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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of family psychology 2006-09, Vol.20 (3), p.468-476
Main Authors: Howard, Kimberly S, Lefever, Jennifer E. Burke, Borkowski, John G, Whitman, Thomas L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Adolescent
Adolescent Mothers
Adult
Analysis of Variance
At Risk Populations
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child Behavior - psychology
Child Rearing - psychology
Childhood Development
Children & youth
Couple and family
Educational Status
Emotional wellbeing
Family environment. Family history
Father-Child Relations
Father-Child relationships
Fathers
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Parental Involvement
Parental Role
Pregnancy
Pregnancy in Adolescence - psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychosocial Development
Reading
Sex Factors
Social Adjustment
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Social psychology
Socioemotional Functioning
Teenage parents
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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