OUR FINDINGS

Our Research Findings in Plain Language

Our research to date has focused on the inner city sample from the Glueck Study, described in our Research Plan.

Our findings in brief:

• Higher levels of positive father involvement (specifically, authoritative parenting with high levels of both supervision and affection) were associated with a stronger father-son relationship
• The mere amount of time that fathers spent with their sons was less related to relationship quality than were the indicators of the father’s involvement – that is, his parenting style, supervision, and affection for his son
• Fathers living apart from their sons were still able to supervise and discipline their sons, while establishing a warm, affectionate relationship was more difficult from a distance
• Father educational level was unrelated to parenting style and ability to form a strong father-son relationship
• Fathers’ poor work habits, more frequent alcohol use, and delinquent behavior appeared to be risk factors reflecting tough circumstances that made it more difficult to provide positive parenting and establish a strong father-son relationship
• A strong father-son relationship was associated with better outcomes for the boys in terms of earning better grades, repeating fewer grade levels, demonstrating fewer problem behaviors, being less likely to smoke cigarettes, and having fewer emotional problems
• Supervision was more important than affection for predicting positive behavioral and emotional outcomes

Parenting Style and Relationship Quality

Examining father-son relationships in the Glueck sample, we have found that higher levels of positive father involvement were associated with a more positive father-son relationship. Specifically, we have found that fathers who had an authoritative parenting style (using discipline that was specifically firm but kindly as opposed to inadequate parenting, as rated by study staff) had stronger relationships with their sons. In addition, fathers who were rated high supervision and affection also had stronger father-son relationships.

Does Residence Status Matter?

Since some of the boys in the sample had fathers who were not living with them due to divorce or other circumstances, we decided to look at whether the amount of contact between fathers and sons made a difference in terms of parenting style and relationship quality. Since some boys had resident fathers or at least weekly contact with their fathers, while other boys had minimal or no contact, we felt this was an important question to explore.

Our findings have been mixed. We have found that the amount of contact between fathers and sons in this sample was less related to the father’s discipline style (firm but kindly versus inadequate) and to the amount of supervision he provided, and more related to the level of affection between father and son. In other words, it seems that in this sample fathers living apart from their sons were still able to supervise and discipline their sons, while establishing a warm, affectionate relationship was more difficult from a distance (and therefore may require more effort on the father’s part).

Is Contact Enough – or is it About the Father’s Involvement?

Examining what factors contribute to a strong father-son relationship, we were curious whether it was simply about contact between father and son or rather the father’s involvement with his son that was more important. Across the board, we found that degree of contact was less related to relationship quality than were the indicators of the father’s involvement – that is, his parenting style, supervision, and affection for his son.

Of course, contact between father and son may have facilitated the father’s involvement, so we decided to tease out these two things. Again, we found that contact between father and son was related to father-son relationship quality, but significantly less so once we added the indicators of father involvement to the equation. In other words, the effect of contact was no longer significant once we controlled for father involvement, meaning that it was not simply about contact between father and son, but rather about the father’s involvement.

Types of Fathers and How They Relate to Their Sons

Another focus of our research has been to look at whether different kinds of fathers parent and relate to their sons in different ways. In this vein, we have examined the role of father characteristics in order to determine how the father’s education level, work habits, alcohol use, emotional disturbance, and delinquency may play into parenting style and relationship quality.

Again, our findings tell a complicated story. We have found that at least in this sample fathers’ educational level was unrelated to discipline style, amount of supervision, level of affection, and relationship quality. To put it differently, knowing a father’s level of education told us little about his parenting style and ability to form a strong father-son relationship.

What we have found to be more strongly related to parenting style and relationship quality were father characteristics such as poor work habits, more frequent alcohol use, and delinquent behavior. In other words, these characteristics appear to have been risk factors reflecting fathers struggling with tough circumstances that made it more difficult to provide positive parenting and establish a strong father-son relationship.

Distinct Parenting Styles?

The research literature shows that fathers and mothers tend to use one of four distinct parenting styles. These parenting styles are typically called authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful. They are based on the degree of control and the degree of warmth that the parent uses in his or her relationship with the child. For example, authoritative parenting is at the same time firm and warm in that the parent shows lots of warm affection while setting firm limits with his or her child.

We decided to see whether the four parenting styles were present in our sample of disadvantaged youth, but found evidence only of two distinct parenting styles. Specifically, it appeared that one group of fathers used an authoritative parenting style characterized by high levels of supervision, high levels of affection, and a firm but kindly discipline style. Another group of fathers appeared to use an authoritarian style characterized by high levels of supervision and discipline, but low levels of affection.

Is Father Involvement and a Strong Father-Son Relationship Related to Better Outcomes?

The research literature also shows that father involvement and a strong father-son relationship is related to positive outcomes for children, so we decided to investigate to see if this were true for our sample of disadvantaged boys.

Not surprisingly, we found that a strong father-son relationship was associated with better outcomes for the boys in terms of earning better grades, repeating fewer grade levels, demonstrating fewer problem behaviors, and being less likely to smoke cigarettes. This finding held up even after we controlled statistically for the mother-son relationship and socioeconomic status, two other factors known to influence these outcomes. In fact, the father-son relationship was more strongly related to these outcomes than the mother-son relationship.

In addition, we found that as strong father-son relationship was associated with lower likelihood of having emotional problems as well as behavioral problems, even after controlling for the mother-son relationship and socioeconomic status. Again, the father-son relationship was more strongly related than the mother-son relationship to these outcomes.

What Are the Active Ingredients of Positive Father Involvement?

The research literature shows that father involvement is associated with positive outcomes, but research has been lacking in terms of showing exactly why and how fathers make a difference. To address this gap in the literature, we explored what aspects of father involvement were most important for positive child outcomes in our sample of disadvantaged youths.

We found that contact between father and son was important for predicting the child’s behavioral outcomes (earning better grades, repeating fewer grade levels, demonstrating fewer problem behaviors, and being less likely to smoke cigarettes), but much less so once we added the father’s supervision of and affection for the boy to the equation.

Furthermore, we found that supervision was more important than affection for predicting behavioral outcomes. In fact, the amount of father supervision was a significant predictor even when we controlled statistically for the frequency of contact and the level of affection. This finding held up for the emotional outcomes as well.