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What DoFathersContributetoChildren's Well-Being?

hisbriefsummarizeskeyresearchfindingsontherelationshipbetweenfatherinvolvement andchildoutcomes. Asratesofdivorceandnonmarital childbearing haveincreasedin recentdecades,thepercentageofchildrenandfatherswholiveapartfromoneanotherhas

alsoincreased.Yetourknowledgeofhowfatherinvolvementaffectschildren'swell-beinginthese situationsisquitelimited,sincemostresearchonfathersandchildrenhasfocusedonintactfami- lies.Thisbriefsummarizesthatlargerbodyofresearch,aswellastherelativelysmallgroupof

studiesthatconsiderfatherswholiveapartfromtheirchildren.

Children benefit from positive relationships with their fathers.

•Warmth,closeness,andnurturanceare importantaspectsofahealthyparent- childrelationshipregardlessofwhether theparentisamotherorfather.1 But researchalsosuggeststhatfatherscon- tributetotheirchildren's healthydevel- opmentinwaysthatareuniquefrom mothers.Forexample,inonestudyof youngchildren'scognitive development, fatherspromotedtheirchild'sintellectu- aldevelopmentandsocialcompetence through physicalplay,whereasmothers promoted theseskillsthroughverbal expressionsandteachingactivities.2

Fatherscan positively influ- ence their children's devel- opment byassuming asignif- icant amount ofthe child care tasks.

•Severalstudieshavefoundthatwhen fathersspendmoretimeonchildcare tasks,children benefit. Forinstance, in

onestudy,preschool-agechildrenwhose fatherswereresponsiblefor40percent ormoreofthefamily'schildcaretasks hadhigherscoresonassessmentsofcog- nitivedevelopment,hadmoreofasense ofmasteryovertheirenvironments,and exhibitedmoreempathythanthosechil- drenwhosefatherswerelessinvolved.3

•Care by fathers may be particularly influentialinthefirstyearoflife. In another study,childrenwhowerecared forbytheirfatherintheirfirstyearhad higherscoresonassessmentsofcogni- tivedevelopmentthanthosechildren whowerecaredforinchildcarecenters. Ontheotherhand,childrenwhowere caredforbytheirfathersduringtheir secondandthirdyearshadlowerscores thanchildreninchildcarecenterson thesamechildoutcomesmeasures.4

Afather's parenting style has implications for child well-being.

•Awarmbutfirmparentingstylebenefits children.Forexample,inonestudyof

preschoolers,boyswhosefathersoffered praise andcomplimentsperformedbet- teron testsofcognitiveachievement than boyswhosefathers werecooland aloof.5Inanotherstudy, fatherswho were able tosetappropriatelimits for children andalsogivethem sufficient automonyhadsonswith higheracadem- icachievement.6 In alater study, fathers' useofharsh andinconsistent discipline hadanegativeeffectontheir sons' emotionaladjustmentand class- roombehavior,whichwas relatedto lowerschoolachievement.7

Fathers'involvementcan affectchildren'ssocial development,cognitive development,andacademic achievement.

•Higher levelsoffather involvement in activitieswith their children,such as eatingmeals together,goingonoutings, andhelpingwith homework,areassoci- ated withfewerbehaviorproblems, higher levelsofsociability, andahigh levelofschoolperformanceamongchil- drenandadolescents.8

•In two-parent families, when both fathersandmothersareinvolvedinchil- dren'sschooling (byvolunteeringat schoolandattending schoolmeetings, parent-teacher conferences,andclass events), thereisahigherlikelihood that children infirst through twelfthgrades will gethigh gradesandenjoyschool, andareducedlikelihoodthatachildwill repeatagrade.

•However,father involvement hasbeen foundtobeamoreimportantpredictor thanmotherinvolvementof thelikeli- hoodof gettinghighgrades.Forchildren infirst through twelfthgrades living in single-fatherfamilies, higherfather involvement isassociatedwith getting high gradesandenjoyingschool,anda

lowerchanceofsuspensionorexpulsion fromschool.9

Limitedresearchhasbeen conductedonthe relation- shipbetweenchildoutcomes andinvolvementoffathers who donot livewiththeir children.

•Most researchonnonresident fathers hasfocusedontheprovision offormal childsupportand thefrequencyof father-childcontact.

•Divorceandnonmaritalchildbearing do notprecludefathersfrombeingactively involvedintheir children's lives. While thepercentageofchildren living apart fromtheir fathershasincreased in recent decades, littlenational-level researchhasbeenconducted ontherole thatfatherslivingapart from theirchil- drenplayintheirlives,andtherelation- ship between nonresident father involvement andchildoutcomes.

Provisionofchildsupportis relatedtochildren'scogni- tivedevelopment,academic achievement,andbehavior.

•Severalresearchstudieshavedocument- edapositive relationship betweenthe provisionofchildsupportand thewell- being ofschool-agechildren,particularly theircognitivedevelopment, academic achievement andbehavior.10 However, there issomeevidencethat thebenefi- cialeffects ofchildsupportaregreater when thechildsupportagreement is reached cooperativelyrather thanby courtorder.11

•Severalstudiesofchildren living apart fromtheirbiological fathersfindthat receipt of child support is associated withmore positiveoutcomesforchildren thanothersourcesofincome.12

•Very few studies haveaddressedthe relationship between childwell-being andtheprovisionofinformal childsup- port (suchasgiving moneydirectly to themother orpurchasingitemssuchas clothes, groceries,ordiapers).

Researchfindingsonthe association between frequencyoffather-child contactandchildoutcomes aremixed.

•In general,large-scalestudiesfind no relationship between father-childcon- tact andchild outcomes,suchascogni- tivedevelopment,academic achieve- ment,behavior,andperceptions of academiccompetenceandself-worth.13

•Someresearch suggeststhat contact betweenchildrenandfatherswhodonot live together isassociatedwith fewer behaviorproblemsand improvedpsycho- logicalwell-being.14However, other studieshave foundthatfathercontact hasadetrimentaleffectonchildren's math scores,delinquency,andbehavior problems.15Thissuggeststhatfrequency ofcontactmaybelessimportanttochild well-beingthanthequality of thefather- childrelationship.

ThisresearchbriefwaswrittenbySuzanneLe Menestrel,Ph.D. Itisbasedonliterature reviewspreparedbyAngela DungeeGreene, M.A.,Tamara Halle,Ph.D.,SuzanneLeMen- estrel,Ph.D.,andKristinA.Moore,Ph.D.forthe National CenterforEducationStatistics,U.S. DepartmentofEducation.Theviewsexpressed arethoseofChildTrends;noendorsement by thegovernmentshouldbeinferred.

ChildTrendsisanonprofit,nonpartisanresearchcenterthatstudieschildrenandfami-

lies. ForadditionalinformationonChildTrends,includingacompletesetofavailable researchbriefs,pleasevisitourwebsiteat

ChildTrendsgratefullyacknowledgestheJohn D.andCatherineT.MacArthurFoundation and theFreddieMacFoundationforsupportofits research briefseries.

Endnotes

1.Lamb, M.E., (1997). "TheDevelopmentofFather-InfantRelation- ships." InM. E.Lamb (Ed.), The RoleoftheFatherinChildDevelop- ment.(pp.104-120).NewYork: JohnWileySons,Inc.

2.Clarke-Stewart,K.A.(1978)."AndDaddyMakesThree: TheFather's

Impact onMother andYoungChild."ChildDevelopment. 49,466-478.

3.Radin, N. (1994). "Primary-CaregivingFathersin IntactFamilies." InA.E.GottfriedA.W.Gottfried(Eds.),RedefiningFamilies:Impli- cationsforChildren'sDevelopment. (pp.55-97). NewYork: Plenum.

4.Averett,S.,Gennetian, L.A.,Peters,H.E. (1996). Fathers as ProvidersofChildCare. Materialsfor NICHDConference onFather Involvement.

5.Radin, N.(1986)"TheInfluenceofFathersuponSonsandDaughters andImplicationsfor SchoolSocialWork."Social Work inEducation,8,

77-91.

6.Feldman, S.S.Wentzel, K.R. (1990). "RelationsAmong Family InteractionPatterns,Classroom Self-Restraintand Academic Achieve- ment in Preadolescent Boys." JournalofEducationalPsychology, 82,

813-819

7.Wentzel, K.R.Feldman, S.S.(1993)."ParentalPredictor'sofBoys' Self-Restraintand Motivationto Achieve at School: ALongitudinal Study."JournalofEarlyAdolescence,14,268-291.

8.Mosley, J.,Thomson,E.(1995). "Fathering Behaviorand Child Outcomes: The RoleofRaceand Poverty."InW.Marsiglio(Ed.), Fatherhood:ContemporaryTheory, Researchand Social Policy. (pp.

148-165).ThousandOaks:SagePublications.

9.Nord, C.W.,Brimhall,D.,West,J.(1997).Father'sInvolvement in

Schools.Washington,DC:U.S.DepartmentofEducation.

10.Graham,J.W.,Beller, A.H.Hernandez,P.M.(1994)."TheDeter- minantsofChild SupportIncome."InI.Garfinkel,S.S.McLanahan,P.K.Robins(Eds.),ChildSupportandChildWell-Being.(pp.317-333). Washington,DC:TheUrbanInstitutePress.

King,V. (1994). "NonresidentFatherInvolvementand Child Well- Being."JournalofFamilyIssues,15,78-96.

Knox, V.W.Bane,M.J.(1994)."ChildSupportandSchooling."InI. Garfinkel,S.S.McLanahan,P.K.Robins (Eds.), ChildSupportand ChildWell-Being(pp. 285-310). Washington,DC:The UrbanInstitute Press.

Furstenberg,F.F.,Morgan, S.P.Allison,P.A.(1987)."PaternalPar- ticipationandChildren sWell-BeingAfterMaritalDissolution."Ameri- canSociologicalReview,52,695-701.

Greene, A.,Moore, K. A. (1996). NonresidentFatherInvolvement and ChildOutcomes Among Young ChildreninFamiliesonWelfare. Paperpresented attheConferenceonFatherInvolvement, October 10-

11,Bethesda,MD.

McLanahan,S.S.,Seltzer, J.A., Hanson, T.L., Thomson,E.(1994). "ChildSupport EnforcementandChild Well-Being:GreaterSecurityor GreaterConflict?"InI.Garfinkel, S.McLanahan,P.K. Robbins

(Eds.),ChildSupportandChildWell-being.(pp.239-254). Washington, D.C.:TheUrbanInstitutePress.

11.Argys, L.M.,Peters,H.E.,Brooks-Gunn,J.,Smith,J.R.(1996). ContributionsofAbsent Fathers toChildWell-Being:The Impactof ChildSupportDollarsand Father-ChildContact. Materialsfor NICHDconferenceonfatherinvolvement.

12.Knox, V.W.Bane,M.J.(1994)."ChildSupportandSchooling." InI.Garfinkel,S.S.McLanahan,P.K.Robins(Eds.),ChildSupport and ChildWell-Being.(pp. 285-310). Washington,DC: The Urban InstitutePress.

Graham,J.W.,Beller, A.H.Hernandez,P.M.(1994)."The Determi- nants ofChild SupportIncome."InI.Garfinkel,S. S.McLanahan,P. K. Robins (Eds.), ChildSupportand ChildWell-Being.(pp. 317-333). Washington,DC:TheUrbanInstitutePress.

13.Baydar, N.Brooks-Gunn,J.(1994)."TheDynamicsofChild Sup- port andIts ConsequencesforChildren."InI.Garfinkel,S.S.McLana- han, P.K. Robins, (Eds.), ChildSupportand ChildWell-Being.(pp.

257-279).Washington,DC:TheUrbanInstitutePress.

Furstenberg,"PaternalParticipationand ChildrensWell-Beingafter

MaritalDissolution."1987.

King,"NonresidentFatherInvolvementandChildWell-Being."1994.

McLanahan."Child SupportEnforcementand Child Well-Being: GreaterSecurityorGreaterConflict?"1994.

14.Peterson, J.,Zill, N. (1986). "MaritalDisruptionand Behavior

Problems inChildren."JournalofMarriageandFamily, 48,295-307.

Wallerstein,J.S.Kelly,J.B.(1980). SurvivingtheBreak-Up:How

ChildrenandParentsCopewithDivorce. NewYork: BasicBooks.

15.Furstenberg,F.F.,Morgan, S.P.Allison,P.A.(1987)."Paternal Participationand ChildrensWell-Beingafter MaritalDissolution." AmericanSociologicalReview,52,695-701.

King V.(1994)."VariationintheConsequencesofNonresidentFather Involvementfor Children'sWell-Being."JournalofMarriageand the Family, 56,963-972.

King."NonresidentFatherInvolvementandChildWell-Being."1994.