Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts

Korean Association of Child Studies (한국아동학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Longitudinal Patterns of Unmarried Resident Fathers' Engagement with Young Children in the U.S.: Examining the Role of Ethnicity and Extended Family Relationship

  • Received : 2015.02.16
  • Accepted : 2015.02.26
  • Published : 2015.02.28
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

This study examined the role of ethnicity and extended family relationship in the longitudinal patterns of unmarried resident fathers' engagement with young children in the U.S. Using three waves of panel data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), data obtained from 292 respondents were analyzed by the Linear Mixed Effects Regression (LMER) method. Findings suggested that Black unmarried resident fathers exhibited more engagement with their infants at age one than their White counterparts did, but the initial difference reversed by age five as a result of decreasing engagement among Black fathers over time and comparatively increasing engagement among Whites. Results also suggested that Black unmarried resident fathers with a high relationship level with their extended family members exhibited less engagement with their infants than Black fathers with a low relationship level, but the initial difference reversed by age five as a result of decreasing engagement among Black fathers with a low relationship level over time and comparatively increasing engagement among Black fathers with a high relationship level.

Keywords

References

  1. Coley, R. L., & Chase-Lansdale, P. (1999) Stability and change in paternal involvement among urban African American fathers. Journal of Family Psychology, 13(3), 416-435. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.13.3.416
  2. Hohmann-Marriott, B. (2011). Coparenting and father involvement in married and unmarried coresident couples. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73, 296-309. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00805.x
  3. Humes, K. R., Jones, N. A., & Ramirez, R. R. (2011). 2010 Census briefs: Overview of race and Hispanic origin. U.S. Census Bureau.
  4. Jain, A., Belsky, J., & Crnic, K. (1996). Beyond fathering behaviors: Types of dads. Journal of Family Psychology, 10(4), 431-442. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.10.4.431
  5. Johnson, W. (2001). Paternal involvement among unwed fathers. Children and Youth Services Review, 23(6/7), 513-536. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-7409(01)00146-3
  6. Lamb, M. E. (1987). The emergent American father. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The father's role: Cross-cultural perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  7. Long, J. D. (2012). Longitudinal data analysis for the behavioral sciences using R. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
  8. McLanahan, S., Garfinkel, I., Brooks-Gunn, J., Zhao, H., Johnson, W., Rich, L., & Turner, M. (1998, April). Unwed fathers and fragile families. In annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Chicago, IL.
  9. McLanahan, S., Garfinkel, I., Reichman, N., & Teitler, J. (2001). Unwed parents or fragile families? Implications for welfare and child support policy. In L. L. Wu & B. Wolfe (Eds.), Out of wedlock: Causes and consequences of nonmarital fertility (pp. 202-228). New York: Russell Sage.
  10. Miller, D. (1994). Influences on parental involvement of African American adolescent fathers. Child and Adolescent Social Work, 11(5), 363-378. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01876587
  11. Parke, R. D. (2000). Father involvement: A developmental psychological perspective. Marriage & Family Review, 29(2-3), 43-58. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v29n02_04
  12. Reichman, N. E., Teitler, J. O., Garfinkel, I., & McLanahan, S. S. (2001). Fragile families: Sample and design. Children and Youth Services Review, 23(4), 303-326. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-7409(01)00141-4
  13. Ryan, R. M., Kalil, A., & Ziol-Guest, K. M. (2008). Longitudinal patterns of nonresident fathers' involvement: The role of resources and relations. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70(4), 962-977. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00539.x
  14. Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Kahana-Kalman, R., & Yoshikawa, H. (2009). Father involvement in immigrant and ethnically diverse families from the prenatal period to the second year: Prediction and mediating mechanisms. Sex Roles, 60(7-8), 496-509. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9593-9