1-140 - Unmarried Fathers of Young Children: Correlates, Consequences, and Contributions

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Despite increasing recognition of the role of the father in child development (e.g., Cabrera et al., 2018), the contributions of unmarried fathers remain largely overlooked. Emerging evidence suggests that unmarried fathers engage with their young children in diverse ways (e.g., Fagan & Palkovitz, 2007). Nonetheless, both the developmental mechanisms that promote involved fathering among unmarried men and the consequences of this fathering for early development have not yet been fully elaborated.

These papers are united in their focus on unmarried fathers of young children. Most of the fathers are non-residential, and many are members of ethnic minority groups. One paper uses the Fragile Families study to examine direct and indirect contributions of unmarried fathers’ financial support to children’s early cognitive and behavioral outcomes. The second paper uses data from the Building Strong Families project to examine associations between neighborhood disorder, unmarried fathers’ parenting and coparenting, and children’s behavior problems. The final paper examines the effects of racial identity and race-related stress on father involvement and support among unmarried, rural, African American fathers.

The papers are diverse and multi-disciplinary in how fathering is conceptualized (e.g., involvement, financial support) and measured (e.g., surveys, observations), as well as the potential correlates (e.g., neighborhood disorder, experiences of racial discrimination) and consequences (e.g., cognitive development, behavior problems) of unmarried fathers’ behavior. They are unified in their commitment to elucidating the role of unmarried fathers, and to informing evidence-based best practices for programs and policies that support unmarried fathers and their children.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chair

• Geoffrey Brown, University of Georgia

Discussant

• Jay Fagan, Temple University

Individual Presentations

• The Long Reach of Financial Support: Unmarried, Nonresident Fathers’ Contribution to Their Children’s Development - Presenting Author: Ron Mincy, Columbia University; Non-Presenting Author: Natasha Cabrera, University of Maryland; Non-Presenting Author: Hyunjoon Um, Columbia University

• Associations Among Neighborhood Disorder, Unmarried Fathers’ Parenting and Coparenting, and Young Children’s Development - Presenting Author: Melissa A. Barnett, University of Arizona; Non-Presenting Author: Shannon Warren, University of Arizona; Non-Presenting Author: Olena Kopystynska, University of Arizona; Non-Presenting Author: Melissa A. Curran, University of Arizona

• Race-Related Stress, Racial Identity, and Unmarried, African American Fathers’ Involvement with Young Children - Presenting Author: Geoffrey Brown, University of Georgia; Non-Presenting Author: Steven M. Kogan, University of Georgia; Non-Presenting Author: Junhan Cho, University of Southern California