Father Nurturance and Psychological Wellbeing

1. Father Nurturance and Psychological Wellbeing R. Alvayero, A. Freeman, B. Hanline, M. Simon, & B. Toure

2. Background & Theory European vs. African American fathers: 1600s to 1900s(Peck, 1984, as cited in Lamb, 2000; Hamer, 2001; Lamb, 2000; & Rohner, 2001) European fathers African American fathers A.A. fathers in slavery: provided daily care Did not have legal rights over children No income, but tried to provide by other means Nurturing supportive role models, still facing limited economic opportunities. • Moral educators • Breadwinners • “Genial Playmate day” (Rohner, 2001, p.385)

3. Background & Theory cont.(Rohner & Veneziano, 2001; Finley & Swartz, 2004; Harper & Fine, 2006; Taylor, Chatters, Tucker, & Lewis, 1990; Rohner, 2007) • Research on father Nurturance • Previous research • Parental acceptance-rejection theory (Rohner, 2007) • Personality sub-theory acceptance-rejection and psychological well-being

4. Research Question/Hypothesis • What is the relationship between African American father nurturance and emerging adult child psychological well-being? • Independent Variable • Dependant Variable

5. Results Descriptive Statistics Correlation Independent Variable Mean scores from Father Nurturance Scale Dependent Variable Mean scores from PAQ Pearson’s correlation Bivariate, linear relationship Weak, negative correlation (r = -0.215*) *Significant at p<0.05 Father nurturance & Psychological well-being • Mean of Father Nurturant Scale scores = 30.29 • N of Father Nurturant Scale scores = 184 • PAQ scores mean = 120.28 • N of PAQ scores =184

6. Years Participants Lived with Identified Father Results cont.

7. Results cont. Years Participants Interacted with Identified Father How Often Participants Interacted with Identified Father

8. Discussion How do the results fit into theory? Father nurturance is correlated with psychological well-being. Rohner’s theory on parental acceptance and rejection. Connection between results and prior research.

9. Discussion • Research shows that fathers are important but are results the same for African American fathers? • Future implications for research - Qualitative research - More studies using African American fathers - Do policies we put into place work?

10. References • Amato, P., (1994). Father-child relations, mother-child relations, and offspring psychological well-being in early adulthood. Journal of marriage and the family, 56(4), 1031 • Arnett, J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55 (5), 469-480. • Cooley, R. L. (2001). (In) visible men: Emerging research on low-income, unmarried, minority fathers. American Psychologist, 56(9), 743-743-753. • Finley, G. E., & Schwartz, S. J. (2004). The father involvement and nurturant fathering scales: Retrospective measures for adolescent and adult children. Educational & Psychological Measurement, 64(1), 143-164. • Hammer, J. (2001, What it means to be daddy: Fatherhood for black men living away from their children. Columbia University Press, pp. 1-1-52. • Harper, S. E., & Fine, M. A. (2006). The effects of involved nonresidential fathers' distress, parenting behaviors, inter-parental conflict, and the quality of father-child relationships on children's well-being. Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, & Practice about Men as Fathers, 4(3), 286-311. • Lamb, M. E. (2000). The history of research on father involvement: An overview. Marriage & Family Review, 29(2), 23. • McAdoo, J. L. (1993). The role of African American fathers: An ecological perspective. Families in Society, 74(1), 28-35.

11. References • Morgan state university fall 2006 demographics. (2006). Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://www.morgan.edu/admin/Planning/pdf/enrolldemo06.pdf • Roggman, L., Fitzgerald, H., & & Raikes, H. (2002). Methodological, measurement, and design issues in studying fathers: An interdisciplinary perspective. Tamis-LeMonda, C. & Cabrera, N. (eds.) handbook of father involvement: Multidisciplinary perspectives. (). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, • Rohner, R. P., Khaleque, A. & Cournoyer, D. E. (2007). Parental acceptance-rejection theory, methods, evidence, and implications. Retrieved September 06, 2007, from http://www.cspar.uconn.edu • Rohner, R. P., & Veneziano, R. A. (2001). The importance of fatherlove: History and contemporary evidence. Review of General Psychology, 5(4), 382-405. • Taylor, R., (1990). Developments in research on black families: A decade review. Journal of marriage and the family, 52(4), 993 • Veneziano, R. & Rohner, T.P. (1998). Perceived paternal acceptance, paternal involvement, and youths' psychological adjustment in a rural, biracial southern community. Journal of marriage and the family, 60(2), 335 • Veneziano, R., (2000). Perceived paternal and maternal acceptance and rural African American and European American youths' psychological adjustment. Journal of marriage and the family, 62(1), 123 • Videon, T., (2005). Parent-child relations and children's psychological well-being do dads matter? Journal of Family Issues, 26(1), 55