Jacinta Bronte-Tinkew

The Father-Child Relationship, Parenting Styles, and Adolescent Risk Behaviors in Intact Families

The father-child relationship and father’s parenting style are examined as predictors of first delinquency and substance use, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, Rounds 1 to 3 (N = 5,345), among adolescents in intact families. Discrete time logistic regressions indicate that a more positive father-child relationship predicts a reduced risk of engagement in multiple first risky behaviors. Having a father with an authoritarian parenting style is associated with an increased risk of engaging in delinquent activity and substance use. Two-way interaction models further indicate that the negative effect of authoritarian parenting is reduced when fathers have a positive relationship with their adolescent. Permissive parenting also predicts less risky behavior when the father-child relationship is positive. The positive influence of the father-child relationship on risk behaviors is stronger for male than for female adolescents.

Aggravation and Stress in Parenting: Associations with Coparenting and Father Engagement Among Resident Fathers

This study uses a sample of 2,139 resident biological fathers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing surveys (baseline and 12-month follow-up), to examine whether paternal aggravation and stress in parenting is associated with father engagement and coparenting and whether this association differs by father’s socioeconomic status. Results of Ordinary Least Squares regression models indicate that paternal aggravation and stress in parenting is significantly associated with lower levels of father engagement and with less supportive coparenting relationships (controlling for mothers’ aggravation and stress in parenting). Findings also indicate a more negative association between paternal aggravation/stress in parenting and father engagement and coparenting for fathers with household incomes below the poverty threshold. Findings suggest that policies aimed at decreasing parenting stress may be especially beneficial to fathers living in poor families.

Factors Associated With Unmarried, Nonresident Fathers’ Perceptions of Their Coparenting

Using a longitudinal sample of 522 biological, never-married, nonresident fathers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this article examines the factors associated with fathers’ coparenting 36 months after a birth. Ordinary least squares regression models indicate never-married, nonresident fathers are less likely to perceive high coparental supportiveness if they have ever been incarcerated, if they have completed high school, if they have a greater number of children with the child’s mother, if the mother has lower levels of education, if they are not in a relationship with the focal child’s mother, if they have a new partner, and if they see their child more frequently. In contrast, more supportive coparental relationships are perceived among fathers with higher incomes, with higher education, who are employed, with a male child, and who provide informal support. This study provides continuing evidence that several aspects of nonresident men’s lives have important influences on their coparenting.

Higher-Order Fertility Among Urban Fathers: An Overlooked Issue for a Neglected Population

The study includes a longitudinal sample of 1,989 fathers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study and examines factors associated with fathering a higher-order birth (three or more children) and compares these factors to those predicting any subsequent birth. Also, the article examines differences by marital status. Logistic regression analyses indicate the likelihood of fathering a higher-order birth is greater among more disadvantaged men in urban contexts, those with lower levels of education, the unmarried, minorities, and those exhibiting higher levels of depressive symptomology. This suggests that the men likely to be least prepared to father large numbers of children have an elevated probability of having a higher-order birth. This study provides continuing evidence that several aspects of mens lives in urban contexts have important influences on their decisions to have a higher-order birth, and suggests that policies or programs that address fertility issues should include fathers where and when feasible.