Stability of biological father presence as a proxy for family stability: cross-racial associations with the longitudinal development of emotion regulation in toddlerhood. Infant Ment Health J 2014;35(4):309-21
Date
03/24/2015Pubmed ID
25798484DOI
10.1002/imhj.21454Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84903998359 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 33 CitationsAbstract
The current study, utilizing data from the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (Love et al., 2005) explored the relationship between biological father presence and emotion regulation over toddlerhood among children from low-income families. Conceptualizing biological father presence as a proxy for family role development, results are interpreted from a role development theoretical perspective. The latent growth curve model was compared based on child ethnoracial status (African American, Caucasian, Hispanic) and child gender. Consistent biological father presence was associated with toddlers' regulatory development across toddlerhood, and this relationship was most robust among Caucasian toddlers as compared to African American toddlers. Findings for Hispanic toddlers were not significantly different from those of Caucasian or African American families. Results bolster the literature on father presence and child outcomes. Analyses address consistency in father presence as a proxy for coherent role development and define a link between consistent father presence and children's regulatory development, demonstrating ethnoracial differences which are likely attributed to the social construction of family roles.
Author List
Bocknek EL, Brophy-Herb HE, Fitzgerald HE, Schiffman RF, Vogel CAuthor
Rachel Schiffman BS,MS,PhD Associate Dean for Research in the College of Nursing department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Child Development
Child, Preschool
Emotions
Family
Father-Child Relations
Fathers
Female
Humans
Infant
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Mothers
Parenting
Poverty
Socioeconomic Factors
Young Adult
