Fathers' influence in the lives of children with adolescent mothers

Little is known about the extent, nature, and impact of fathers of children with adolescent mothers. The current study measured father involvement with 134 children of adolescent mothers over the first 10 years of life. Overall, 59% had consistent father contact across the first 8 years. This contac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of family psychology Vol. 20; no. 3; p. 468
Main Authors Howard, Kimberly S, Lefever, Jennifer E Burke, Borkowski, John G, Whitman, Thomas L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.09.2006
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Child
Child Behavior - psychology
Child Rearing - psychology
Educational Status
Father-Child Relations
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Pregnancy
Pregnancy in Adolescence - psychology
Reading
Sex Factors
Social Adjustment
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Little is known about the extent, nature, and impact of fathers of children with adolescent mothers. The current study measured father involvement with 134 children of adolescent mothers over the first 10 years of life. Overall, 59% had consistent father contact across the first 8 years. This contact was associated with better socioemotional and academic functioning at 8 and 10 years of age, particularly in school related areas. Children with greater levels of father contact had fewer behavioral problems and had higher scores on reading achievement; these results held after controlling for maternal risk. The findings showed the important role that fathers play in the lives of at-risk children, even if the father does not reside with the child.
ISSN:0893-3200
1939-1293
DOI:10.1037/0893-3200.20.3.468