Social Networks and Prenatal Anticipated Parenting Efficacy Among Unmarried, African American Fathers

• In Event: Fathering in the Prenatal Period: Elucidating Paternal Experiences and Contributions During Pregnancy and Childbirth

Abstract

Introduction

Fathers’ contributions to maternal and child health begin before birth, with implications for post-birth supportive parenting and child adjustment (e.g., Cardenas et al., 2021). As such, positive pre-birth attitudes and expectations toward parenting may have downstream consequences for postnatal parenting and subsequent child well-being (e.g., Sayler et al., 2022). Nonetheless, the correlates of fathers’ expectations for parenting prenatally have rarely been studied.

Despite being highly stigmatized, most unmarried African American fathers are positively engaged in their children’s lives and contribute to numerous domains of cognitive and socio-emotional development (e.g., Jones & Mosher, 2013). For nonresidential African American fathers, the role of social networks in supporting paternal engagement and pre-birth preparations for parenting may be especially critical (e.g., Castillo et al., 2012). The present study extends prior literature by considering associations between characteristics of social networks (i.e., network density) and prenatal anticipated parenting efficacy among unmarried, African American fathers.

Method

A sample of 125 unmarried, African American men from rural communities in the southern United States participated during the 2nd or 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Social network interviews were conducted asking men about important people in their lives, and the connections among those network members. A measure of network density was generated to assess the degree to which fathers’ social networks were closely or loosely connected. Fathers also completed a survey assessment of anticipated parenting efficacy (adapted from Leerkes & Crockenberg, 2002), measuring confidence in their ability to meet the needs of their child. A set of relevant covariates were also measured that included: number of prior children, economic distress (Dunst & Leet, 1987), relationship quality with the child’s mother (Carlson et al., 2004), and relationship with one’s father in the family of origin (Finley & Schwartz, 2004).

Results

In bivariate correlations lower network density was related to higher levels of anticipated parenting efficacy (r = .30, p = .01). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the block of covariates explained a substantial 27% of the variance in anticipated parenting efficacy. The addition of network density alone on the second block explained an additional 8% of the variance in anticipated efficacy. Results from the final model are presented in Table 1 and indicate that nearly all predictor variables explained unique portions of the variance in anticipated parenting efficacy. Notably, social network density remained a significant predictor over and above all other variables, suggesting unique contributions of social network density to fathers’ expected parenting efficacy prenatally.

Conclusion

Although densely connected social networks may have protective effects in some domains (e.g., Zou et al., 2015), findings indicate that expectant fathers were more confident in their parenting abilities when networks were less dense. Particularly in stressful ecological contexts, receiving social support from a wide and diverse array of social relationships may be preferable to an insular social network in which all members are closely connected to one another. Future directions for elucidating pathways from prenatal social network characteristics to post-birth fathering and child development will be discussed.

Authors

• Geoffrey L. Brown, University of Georgia
  Presenting Author

• Alp Aytuglu, University of Georgia

• Clare R. Thomas, University of Georgia

• Cullin Howard, University of Georgia

• Jonique Freeman, University of Georgia