The Critical Transition to Fatherhood Two critical components of a healthy transition to parenthood are parenting self-efficacy – the mastery of the parenthood role – and parenting satisfaction with the parenting role. Both elements describe the parent’s comfort with parenting behaviour required in healthy and effective infant care. For fathers, regardless of background, the birth … Read more
Source: Bader, E. & Doucet, A. (2006). New fathers cluster executive summary. Father Involvement Community Research Forum, Spring 2006 This article summarises the work of the New Fathers Cluster of the Canadian-based Father Involvement Research Alliance (FIRA). This cluster focuses its research on the period from pregnancy through the first eighteen months of a child’s … Read more
Introduction Sexuality is a critical component of adolescent development. Experts define good sexual health as “not only the absence of disease, but the ability to understand and weigh the risks, responsibilities, outcomes, and impacts of sexual actions, to be knowledgeable of and comfortable with one’s body, and to be free from exploitation and coercion” (NASW, … Read more
Source: Premberg, A., Hellström, A.L. & Berg, M. (2008). Experiences of the first year as father. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 22(1), 56-63. Introduction Earlier research highlights the importance of fathers’ participation in the child’s development. In Sweden, it is a public policy goal to involve fathers in infant care and to increase gender equality between parents. A … Read more
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
Introduction Among the various challenges faced by non-residential fathers, or fathers who live apart from their children, those faced by fathers behind bars are perhaps the most pronounced. The number of children separated from their fathers due to imprisonment is far higher than those separated from their mothers due to the vast majority of prisoners … Read more
Father-Friendly Workplaces: The Implementation Gap More and more employers have adopted family-friendly initiatives, persuaded by the business case for such practices. Local research shows that for every S$1 invested in family-friendly initiatives, an organisation reaped an average return of S$1.28 in terms of increased productivity alone. When the additional benefit of reduced turnover was taken … Read more
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
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
Abstract of: Gottzén, L. & Kremer-Sadlik, T. (2012). Fatherhood and youth sports: A balancing act between care and expectations. Gender and Society, May 25, 2012. Introduction Youth sports have been seen as an arena for fathers to be more involved in their children’s lives. Indeed, in contrast to other child care practices, many men are … Read more