33% to 60%.

Claiming Fatherhood: Race and the Dynamics of Paternal Involvement among Unmarried Men.

In 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan argued that the black family was nearing "complete breakdown" due to high rates of out-of-wedlock childbearing. In subsequent decades, nonmarital childbearing rose dramatically for all racial groups and unwed fathers were often portrayed as being absent from their children's lives. The authors examine contemporary nonmarital father involvement using quantitative evidence from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and qualitative evidence from in-depth interviews with 150 unmarried fathers. The authors find that father involvement drops sharply after parents' relationships end, especially when they enter subsequent relationships and have children with new partners. These declines are less dramatic for African American fathers, suggesting that fathers' roles outside of conjugal relationships may be more strongly institutionalized in the black community. The challenges Moynihan described among black families some forty years ago now extend to a significant minority of all American children.

Men and Marriage Promotion: Who Marries Unwed Mothers?

This study expands upon current debates about marriage promotion by refocusing attention on men. The 2002 National Survey of Family Growth provides the first comprehensive data on detailed fertility and marital histories for men of reproductive age. These data are used to address the straightforward but neglected question of who typically marries unwed mothers. Analyses show that over 80 percent of men will marry by midlife but that men’s prior fertility, marital, and economic histories are critically linked to when and with whom they eventually form married families. Unwed fathers and those with few economic resources are more likely than other men to marry unwed mothers. The study provides a point of departure for understanding men’s marriages to low‐income, unwed mothers and for identifying a major barrier to policies that encourage marriage among the poor.

Incarceration and Unwed Fathers in Fragile Families

Incarceration and Unwed Fathers in Fragile Families

Father by Newspaper Ad: The Impact of In Re the Adoption of a Minor Child on the Definition of Fatherhood

I. INTRODUCTION Under the ice I see fire, and warn you to beware lest it prove a volcano. (1) The definition of fatherhood in the United States has become unclear. It has become politicized, and both law and society are unsure what it currently means. (2) In the past, fatherhood was the method of attaching children to fathers, in order to care for the children. (3) Today, as alternatives to the traditional nuclear family appear, family law is not always equipped to deal with new familial situations. One example is the rights of the unknown father when the mother wants to give the child up for adoption. The question is: when does the father of an illegitimate child have the right to know that the child is being placed for adoption? The United States Supreme Court and a now overturned and amended law in Florida had very different definitions of a father's rights in this situation. Their determinations of a father's rights turned on whether the man must demonstrate his commitment to being a parent or whether the sexual activity that results in pregnancy is enough. This paper will argue that the Supreme Court and the Florida legislature in 2001 had different definitions of fatherhood. It will also discuss the reasons why future legislatures or political leaders considering this issue should reject the Florida legislature's 2001 definition. The rights and responsibilities of an unwed father have changed dramatically over the past 300 years. The United States Supreme Court, beginning with Stanley v. Illinois, found that some unwed fathers were entitled to notice when their children were placed for adoption. (4) The Supreme Court requires biology plus, whereby the father has to demonstrate some commitment to parenting. In subsequent cases, the Court has attempted to define what a demonstration of commitment to parenting means. Currently, this includes registering with a state's putative father registry. (5) In 2001, the Florida state legislature made changes to its adoption law. I will argue that this definition can be described as biology only. The law required notice to the other parent of a petition to terminate parental rights prior to an adoption proceeding. For fathers who were unknown or whose locations were unknown, service by publication of the proceeding was required before the fathers' rights could be terminated. The required publication was notice in the newspaper, including the name and description of the mother, the name and date of birth of the child, a description of the person reasonably believed to be the father, and the location of where the mother believed conception occurred. (6) A suit brought in Florida state court sought a declaratory statement that the requirement of notice by publication infringed on the mother's right to privacy. The judge found that the mother's right to privacy was invaded by the requirements only in cases of rape resulting in pregnancy. (7) However, a higher Florida court overturned this ruling, finding that in all instances the law invaded a mother's right to privacy. (8) Finally, the Florida legislature amended the defunct law, creating a putative father registry as a replacement. (9) This paper will discuss the law the Florida legislature adopted in 2001 and examine its definition of fatherhood as compared to the definition attempted by the Supreme Court and the consequences of each. Part II presents In re The Adoption of a Minor Child at the trial and appellate levels, Florida's definition of the illegitimate father, and the establishment of Florida's putative father registry. Part III presents the historical development of the illegitimate father in the United States. With this background in place, Part IV presents the Supreme Court's definition of the illegitimate father. Part V examines the differences between the two definitions and the consequences of each. Part VI presents a brief discussion of the Father's Rights Movement and the role it may have played in the Florida law. …

Issues and concerns about a prospective child support enforcement policy in south korea

A rapidly growing number of unwed mothers is now forcing Korean society to look to the previously forgotten population of unwed fathers. For the first time, the Korean government is considering imposing child support enforcement on unwed fathers. This article explores potential problems, as well as possible benefits, of a child support enforcement policy in South Korea by analyzing both the unique characteristics of Korean society and the previous child support enforcement policy experiences of other countries. A prospective enforcement policy might be beneficial to Korean unwed mothers by decreasing the moral stigma placed on them, by increasing Korean men's awareness about the consequences of their sexual relationships, and by providing them with financial resources. However, in practice, child support enforcement may increase unwed mothers' risk of being threatened by unwed fathers and may decrease their autonomy from unwed fathers. The practical barriers to establishing this enforcement policy are also discussed.