Fatherhood

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: What is the impact of father involvement on child outcomes? 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 childrenThis 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.

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

Contents - 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