children

Non-Resident Fatherhood: How it Matters and When Fathers are Most Likely to Stay Involved

by

Introduction Rising divorce rates have led to more children living apart from their biological fathers. Non-residency (father and child not living together) is a strong predictor of reduced father involvement. Non-residential fathers tend to be less involved with their children, in terms of paternal engagement (direct interaction with children), accessibility, and responsibility (Sandberg & Hofferth, … Read more

Understanding Maternal Gatekeeping: How Mothers Help and Hinder Father Involvement

by

Introduction Research on fatherhood reveals a wide range of factors that support or hinder fathers’ positive engagement with their children. In fact, father involvement has been shown to be influenced, to a greater extent than mother involvement, by contextual factors, such as family dynamics or socio-economic situation (Doherty et al, 1996). One such factor is … Read more

How Mother-Child and Father-Child Relationships Influence Each Other: A Study on Families with Young Children in China

by

Zhang, X. & Chen, H. Reciprocal influences between parents’ perceptions of mother-child and father-child relationships: A short-term longitudinal study in Chinese preschoolers. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 2010, 171(1), 22–34. Introduction Research has traditionally explored the effect of parent-child relationships on children’s development or the effect of parents’ marital quality on parent-child relationships. Less explored is the … Read more

Fathers: Not Just Another Parent

by

Much has been written about how play and recreation are key ways in which fathers parent, and wherein parenting differences between mothers and fathers show up. This article summarises research evidence on the unique parenting style that fathers tend to adopt, and the benefits that children reap when families and professionals alike optimise fatherhood. Fathers … Read more

Does Fatherhood Raise Men’s Social Capital?

by

Source: Ravenera, Z. (2007). Informal networks social capital of fathers: What does the Social Engagement Survey tell us?Social Indicators Research, 83(2). Introduction A common explanation for the greater likelihood of poorer outcomes among children from non-intact families is lower parental investments for children not only in financial capital and human capital such as education and training, but … Read more

Fathering Children with Special Needs: A Review of the Research

by

Introduction More research shows that fathers play a unique purpose in promoting the healthy psychosocial development of their children. However, when fathers have children with special needs, including a chronic or terminal illness, their children may require different interaction styles, instructional strategies, and methods of discipline than those used by fathers with typically developing children … Read more