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Editor:
Tonya Allen
allen@pop.psu.edu
PRInformation
Fall 2003
Note from the Director
When men become fathers they are expected to take on a critical role that profoundly shapes the lives of their children and changes their own. While the stereotype of fatherhood seen in "Leave it to Beaver" may never have been accurate, in recent decades fatherhood has changed as higher rates of divorce and nonmarital childbearing have made nonresident fatherhood more common. Research has shown that approximately half of today's children will live in a household without their biological father at some point in their lives. Family scholars at Penn State are looking at the multifaceted effects of both resident and nonresident fatherhood on children and fathers. This issue of PRInformation spotlights some of the recent research on fatherhood at the Population Research Institute.
Valarie King (Sociology, Demography, and Human Development and Family Studies) and PRI colleagues Paul Amato (Sociology and Demography) and Alan Booth (Sociology, Human Development and Family Studies, and Demography) were recently awarded a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant to explore how nonresident fathers participate in the lives of their children and what effects the amount and quality of these interactions have on the lives and outcomes of children. Previous research has found that the absence of fathers has detrimental effects on children. Those who grow up without fathers tend to do worse in school, are more likely to have unprotected sex and engage in other health-compromising behaviors, and are less likely to hold down steady work. While studies have shown that child support from fathers produces better outcomes among children, Valarie's team will consider the effects of different types of activities and interactions that nonresident fathers have with their children with an eye toward affecting policies and programs to better promote quality father-child relationships.
This work complements other research by Paul Amato, whose work on divorce and marital discord focuses partly on the father's role in diverse family contexts and its impact on the well-being of children and adult children. Paul's research has extended the literature on the potential influence of fathers on children by moving beyond income and human capital as predictors.
Looking at fatherhood from the father's perspective, David Eggebeen (Human Development and Family Studies, Sociology and Demography) is exploring how having children affects the lives of men both for resident and nonresident fathers. Specifically, he has looked at the ways that the lives of resident and nonresident fathers differ from those of men who do not have children in areas such as social life, involvement in community, religious involvement, and employment. He has found that nonresident fathers share more in common with men who are not fathers than they do with resident fathers. Dave's future research will consider differences in cultural expectations of fathers by race and ethnicity, whether cohabiting fathers differ in their experiences from married fathers, and the ways that fathers' experiences and attitudes change as they age and their children grow up.
Studies of fatherhood are vital to the continued examination of the changing family, and will be central to family demography for years to come. At PRI, researchers are dedicated to exploring the many and complex dimensions of fatherhood both to push the science on this issue forward and to improve the lives of fathers, mothers, and children.
Leif I. Jensen
Director
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