2-013 - Nonresident Father Families: Correlates, Family Processes, and Interventions

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

With increasing numbers of children growing up in complex family structures, including nonresident father families, it is important to increase understanding of family processes within diverse families and across cultural contexts. With this symposium, we integrate four research papers with diverse methodologies to highlight factors associated with nonresident father families for Black, White, and Latino fathers. The first paper draws longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to show the varying patterns of family structure change across foreign-born and native-born Latino families in the first five years of their children’s lives. The second paper uses a predominantly Black sample of low-income fathers to examine how fathers’ involvement with laterborn children with different mothers influences fathers’ involvement with firstborn children and finds that fathers’ relationships with children’s mothers are the strongest predictors of involvement. Using a subsample of fathers from the same dataset, the third paper conducts a qualitative investigation using modified grounded theory to highlight strategies nonresident fathers use to sustain involvement with children from previous relationships and identifies themes including parenting confidence, child development, and mother-father relationships. The fourth paper details findings of a program evaluation for a sample of majority White nonresident fathers involved with Child Protective Services, and demonstrates self-reported improvements in fathers’ self-efficacy and parenting/coparenting skills. This interdisciplinary symposium advances developmental science and integrates diversity by including racially and culturally diverse fathers in varied ecological contexts and providing research to inform responsible fatherhood and family planning policies.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Kevin Roy, University of Maryland

Individual Presentations

• Family Structure Change Among Latinos: Variation by Ecologic Risk and Family Functioning - Presenting Author: Elizabeth Karberg, Child Trends; Non-Presenting Author: Natasha Cabrera, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Author: Jay Fagan, Temple University

• Swap Reconsidered: Changes in Fathers’ Involvement With Children Across Multiple Partner Low-income Families - Presenting Author: Erica E Coates, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Author: C. Andrew Conway, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah Faraldi, University of Maryland School of Social Work; Non-Presenting Author: Kevin Roy, University of Maryland

• Father-Child Involvement in the Context of Multiple Partner Coparenting - Presenting Author: C. Andrew Conway, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Author: Erica E Coates, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Author: Kevin Roy, University of Maryland

• Understanding Parent Involvement in the FOCUS Program for Fathers - Presenting Author: M. Angela Nievar, University of North Texas; Non-Presenting Author: Matt Rodriguez, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Author: Suhasini Ramisetty-Mikler, University of North Texas; Non-Presenting Author: Elias Mpofu, University of North Texas