The Invisible Men: Low Income Unwed African American Fathers

1. The Invisible Men: Low Income Unwed African American Fathers Christopher M.R. Barnes, Dr. Cynthia Barnes-Boyd Western Illinois University, The University of Illinois at Chicago Results Methods Introduction Recruitment Participants were gathered from the Male Responsibility Program of the Greater Englewood Healthy Start Initiative, a federally funded program originally implemented to address perinatal and post-neonatal mortality in Chicago’s Greater Englewood communities. Participants were chosen randomly from a list of names and offered a 10 dollar gift card. Sample Description All of the participants in this focus group were low income, un-wed African American fathers from the greater Englewood communities in Chicago, IL. The men ranged between 18 and 45 years old. Procedure Group interviews were conducted using the 3rd edition of a Male Responsibility Interview protocol which contained 82 questions. • The research conducted on un-wed parenthood is highly important. • During the 1960’s, single-parent families represented 9 percent of all families with children. In 1998, however, this number rose to 27 percent (McLanahan, 2002). • Today, the proportion of all births to unmarried women has reached 38.5 percent of all U.S. births (2006), up from 36.9 percent in 2005 (CDC, 2009). • Un-wed parenthood is at an all time high in the African American community. • The proportion of non-marital births among African American women was the highest in the nation at 70.7 percent (CDC, 2009). • Also noted by the CDC, only 24 percent of black fathers reported having their first child in a cohabiting union while 39 percent reported having their first child in other forms of non-marital relationships. • Although father involvement is highly important, it is significantly different among un-wed fathers. • Resident fathers were 47% more likely to take their children to and from activities. • While 94% of resident fathers read to their children several times a week, only 18.5% of non-resident fathers read to their children just as much. • Currently, very few studies have evaluated fatherhood among un-wed African American males. • Research Question • What motivates un-wed African American fathers to stay involved in their children’s lives? Discussion Having/not having a father figure • Fathers who had a father present never indicated providing “Other” support. This is due to the fact that these fathers always indicated specific forms of support. • Fathers who were influenced by having a father figure in their life gave were likely to provide support before birth. • Fathers who were influenced by not having a father figure in their life were unlikely to provide emotional support before birth. Pressure/Obligation • Fathers who felt family pressure did not provide a place to live for the mother before the baby was born. It could be that family expressed concern for them to be involved in relation to the fact that they were not physically close to their child’s mother. • More research is needed to help understand the influence that community/society pressure has on involvement. It could be that this broader support influences fathers to be involved in a way that is inexpensive yet still considered involvement. • Every man except one felt obligated to take care of their children. Relationship with mother • Fathers who were involved with the mother of their child stated that they were as involved in the child’s life as they wanted to be. It could be that fathers view having a relationship with the mother as a type of father involvement. • Fathers who were influenced by their relationship with their child’s mother were unlikely to provide clothes and food to the mother before the baby was born. There could be negative issues that occur before birth that influence both the relationship with mother, and father involvement before birth. • Surprisingly, there were no significant correlations with father involvement after birth. • Future research should assess these relationships with a bigger sample. Description of Tool • The 3rd edition of a Male Responsibility Interview protocol contained 82 questions that was used to interview fathers about their fatherhood experience and introduced new questions intended to collect information about attitudes and beliefs on fatherhood. • This project focuses on 6 questions that assessed motivational factors, and other factors related to motivation, that were hypothesized to influence unwed African American father involvement. • All questions were asked in a close-ended format, but participants were given the opportunity to discuss their answers. • The focus group lasted approximately two hours. Acknowledgements A special thanks to the Summer Research Opportunities Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago for providing funding and support to make this research project possible. I would also like to thank Dr. Cynthia Barnes-Boyd, Ebony Burnside, Janine Lewis, Sabrina Nelson, Angela Ellison Dr. Connie Dallas, Charles Williams, and the Neighborhood Initiative for the support and resources offered.