Making  “meaning”  in  families  through  the  social  construc5on  of  

fathering      Jeffrey  T.  Cookston  

San  Francisco  State  University  

Research  supported  by  NICHD  grant  8R01HD056615-­‐06A2    

Acknowledgements

The 392 families in the Parents and Youth Study

Graduate student collaborators: Andrea Finlay, Norma Perez-Brena, Andres Olide

My colleagues on the project: Ross Parke, Scott Coltrane, Sanford Braver, William Fabricius, Delia Saenz, Michelle Adams

Our interviewers who are too many to name

Life5me  prevalence  rates  of  any  disorder  for  13-­‐18  year  olds  

My  three  points  

1.  The  evidence  for  differen5al  socializa5on  by  mothers  and  fathers  is  inconclusive    

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

3.  Boys  and  girls  appear  to  make  meaning  similarity    

1.  The  evidence  for  differen5al  socializa5on  by  mothers  and  fathers  is  inconclusive    

 

1.  The  evidence  for  differen5al  socializa5on  by  mothers  and  fathers  is  inconclusive    

 

1.  The  evidence  for  differen5al  socializa5on  by  mothers  and  fathers  is  inconclusive    

 

1.  The  evidence  for  differen5al  socializa5on  by  mothers  and  fathers  is  inconclusive    

 

Maccoby  &  Jacklin  –  there  is  a  remarkable  degree  of  uniformity  of  the  socializa5on  of  the  two  sexes        

1.  The  evidence  for  differen5al  socializa5on  by  mothers  and  fathers  is  inconclusive    

 

   

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

 

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

 

Fathers  are  a  funny  lot  THE  GOOD  •  They  promote  offspring  survival  •  They  boost  children’s  func5oning  •  Historically,  they  are  becoming  more  involved  in  their  children’s  lives.  

THE  BAD  •  About  involvement  –  a  small  number  *  4  is  s5ll  a  small  number  

•  Men  are  more  subject  to  individual  and  cultural  varia5ons  in  fathering  than  mothers  

THE  UGLY  •  They  are  also  more  likely  to  be  substance  abusers,  physically  violent,  or  absent  all  together.  

Father Behavior

Social Context (Controls) Child Outcome

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

 

Father Behavior

Father Meaning

Social Context (Controls) Child Outcome

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

 

Schenck,  C.E.,  Braver,  S.L.,  Wolchik,  S.A.,  Saenz,  D.,  Cookston,  J.  T.,  &  Fabricius,  W.V.  (2009).              Rela5ons  between  mafering  to  step-­‐  and  non-­‐residen5al  fathers  and  adolescent  mental              health.  Fathering,  7(1),  70  -­‐  90.  

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

 

Family Structure

Biological, intact

Stepfather

Ethnicity

European American 110 89

Mexican American 107 86

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

 

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

 

Uns

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Depressive Symptoms

Boys

Girls

Finlay,  A.  K.,  &  Cookston,  J.  T.  (under  review).    Afribu5ons  of  fathering  behaviors  among  adolescents:    The  role  of  depressive  symptoms,  ethnicity,  and  family  structure.  Submifed  for  first  review  at  Journal  of  Family  Issues,  submifed  September  20,  2011.  

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

 

Cookston,  J.  T.,  Olide,  A.,  Adams,  M.,  Fabricius,  W.  V.,  Braver,  S.  L.,  &  Parke,  R.  D.  (2012).  In  L.  Juang  &  A.  Umaña-­‐Taylor  (Issue  Eds.),  Family  conflict  among  Chinese  and  Mexican-­‐origin  adolescents  and  their  parents.  New  Direc9ons  in  Child  and  Adolescent  Development  (L.  Jensen  &  R.  Larson,  Eds.),  pp.  83-­‐103.  San  Francisco:  Jossey-­‐Bass.  

2.  The  meaning  that  adolescents  make  of  rela5ons  with  their  parents  may  be  just  as  important  as  the  behaviors  of  those  parents  

 

Down  the  road  

•  More  women  in  the  workplace  

hfp://correc5onspageone.blogspot.com/2011/12/labor-­‐force-­‐par5cipa5on-­‐by-­‐gender.html  

Current  economic  recession  has  been  par5cularly  hard  for  the  employment  rates  of  men  

hfp://correc5onspageone.blogspot.com/2011/12/labor-­‐force-­‐par5cipa5on-­‐by-­‐gender.html