From Fathers to Sons: The Intergenerational Transmission of Parenting Behavior among African American Young Men

Abstract

This study examined the intergenerational transmission of fathering among young, African American fathers in rural communities. A sample of 132 African American young men living in the rural South reported on the quality of their relationship with their biological and social fathers in the family of origin, their own involvement with their young children, and relational schemas of close, intimate relationships. Results of path analyses supported the hypothesized mediational model, such that a better relationship with one's biological (but not social) father predicted increased father involvement in the next generation, and this association was partially mediated through positive relational schema after controlling for a range of covariates. Tests of moderated mediation indicated that the link between relational schema and father involvement was significantly stronger among fathers of girls than fathers of boys. Findings highlight the unique influence of close, nurturing father-child relationships for downstream father involvement, and the role of relational schemas as a mechanism for intergenerational transmission among young, rural, African American fathers of girls.

Group‐based transmission of fatherhood among intergenerational African American fathers: A case study

“…Additionally, to our knowledge, there is no empirical evidence on the benefit of paternal‐parenting transmission of fathering. More attention to understanding the mechanism of paternal‐parenting transmission is necessary to better understand the benefits of gender‐specific transmission of fathering (Brown et al, ). More resources that exploit the expertise of veteran fathers to positively shape the fatherhood journey of adolescent fathers are needed.…”

“…Scholarly work has begun to emerge that illustrate the benefits of social fathers serving as surrogate fathers; individuals who can step in to impact the wellbeing of children when the child's father is not involved or nonresident (Bzostek, ). Consequently in the AA communities where single parenthood rates may be high social fathers can influence the intergenerational transmission of paternal‐parenting knowledge and skills (Brown, Kogan, & Kim, ). Ultimately, the adolescent father can decide to imitate the mentor–father's parental style or blend what he has learned into his own fathering skillset (Bandura, , ).…”

“…Little empirical evidence confirms the benefits of paternal transmission of fathering. Even so, we hypothesize that the benefits to the child may include mental health and cognitive development, social behavior, and the potential for the son to become a good father (Brown et al, ).…”

Intergenerational Factors, Fatherhood Beliefs, and African American Fathers’ Involvement: Building the Case for a Mediated Pathway

“…Still, studies have noted that there may be contextual and systemic factors that directly and indirectly influence African American fathers’ involvement and engagement with their children (Brown, Kogan, & Kim, 2017; Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1999; Edin, Tach, & Mincy, 2009; Fagan, 1998; Fagan & Palkovitz, 2007; Jarrett, Roy, & Burton, 2002; Johnson, 1998). Intergenerational factors, namely African American fathers’ experiences and associations with their own fathers, have been suggested as a critical interactional context that may shape perceived fathering roles and beliefs as well as their involvement (Bowman & Forman, 1997; Brown et al, 2017; Coates & Phares, 2014; Fagan, 1998; Hunter et al, 2006; Roopnarine, 2004; Shears, Robinson, & Emde, 2002). The preponderance of this work has utilized qualitative designs and relied on smaller, nonrepresentative samples (e.g., teen fathers, low-socioeconomic status fathers); thus, limiting conclusions and the ability to generalize, more broadly, among African American fathers.…”

Editorial: Focusing on Intergenerational Processes and Problems of Family Life in Family Therapy

“…A multigenerational focus remains a major focal point in a few centers of family therapy training, an aspect of the training of therapists in many methods of practice, and an ingredient in the mix of methods in several integrative therapies (Asen & Fonagy, 2017a, 2017bFiese, Celano, Deater-Deckard, Jouriles, & Whisman, 2019a;Lebow, 2016;Nielsen, 2017;Rober & Rosenblatt, 2017). This thread has also emerged as an important topic in research assessing family process, with a substantial body of work tying some aspect of current family and individual functioning to multigenerational processes (Brown, Kogan, & Kim, 2017;Ganong & Coleman, 2018;Martin, Kim, & Freyd, 2018;Parsons et al, 2018;Skowron & Farrar, 2016;Tissot, Favez, Ghisletta, Frascarolo, & Despland, 2017). Similarly, there has emerged a very thick body of work illuminating our understanding of normal relational family processes and about typical family problems in areas such as parenting, divorce, remarriage, attachment, aging, sibling relationships, acculturation, and innumerable other topics in family life (Demby, Riggs, & Kaminski, 2017;Fiese, Celano, Deater-Deckard, Jouriles, & Whisman, 2019b;Hardy & Fisher, 2018;Jensen, Whiteman, Bernard, & McHale, 2017;Kao & Caldwell, 2017;Rauer, Williams, & Jensen, 2017;Solmeyer & McHale, 2017).…”