Do Fathers Matter in familes and for children?

Fathers Children and Families: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAD MAKES!

• Are fathers just "male moms," or do they make unique contributions to their children's well-being?
• Do social, economic, and cultural factors influence the way fathers relate to their children -- and if so, how?
• Can a man who does not live with his children be a good father?

These and other questions are addressed in a new series of research briefs on fatherhood compiled by Child Trends. The three briefs, enclosed with this release, review and summarize key research findings on fathers. Among the research findings discussed in the briefs:

Fathers Children and Families:

• Greater involvement by fathers in routine activities with their children (eating meals together, helping with homework, etc.) is associated with fewer behavior problems, greater sociability, and better school performance by children and adolescents.
  
  
• Fathers who pay child support tend to have children who do better in school, both in terms of school achievement and behavior.
  
  
• Fathers who are able to provide economically for their children are more likely to stay invested in their marriages or partner relationships and more likely to be engaged with and nurturing of their children -- even if they live apart from them.
  
  
• Fathers are more likely to promote young children's intellectual and social development through physical play, while mothers are more likely to do so through talking and teaching.
  
  
• While fathers from different racial and ethnic groups differ in the amount and type of involvement they have with their children, certain fathering roles are valued across major racial, ethnic, and cultural groupings. These include fathers as economic providers, protectors, caregivers, and teachers.

A father's contribution to his children's well-being doesn't begin or end with his wallet. Yet most public policies to promote responsible fatherhood look no further than that.

Fathers Children and Families: The Effects of Father Involvement (or Disengagement)

• Children growing up in families headed by a single mother are five times more likely than children in two-parent families to live in poverty.
• Children who do not live with their biological fathers are at a higher risk for poverty, school drop out, incarceration, and teen pregnancy.
• Boys with absentee fathers are twice as likely as boys in two-parent families to be incarcerated, regardless of variations in their parents' educational level, race/ethnicity, and income.
• But warm, supportive interactions with an engaged father or father-figure can benefit children both intellectually and socially. Even if interactions are infrequent or if the father does not live with the child, some positive effects can occur.
• Paternal praise (as opposed to harsh criticism or indifference) is associated with higher school achievement, higher educational goals, and better classroom behavior.

Fathers Children and Families: Barriers to Father Involvement

• Some of the barriers keeping men from being responsible fathers include (but are not limited to): the man's level of education or income, whether he lives with or apart from his children, his cultural background, his own family background, whether he was married when the child was conceived or born, and his current relationship with the child's mother.
• Nonresident fathers are generally less involved with their children than fathers living with their children. Nonresident fathers tend to become even less involved as their children get older. Two national studies found that only one in five unwed fathers visited their school-age children at least once a year.
• Highly educated fathers are more likely to be involved with their children's schooling than fathers who have not completed high school. Yet, only half of the fathers of children under age 18 in the U.S. have achieved more than a high school diploma.

Fathers Children and Families: Policy Implications

• Invest in the educational and vocational training of fathers. Increasing men's earning capacity will make them better able to support their children financially. And, if they are able to better support their children financially, they may be more inclined to take on additional parenting responsibilities.
• Direct family planning messages to teenage boys and men. A man of any age who fathers a child without intending to is less likely to embrace the parenting role than a man who intends to become a father.
• Educate fathers on their important role in childhood development. Fathers of all economic backgrounds need to understand the importance of being physically and emotionally supportive of children.