| Jacqueline Shannon
Brooklyn College, CUNY
Minority fathers contributions to their young children's overall development: Variations by race/ethnicity, SES, and family structure
FINAL REPORT: Mexican American Parents' Pregnancy Intentionality and Father Prenatal Involvement: Associations to Father's Engagement
The present study examined the associations between fathers' and mothers' agreement in pregnancy intentionality and fathers' prenatal involvement (e.g., discussed pregnancy with child's mother, listened to baby's heart beat, saw sonogram, felt baby move, and present at child's birth) with fathers' engagements (i.e., caregiving, physical play, and literacy activities) with their 9 month-old infants. The sample included Mexican American two-parent families (N = 735) participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort and addressed the following research questions: (1) What are the associations between couples' agreement of pregnancy intentionality, fathers' prenatal involvement and later father engagement; (2) What are the associations between father-mother relationship status (married vs. cohabiting) and relationship quality (i.e., happiness in their relationship) with father engagement? (3) Does father-mother relationship quality moderate the association between couples' agreement of pregnancy intentionality and father engagement?
After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics (mothers' and father's age at first birth, education, employment, income, acculturation, number of other children as well as children's age and gender), hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that fathers of children whose conception was intended by one or both parents engaged in more literacy activities (i.e., reading, singing, talking) with their infants than those whose conception was unintended by both parents. When the pregnancy was unintended by both parents, but fathers reported to be happy with their partner then fathers engaged in more caregiving and literacy activities with their infants. In contrast, unhappy fathers engaged in more literacy activities only when they both wanted the pregnancy. In addition, fathers who were more involved prenatally engaged in more caregiving for their infants than those who were less involved prentatally.
Our findings suggest that father involvement begins before birth and that children whose conception was unintended by both parents (albeit, only in 10% of couples) experienced less intimate engagement from their fathers, which may have important implications for later paternal rejection and alienation. In contrast, fathers who are involved in pregnancy have the opportunity to develop an early relationship with their unborn child that can be nurtured and built upon through caregiving activities after the child is born. Results also indicate the central role that father-mother relationship quality plays in father involvement. That is, fathers who are able to maintain positive relationships with their partners are those who are also able to remain committed toward their infants even if they didn't intend to have a child. These findings have social implications for how programs target fathers for involvement and how early in the child's life programs involve fathers. Hence, our findings underscore the importance of encouraging and promoting father involvement and supporting father-mother relationships early on in the child's life, even prior to the birth of their child, when fathers-to-be may begin to establish a connection with their unborn child and are perhaps more receptive to educational and social intervention services. A better understanding of these predictors to father involvement in minority families is essential to meeting the developmental needs of children beginning in infancy. .
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