According to this study, children were more likely to exhibit behavioral problems at age three if their fathers had children with partners other than their biological mother, even when controlling for other variables.
Compared with peers who did not experience family transitions in early childhood, fifth-graders who experienced more family instability before the first grade exhibited lower levels of social competence and more behavior problems and said that they were more lonely than other children.
Compared with peers whose families were more stable, fifth graders who had experienced more family transitions exhibited lower levels of social skills and engaged in higher levels of problem behavior.
The more often parents watched television with their teens and the more they limited television viewing, the less likely adolescents were to have sex.
For wives, their pre-parenthood reports of leisure time spent with their husbands were negatively associated with reports of marital conflict a year after the birth of their first child (more time together, less conflict); for husbands, their reports of pre-parenthood leisure time spent with individuals other than their wives was positively associated with marital conflict a year after the birth of their first child (more time with others, more conflict).
During the initial months after the birth of their first child, new parents reported significant decreases in leisure activity time with individuals other than their spouses. Although over the course of the first year of parenthood, new parents did reported increases in leisure time spent with others; however, the amount of leisure time new parents spent at the end of the first year did not return to pre-parenthood levels. Although both new moms and dads experienced decreases and then increases in leisure time with others, their patterns of leisure time differed slightly from one another.
New parents experienced declines in leisure time with their spouses in the initial months after the birth of their first child; although, shared leisure time increased in the latter half of the child’s first year, the amount of time spouses spent in shared leisure activities at the end of their child’s first year did not return to pre-parenthood levels.
New parents who spent more leisure time with each other before their child’s birth reported higher levels of ”feeling close” to their spouses or “belonging to” their spouses one year after the birth of their first child.
Adolescents whose parents communicated with them more about reasons to avoid sexual activity were less likely to anticipate cohabiting before marriage than peers whose parents did not talk with them about sexual matters.
Compared with peers in parental care, children cared for in day care centers tended to exhibit more behavioral problems, and these problems were more pronounced the earlier the children entered center care and the more hours they spent in the center each week. This was true for children in families of all income levels studied.
Youths whose parents talked to them about what is right and wrong in sexual behavior were significantly more likely to be abstinent than peers whose parents did not.
Compared with peers whose parents did not set clear rules, youths whose parents did were about one-half as likely to have had sexual intercourse.
Fathers with higher levels of religious participation tended to be more engaged with their one-year-olds than fathers with lower levels of religious participation.
For men, having a child appeared to be associated with increased attendance at religious services.
Fathers’ religious participation appeared to influence engagement in their children’s lives. Men who attended religious services more frequently around the time of their children’s birth reported being more involved in the children’s lives one year later compared to peers who attended less frequently. Fathers with high levels of religious attendance (at least several times a month) around the time of the birth of their children reported the highest levels of engagement with their children one year later.
Among a cohort of socio-economically disadvantaged fathers, those who reported positive changes in their attitudes toward fathering (measured in terms of their responses to the following statements: “being a father and raising children is extremely fulfilling,” “I want people to know that I have a new child,” and “not being involved in my child’s life would be devastating”) during the first year of their children’s lives also reported, on average, improved health and psychological well-being, less substance abuse, and increased religion and paid labor force participation.
Young adults whose fathers showed stronger interest in their education at age 16 were less likely to fail to have their qualifications (the equivalent of dropping out of high school in the U.S.) than peers whose fathers showed less interest in their education. Each unit of increase in fathers’ interest in their children’s education was associated with a 68-percent decrease in the odds of not having qualifications. Similarly, young adults whose mothers showed more interest in their education at age 16 were more likely to have completed their qualifications than peers whose mothers showed less interest. Each unit of increase in mothers’ interest in their children’s education was associated with a 63-percent decrease in the odds of not having qualifications.
In a British sample, mothers’ and fathers’ involvement (e.g., interest in their children’s education, frequency of outings with their children) during childhood appeared to impact young adults’ educational attainment. Fathers’ interest in their children’s education appeared to have the strongest effect on educational attainment, followed by mothers’ interested in their children’s education, frequency of outings with mothers, and, finally, frequency of outings with fathers.
In a British sample, individuals whose mothers showed more interest in their education at age 11 were less likely to fail to have their qualifications (the equivalent of dropping out of high school in the U.S.) than peers whose mothers showed less interest in their education. Each unit of increase in mothers’ interest in their children’s education was associated with 44-percent reduction in the odds of failing to have their having qualifications. Similarly, individuals who enjoyed frequent outings with their mothers at age 11 were less likely to fail to have their qualifications than peers who had fewer outings with their mothers at age 11. Each unit of increase in outings with mothers was associated with 29-percent decrease in the odds of not having qualifications
In a British sample, individuals whose fathers showed more interest in their education at age 11 were less likely to have their qualifications (the equivalent of dropping out of high school in the U.S.) compared to peers whose fathers showed less interest in their education. Each unit of increase in fathers’ interest in their children’s education was associated with 59-percent reduction in the odds of their having qualifications. Similarly, individuals who enjoyed frequent outings with their fathers at age 11 were less likely not to have their qualifications compared to peers who had outings with their fathers at age 11. Each unit of increase in outings with fathers was associated with a 23-percent decrease in the odds of not having qualifications.
Living in non-intact families, as opposed to living in intact families, did not appear to have any impact on youths' expectations of attending college. However, changes in family structure during early and later childhood—particularly those regarding mothers' presence in the home—were negatively associated with having high expectations of attending college later in adolescence. Each change in the presence of the mother in home during childhood was associated with a 50 percent reduction in the odds of having high expectations of attending college later in adolescence, and each change during later childhood is associated with a 25 percent reduction in such expectations.
Among low-income youths who did not live with their biological fathers, those whose fathers were more involved in their lives (more visits, more phone and other forms of communication, more responsible for their daily lives) tended to engage in less delinquent behavior over a period of 16 months compared to peers whose fathers were less involved in their lives. This was particularly true for youths who had higher levels of prior delinquent behavior.
Among households of the same race, having more than two children was not associated with a decline in wealth. Rather, reported household assets increased as the number of children in the household increased.
According to parents' reports, children whose parents had more frequent discussions about religion with them exhibited higher levels of cognitive development.
Parents' discussions with their children about religion was related to a decrease in the likelihood that their children would exhibit problem behavior in school.
