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University
of Maryland, College Park
1-Feb-03
New Findings about Fathers - Marriage Counts
Library:
LIF-SOC
Keywords: STEPFATHER, FATHER, CHILDREN, POLICY, WELFARE,
Description: When it comes to quality fathering, it is marriage,
not biology, that separates the men from the boys, according to a new University
of Maryland study. (J. of Marriage and Family, 3-Feb-2003)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31,
2003
Contact: Ellen Ternes
301- 405-4627
eternes@accmail.umd.edu
Sandra
Hofferth
(301) 405-8501
hofferth@glue.umd.edu
Are All Dads Equal?
New Findings About Fathers - Marriage Counts
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - When it comes to quality fathering, it is
marriage, not biology, that separates the men from the boys, according to a new
University of Maryland study.
In a paper to be released in the Feb. 3
edition of the Journal of Marriage and Family, Sandra Hofferth, professor
of family studies at Maryland, says that, married stepfathers are equally good
at fathering both their biological and the stepchildren who live with them.
In contrast, Hofferth's study shows that cohabiting, but unmarried, male
partners who are the biological fathers of the children in the household, don't
put in as much time or show as much warmth as married biological fathers.
"Previous studies have tended to show that children don't do as well
with stepfathers as with their own biological fathers," Hofferth said. "But one
of the problems is that those studies have compared one group of biological
fathers to a different group of stepfathers. Stepfathers tend to be economically
and socially disadvantaged, so they were really comparing apples and oranges.
There are so many children in this country who are growing up with stepparents,
it's really important to accurately examine the quality of parenting they're
getting."
Hofferth's study looks in detail at two-parent blended
families, in which fathers are biological father to some and stepfather to other
children.
"We found that when you examine the same fathers, children
spend as much time with married stepfathers as with married biological fathers.
Stepfathers, on average, spend 12 hours a week engaged with stepchildren and do
nine out of 13 different types of activities with them in a month.
"As
important, they score five out of six on the amount of warmth they show. They
spent about the same amount of time and showed the same amount of warmth with
their biological children.
"We also found that cohabiting partners, even
if they are biological father to the child, do not invest the same amount of
time with children as married biological fathers. and they are less warm than
the married biological fathers."
In the study, funded by the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Hofferth and her coauthor,
Kermyt Anderson of the University of Oklahoma, analyzed data from a nationally
representative sample of 1628 children under the age of 13 who live with their
biological mother and the mother's husband or partner. They included white,
African American and Hispanic men of all income levels. The average educational
level of the men was 13 years.
Using detailed 24-hour diaries of
children and surveys with fathers and mothers, Hofferth measured the amount of
time fathers and mothers' partners were involved with the children. Involvement
ranged from such activities as doing laundry to reading a book to playing video
games or sports.
Hofferth also measured parental warmth - how many times
in a month the father hugged the child, expressed love, joked or played, talked
with the child or told the child he appreciated what the child did.
"Results of the study point to some things to consider when we make
family policy," says Hofferth. "First, marriage between the mother and father,
whether he's the biological or stepfather makes a difference. Children benefit
when their mother marries or remarries.
"Second, even though they don't
contribute as much as married fathers, cohabiting men contribute substantial
amounts of time and warmth to their partner's children, seven to nine hours per
week. Public policies designed to promote positive family relationships should
address the involvement of these residential cohabiting partners," Hofferth
says.
"We also found that stepfathers contribute more to young children
than to older children. So it's important that these new families be established
when children are young.
"Our results also show that fathers who pay
child support to children they don't live with contribute less to their
residential children. Supporting children in several families is not easy. Our
findings point to the need to help fathers and mothers manage cross-family
obligations."
Hofferth says of the 80 per cent of children who live in
married households, one of every six lives with a stepparent. More than two
million children were living with unmarried parents in 1990, but Hofferth
estimates the number is higher today.
"The number of cohabiting couples
rose 50 percent between 1990 and 1997 alone. We're talking about a lot of
children. We need to develop policy that takes in account what's really
happening in these families, then encourage the things that benefit the
children."
#
#0313, Ternes, 1/31/03
You can
access a .pdf file of Hofferth's paper: http://www.urhome.umd.edu/newsdesk/pdf/mafam.pdf
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