Fatherhood: Research, Interventions, and Policies

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How much power does a father have to influence his children's development? A lively and often heated public debate on the role and value of the father in a family has been underway in the United States for the past decade. Nevertheless, we are far from understanding the complex ways in which fathers make contributions to their families and children. Fatherhood: Research, Interventions, and... Read more

How much power does a father have to influence his children's development?

A lively and often heated public debate on the role and value of the father in a family has been underway in the United States for the past decade. Nevertheless, we are far from understanding the complex ways in which fathers make contributions to their families and children. Fatherhood: Research, Interventions, and Policies addresses the central questions of the role of fathers: Ž What is the impact of father involvement on child outcomes? Ž What factors predict increased involvement of fathers?

Bringing together papers presented at the Conference on Father Involvement, this volume includes contributions by leading scholars in anthropology, demography, economics, family science, psychology, and sociology. Many of the contributors also address the implications of father involvement for family policy issues, including family leave, child care, and child support. Furthermore, the discussion of fatherhood ranges well beyond the case of intact, middle-class, white families to include fathers from various ethnic groups and socioeconomic classes and of varied marital status, including fathers of nonmarital children, single-father families, and nonresident fathers.

Fatherhood: Research, Interventions, and Policies addresses both practical and theoretical concerns, including:

the redefinition of fatherhood
changes over time in research on fatherhood
the predictive power of fathers’activities on their children's adult outcomes
the correlation between fathers’income and their involvement with their nonmarital children
the influence of fathers on their sons’probability of growing up to become responsible fathers
the effects of divorce on father-son and father-daughter relationships
interventions that help to keep divorced fathers in touch with their children

This comprehensive, powerful book combines pioneering empirical research with thoughtful consideration of the social and psychological implications of fatherhood. It is essential reading for researchers, policymakers, psychologists, and students of family studies, human development, gender studies, social policy, sociology, and human ecology.

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Editor's Introduction
I. The History of Fatherhood Research and Perspectives on Father Involvement
The Soul of Fatherhood
The History of Research on Father Involvement: An Overview
Father Involvement: A Developmental Psychological Perspective
Culture, History, and Sex: Anthropological Contributions to Conceptualizing Father Involvement
Contextualizing Father Involvement and Paternal Influence: Sociological and Qualitative Themes
II. Fathers in Intact Families
Putting Fathers Back in the Picture: Parental Activities and Children's Adult Outcomes
Patterns and Determinants of Paternal Child Care During a Child's First Three Years of Life
III. Single Fathers and Fathers with Nonmarital Children
Father Involvement with Their Nonmarital Children: Patterns, Determinants, and Effects on Their Earnings
Nonresident Father Involvement and Child Well-Being Among Young Children in Families on Welfare
Intergenerational Transmission of Fathering Roles in At Risk Families
The Single-Father Family: Demographic, Economic, and Public Transfer Use Characteristics
IV. Marital Disruption and Parent-Child Relationships: Interventions and Policies on Fatherhood
The Impact of Marital Quality, Divorce, and Remarriage on the Relationships Between Parents and Their Children
Engaging Fathers in the Post-Divorce Family
Exploring Fatherhood Diversity: Implications for Conceptualizing Father Involvement
Public Policies and Father Involvement
V. General Editors' Epilogue
The Diversity of Fatherhood: Change, Constancy, and Contradiction
Index
Reference Notes Included

Author(s)

Biography

Gary W Peterson, H. Elizabeth Peters, Randal D Day, Suzanne Steinmetz

Fatherhood Research, Interventions, and Policies

Description

Table of Contents

Author(s)

Biography

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