The article reconceptualizes father presence as the psychological presence of the father in the child. The article explicates the components of father presence as comprised of the following: (a) an inner sense of father in the child that orients him or her to the father; (b) the child's relationship with the personal father; (c) other family…

Girls growing up in homes without their biological fathers tend to go through puberty earlier than their peers. Whereas evolutionary theories of socialization propose that this relation is causal, it could arise from environmental or genetic confounds. To distinguish between these competing explanations, the authors used a genetically and…

This study investigates the extent to which the extended family provides support to African American nonresident fathers and its influence on their involvement with their children. The data for this study were collected from 278 African American nonresident fathers as a part of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The findings revealed…

This article examines the role of the African American uncle as a vital yet overlooked form of social support and social capital in the lives of adolescent African American male sons living in single-female-headed households. Research rarely examines the affective roles and functions of men in Black families; moreover, poor urban Black male youth…

We examine the roles of neighborhood characteristics in the development of the aggressive behavior of 1,409 urban boys and girls between the first and seventh grades. The multilevel, longitudinal growth analyses find strong neighborhood effects in all models, while controlling for individual-level variables. Results indicated that the effects of…

The purpose of this article is to examine work-family conflict among low-income, unmarried mothers. Analyzing the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national sample of nonmarital births, I examine how social capital affects work-family conflict and how both social capital and work-family conflict affect employment. Results show that…

The age of female puberty appears to have decreased in the United States and western countries as child health and nutrition have improved and obesity has become more prevalent. Also, environmental contaminants, particularly endocrine disruptors, may also play a role in lowering the age of puberty. Puberty at an early age increases the risk of…

Results of a survey of female undergraduates revealed no significant differences in moral development between women from broken homes (divorced parents or father deceased) and from intact families. There was a strong correlation between age at loss of father and level of moral development for women from broken homes. (Author/MK)

The relations between intactness of the parental unit (e.g., father absent at age 14) and pubertal timing in both men and women were examined in a US national probability sample. In both men and women, an absent father at age 14 predicted an earlier age of puberty (e.g., early menarche or voice change). There was little evidence that an absent…

Research on the effects of father absence on boys points to areas in which special attention from sensitive teachers is needed. The problems are described. (MT)

This study used Complier Average Causal Effect analysis (CACE; see G. Imbens & D. Rubin, 1997) to examine the impact of an adaptive approach to family intervention in the public schools on rates of substance use and antisocial behavior among students ages 11-17. Students were randomly assigned to a family-centered intervention (N = 998) in 6th…

Personality and attitudinal correlates of father absence early (before age 5) or late (between 5 and 11) in childhood were studied in a sample of college- aged women. Father absence was due to either death or divorce. Results showed few differences between father-absent subjects and father-present controls. (Author/JMB)

Introduces analytic framework that classifies types of health problems that emerge among shelter residents and serves as guide to social work intervention with health problems of shelter residents. Framework covers three categories of health problems: illnesses coincident with homelessness, those exacerbated by limited health care access, and…

The effects of father absence and stepfathers on cognitive performance were assessed using the Embedded Figures Test and Scholastic Aptitude Test scores of 96 college students. (Author)