Dads and their kids The role of positive father-child relationships for early

development

Margaret O’Brien Caughy, Sc.D.Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Family Health Disparities

University of Georgia

March 1, 2019

Myth of the Neglectful Black Father

https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/family-structure

74%

16%

36%

49%

61%

25%

86%

8%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Living with 2 married parents Living with mother only

Children’s Living Arrangements, 2017

White Black Hispanic Asian

Father-absence blamed for plight of poor black children since the 1960s

Father Involvement (Resident Fathers)

64

45

74

22

74

60

83

30

78

70

82

35

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

Fed/ate w/child daily Bathed/diapered/dressedchild daily

Played w/daily Read to daily

Latino White Black

%

Jones, J., & Mosher, W. (2013, December 20) Fathers’ involvement with their children: United States 2006-2010. National Health Statistics Reports #71. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr071.pdf on 2/25/19)

Father Involvement (Non-Resident Fathers)

8.6 7.310.0

6.6 6.63.2

12.6 12.716.5

7.8

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

Fed/ate w/child daily Bathed/diapered/dressedchild daily

Played w/daily Read to daily

Latino White Black

*

%

*

*Numbers too small to reliably estimate.

Jones, J., & Mosher, W. (2013, December 20) Fathers’ involvement with their children: United States 2006-2010. National Health Statistics Reports #71. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr071.pdf on 2/25/19)

Dallas Preschool Readiness Project (DPReP)Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development

•407 preschoolers enrolled at age 2½ years•Recruited between Nov 2009 and Feb 2011• Followed up five more times so far

• Age 3½ years• Kindergarten• First Grade• Fourth Grade• Fifth Grade

•Data collected included child self-regulation skills, school achievement, parent-child relationships, and household characteristics

Dallas Preschool Readiness Project (DPReP)Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development

45

55

82

73

61

34

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

% African American % Latino % Federal povertylevel

% Foreign-born(Latino only)

% Spanish-speaking(Latino only)

% Bilingual(Latino only)

N = 407

Dallas Preschool Readiness Project (DPReP)Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development

60%

90%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

African American households Latino households

% Households with Father-Figure Present

311 (76%) had a father-figure living in the house

DPReP Fathers

64%

94%

13%

1%

10%5%6%

0%

9%2%

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

African American Latino

Father Partner Grandparent Older sibling Other adult relative

DPReP Father Involvement

70%

52%

83%

62% 62%

19%

41%

53%45%

94%

18%

46%

11%

30%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Feeds child Changes diaper Hugs child Playslegos/blocks

Plays peekaboo Reads stories Sings songs

Black Latino

% Fathers Who Engaged in These With Their Child 5+x/week (mother report)

Father-Child Interaction

• 258 fathers participated

• Structured 15-minute interaction with a set of books/toys

• Father behavior rated for:• Sensitivity

• Cognitive stimulation

• Positive regard

• Negative regard

• Intrusiveness

• Detachment

Father Profiles

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

Child-oriented Directive Hostile

Sens Stim Pos reg Neg reg Int Det

DPReP Father Profiles

48.7%

48.7%

7.6%

Child-oriented Directive Hostile

Child-Oriented Fathering andExecutive Function Development

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

African American Latino

Child oriented fathering Other fathering profiles

Owen, Caughy, Hurst, Amos, & Hasanizadeh. (2013). Unique contributions of fathering to emerging self-regulation in low-income ethnic minority preschoolers. Early Child Development & Care, 183, 464-482.

EF age 2½

Child-Oriented Fathering andExecutive Function Development

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

African American Latino

Child oriented fathering Other fathering profiles

EF age 3½

Are Fathers and Mothers the Same?• No differences in sensitivity between mothers and fathers

• Different relations to child outcomes

Sensitive Fathering

Sensitive Mothering

Mathematics

Reading

Early Childhood Kindergarten

Caughy, Brinkley, Smith & Owen. (2019). Influence of fathering on children’s school readiness in low-income ethnic minority families. (in revision)

How Fathers Differ from Mothers

•Physical and “rough and tumble” play

•Teasing

•Encourage risk-taking

•Challenging language (“wh”-questions, less attuned to child’s language skills and less likely to continue child’s topic in conversation)

Cabrera, Volling, & Barr, 2018;. Paquette, 2004; Rowe, Coker, & Pan, 2004; Rowe, Leech, & Cabrera,

2016; Tamis-LeMonda, Baumwell, & Cabrera, 2013.

The Father-Child “Activation” Relationship

“Fathers play a particularly important role in the development of children’s openness to the world. Men seem to have a tendency to excite, surprise, and momentarily destabilize children; they also tend to encourage children to take risks, while at the same time ensuring the latter’s safety and security, thus permitting children to learn to be braver in unfamiliar situations, as well as to stand up for themselves.”

Paquette, D. (2004). Theorizing the father-child relationship: Mechanisms and

developmental outcomes. Human Development, 47, 193-219. doi: 10.1159/000078723

The Father-Child “Activation” Relationship:An example

https://youtu.be/G81YQ2fUYsg

The Father-Child “Activation” Relationship:An example

https://www.youtu

be.com/watch?v=

MGQ5W1Ri9mc

Father-Child “Activation” in Day-to-Day Interactions

Sensitive, low activation Sensitive, high activation

Does Father “Activation” Make a Difference?

•More challenging language related to more frequent and syntactically complex responses from children (Rowe, Leech, & Cabrera, 2016)

•Physical play associated with motor development, emotion regulation, and peer competence (Paquette, 2004)

Parenting Programs for Fathers

Not father-friendly, 1334, 99%

Father-friendly, 19, 1%

Lee, Knauer, Lee, MacEachern, & Garfield. (2018). Father-inclusive perinatal parent education programs: A

systematic review. Pediatrics, 142 (1) e20180437; doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-0437

Systematic Review of Perinatal Parenting Programs (n = 1353)

“Father-Friendly” Parent Education Programs

•Defined as:• Targeted fathers for program involvement• Evaluated father-related outcomes (involvement, behavior,

knowledge)

•Only three studies rated “high quality”

•Few demonstrated impact on fathers

Lee, Knauer, Lee, MacEachern, & Garfield. (2018). Father-inclusive perinatal parent education programs: A

systematic review. Pediatrics, 142 (1) e20180437; doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-0437

What Do Dads Need From Programs?

•Employment support

•Navigating the child support system

•Needs of fathers returning from the criminal justice system

•Positive fatherhood mentorship

•Co-parenting relationship support

Lee, S. J., Hoffman, G., & Harris, D. (2016). Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) needs assessment of parenting support programs for fathers. Children and Youth Services Review, 66, 76-84.

Strategies for Engaging Dads• Meeting dads where they are

• Fathers perceive “anti-dad” bias in many service programs

• Engage fathers where they are in the community (schools, sporting events,

barbershops, etc.)

• Show empathy• Male providers sharing personal struggles as fathers

• Engage fathers more as peers than service professionals to build trust

• Designing events that get dads excited• Opportunities for father and child to demonstrate the pride they have in their

relationship

• Helping fathers reflect on their role

Lee, S. J., Hoffman, G., & Harris, D. (2016). Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) needs assessment of parenting support programs for fathers. Children and Youth Services Review, 66, 76-84.

Making Service Agencies “Father-Friendly”• Physical environment and setting

• Is the physical environment welcoming for fathers?

• Are there resources for fathers?

• Do promotional materials reflect fathers in wording and images?

• Staff behavior and attitudes

• What do you know about the fathers being served?

• Do staff understand the role men play in children’s lives?

• What biases might staff have?

• Service delivery

• Is timing of services flexible?

• Are appointment reminders sent to both mothers and fathers?

Lee, S. J. & Scharer, D. (2017, August). The Genesee County Healthy Start Engaged Father Program. Paper presented at the 2017 Michigan Home Visiting Conference, Grand Rapids, MI.

Supporting Dads and Their Kids:Opportunities and Responsibilities

•More research•Unique ways that fathers impact their children’s lives•Need new lens, not one based on research with

mothers

•Normalize fathers in family programs•The rule not the exception

Dallas Preschool Readiness Project: Acknowledgements

Principal Investigators

Margaret O’Brien Caughy, Sc.D.

Margaret Tresch Owen, Ph.D.

Melissa Amos

Plaststilla Arnold

Adriana Villa Baird

Piper Duarte

Carmen Gonzalez

Nazly Hasanizadeh

Jamie Hurst, Ph.D.

Phase I Team

Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development

Ana-Maria Mata-Otero, Ph.D.Caroline MejiasBunnoi McDanielJerry Roberson, Dr.PH.Junie ShresthaClare Stevens

Dallas Preschool Readiness Project: Acknowledgements

Principal Investigators

Margaret O’Brien Caughy, Sc.D.

Margaret Tresch Owen, Ph.D.

Dawn Brinkley, Ph.D.,Suzy ArmstrongPlaststilla ArnoldErica BallNazly DyerCarmen GonzalezGabriella Jairala

Maria MaeseDulce MartinezJune N’gangaDaniel Pacheco, Ph.D.Tatiana Peredo, Ph.D.Laura Von HattenCynthia Williams

Phase II Team

Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development

Dallas Project on Education Pathways: Acknowledgements Principal Investigators

Margaret O’Brien Caughy, Sc.D.

Margaret Tresch Owen, Ph.D.

Phase III Team

Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development

Dawn Brinkley, Ph.D., Post-doctoral fellow

Daniel Pacheco, Ph.D., Post-doctoral fellow

Tiffacy Adike

Leslie Anderson

Myesha Applewhite, Ph.D.

Plaststilla Arnold

Joya Bustamante

Patricia Cantu

Fabiola Cortez

Nety Duenas

Kathryn Forbes

Daisy Gallegos

Judith Gonzalez

Cindy Hong

Sihong Liu

Yolanda Machado

Loris Memic

Destin Mizelle

Zach Monroe

Pryce Nwabude

Kimberly Osborne

Jennifer Torres

Brianna Turney

Laura Von Hatten

Tania Vuelvas-Barreto

Ashley Walsdorf