Suchergebnisse

As the chapters in this volume demonstrate, young, disadvantaged men from urban neighborhoods face a unique set of challenges and constraints as they transition to adulthood. Yet, these challenges are not always contained by place.Research among Latino and White disadvantaged men in nonurban settings highlights the pressures that come along with fatherhood for disadvantaged men. In contrast to popular understandings of absent or disengaged fathers, findings reveal how fatherhood and increasing levels of interdependence during early adulthood can buffer men as they make the difficult transition to adulthood. The innovative field-based research featured in this volume illuminates the contexts, processes, and meanings in life pathways for disadvantaged men as they move from adolescence into adulthood and should help to inform policies and practices directed at minimizing their marginalization from mainstream society. This is the 143rd volume in this series. Its mission is to provide scientific and scholarly presentations on cutting edge issues and concepts in child and adolescent development. Each volume focuses on a specific new direction or research topic and is edited by experts in that field.

Life course theory is a unique and critical approach to our emerging understanding of fathering over the next century. To understand contemporary fathering is to pay close attention to personal and social change in men's lives. Equipped with a theory that links history, social structures, and individual lives, we might clarify some of the ambiguity and confusion surrounding contemporary men's roles in families. I review previous research on fathering over the life course and assess the strengths and limitations of such research. I reexamine 5 themes that were presented 2 decades ago in order to translate life course insights into family science (Bengtson & Allen, 1993). I integrate my own research on low‐income fathers and families into these themes. Finally, I offer some insights for advances in fathering scholarship through life course theory.

Family scientist Kevin Roy reviews the books So Rich, So Poor and Ain't No Trust. The books examine the consequences of welfare reform policy for low-income families and the next steps in dealing with rising social inequality.

AbstractWe utilize insights from previous qualitative research to explore fathering among immigrant fathers from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (the Northern Triangle of Central America). We present a conceptual model of transnational fathering practices in order expand beyond common cultural frameworks that are used to examine within‐group differences for Latino fathers. We describe four key practices of transnational fathering: (1) negotiation of illegality, (2) providing from the shadows, (3) maintenance of transnational family networks, and (4) communication with mobile families via information technology. This model can expand our understanding of and practice with immigrant and refugee families who live between and within multiple national borders.

Abstract: We identify and discuss mothers' early strategies to recruit nonresidential biological fathers, intimate partners, male family members and friends, and paternal kin to support the needs of young children in low‐income families. Using the concept of kinscription and longitudinal ethnographic data on 149 African American, Hispanic, and non‐Hispanic White families from Welfare, Children and Families: A Three‐City Study, we developed a model of recruitment that includes three related processes: the search for legitimacy with conventional fathers and partners, the consequences of maternal advocacy for intimate relationships, and protection of children and reduction of risks to family well‐being. Results indicate that mothers' co‐opting of fathers and father figures to support their children is shaped by men's immigration status, the tenuous nature of romantic relationships, and fathers' intergenerational caregiving responsibilities. Implications for theories of coparenting and partner dynamics in low‐income families and for policy and programs are discussed.

In this study, we explore the gap between the culture and conduct of paternal involvement with children among Korean middle-class and workingclass fathers. Using interview data from thirtytwo fathers following a period of national economic crisis, we find that Korean fathers negotiated among three contradictory and often ambiguous sets of cultural expectations: traditional Confucian fatherhood; work success as measure of good fatherhood; and "new" fatherhood that embraces providing and caregiving roles. Family involvement was limited for all fathers, although care for children was most directly shaped by strict or flexible working schedules. Middle class and working class fathers used different strategies to reduce the gap between conflicting cultural expectations for paternal caregiving and low levels of actual involvement with children, including delayed fatherhood, lowered expectations, and segregated roles.

AbstractFamily science brings new perspectives to the study of masculinity in the social sciences and public health. Families are spaces to both examine and to change expectations for masculinity, in part through encouraging the expression of multiple masculinities. In this article we identify two unique theoretical contributions of family science: reconceptualizing masculinities as family‐level processes, and as intergenerational processes that emerge over time. We situate the social construction of masculinities within family relationships over time, as well as in structural contexts and institutions guided by laws and policies. Finally, we provide four dimensions of masculinities as tools for new research: families and enabling of hegemonic masculinity; families and development of alternative masculinities; mental health consequences of family‐level masculinity processes; and expanding masculinities beyond the body with a gender‐inclusive approach.

Contents -- About the Authors -- Preface -- 1. The Landscape -- 2. Constructing Meanings -- 3. Building and Sustaining Bonds -- 4. Negotiating Trust as Partners and Parents -- 5. Kin Work and Networks of Care -- 6. Community Connections -- 7. Transitions and Human Capital -- 8. Promoting Nurturance -- Appendix: Methodological Challenges in a Qualitative Multistudy Project on Fathering -- Notes -- References -- Index