Parental Incarceration as a Risk Factor for Children in Homeless Families

The current study aimed to describe the prevalence of children of incarcerated parents (COIP) in a sample of homeless/highly mobile children, examine the relationship between parental incarceration and other risk factors, and investigate the effect of parental incarceration on child academic and mental health outcomes. The authors compared COIP (n = 45) to children whose parents were never incarcerated (n = 93) within a sample of 138, 4‐ to 7‐year‐old ethnically diverse children residing in emergency homeless shelters. Children's caregivers provided information about children's history of parental incarceration and other family experiences. Children's teachers reported academic and mental health outcomes in the subsequent school year. Compared to children with no history of parental incarceration, COIP experienced more negative life events. Regression models revealed that a history of parental incarceration was a significant predictor of teacher‐reported internalizing problems. These results have implications for the identification and treatment of the highest risk homeless/highly mobile children.     

Protective Parenting,Relationship Power Equity,and Condom Use Among Rural African American Emerging Adult Women

Sexually transmitted infections disproportionately affect African Americans, particularly young women. The influence of a set of interrelated protective parenting processes—instrumental and emotional support, sexual risk communication, and encouragement of goals for employment or education—on emerging adult women was examined. Parenting was hypothesized to affect consistent condom use through its association with women's reports of power equity in their intimate relationships. Hypotheses were tested with 135 sexually active women 18 to 21 years of age living in rural southern communities. Structural equation modeling indicated that (a) parenting processes predicted women's self‐reported relationship power equity and consistent condom use and (b) relationship power equity predicted consistent condom use. Limited support emerged for a mediational role of relationship power equity in explaining the influence of parenting on consistent condom use. Parental involvement and young women's establishment of personal control in their intimate relationships are important goals for sexual risk reduction programs.     

His and Her Job: What Matters Most for Fertility Plans and Actual Childbearing?

This study examines workplace culture and fertility plans and transitions in Sweden. This study goes beyond previous research in examining the effect of particular job characteristics as well as the influence of a partner's job characteristics on women's and men's birth plans and transitions. We use data from the 1999 and 2003 Swedish Young Adult Panel Study. Results indicate that men are more likely to intend to have a child if their partner's job makes it easy to take parental leave or work part‐time. Women are more likely to intend to have a child if their partner's job pays well. In addition, men whose job pays well are more likely to have a child. This research suggests that family‐friendly policies may enhance fertility indirectly through men's fertility decision making.     

The Relationship between Partners' Family‐Size Preferences in Southern Malawi

Studies of the relative influence of partners' fertility preferences on behaviors tend to treat preferences as fixed, largely independent traits despite existing theoretical arguments and empirical evidence suggesting that they are moving targets that may be jointly developed within relationships. In this study, we use couple‐level panel data from married and unmarried young adults in southern Malawi to examine the relationship between partners' family‐size preferences. We find evidence of assortative mating: young Malawians are more likely to partner with individuals who have similar family‐size goals. Additionally, although partners' family‐size preferences do not perfectly converge, changes among men's and women's preferences are significantly more likely to be “toward” than “away from” those of their partner. Our findings point to a need for studies regarding the relative influence of partners on reproductive outcomes to consider the interdependence of partners' preferences and the varied ways in which partners can influence shared reproductive behaviors.     

Long‐term impacts of early‐life exposure to malaria: Evidence from Taiwan's Eradication Campaign in the 1950s

This paper utilizes the eradication campaign in Taiwan in the 1950s to estimate the long‐term impacts of early‐life (in utero and postnatal) exposure to malaria. Matching adults in the 1992–2012 Taiwan Social Change Survey to the malaria intensity in their individual place and year of birth, difference‐in‐difference estimation shows strong evidence that the eradication increased men's own educational attainment as well as their family income in adulthood. We also use the 1980 census data to show there was a sharp education increase after the eradication. Furthermore, the eradication increased the educational attainment of married men's spouses. Finally, quantile regressions show that the effect concentrated on the lower percentile of the income distribution. Overall, our results suggest negative effects of early‐life exposure to malaria.     

Time to Father

Abstract

This paper reports the qualitative findings from 40 couples involved in a study exploring men's post-natal mental health. Interviews were conducted with individuals soon after the birth of their first child. Findings suggest that new fathers want to be more involved in the direct care and nurturing of their children than their fathers were with them. Discourses which construct fathers and inform social structures have not kept pace with men's changed attitudes and role expectations limiting the options available to men as fathers. In particular men's employment circumstances figure in their experience of adjusting to life as a father. Those fathers having least flexibility and autonomy in their work report experiencing, since the birth of their child, more unhappi-ness, anxiety, and generally higher levels of stress. These findings suggest increasing workplace flexibility and provisions such as parental leave are important for men's post-natal mental health.     

Men's contribution to the food and nutritional situation in the Tanzanian household

More is presently known about women's than men's role in food production and nutrition in Africa. The present article is an attempt to remedy this shortcoming. A special focus is put on the influence men exert through their labour and decision‐making on the household food situation. Findings from a study in a subsistence agricultural community in Tanzania give a differentiated picture compared to current literature. Most men put a substantial amount of labour into food production, but not as much as their wives, while a minority did almost nothing. When men worked hard in the fields, their wives worked hard too. Both men's and women's labour input in the field was important for household food availability. However, no direct relationship was found between men's work and child nutrition. In decision‐making women had a subordinate position and men were apt to favour cash above food. However, women usually had their way with men to insure that family food needs were met. The potential for improving women's situation by increasing men's contribution is discussed.     

‘But I'm not like that’: young men's navigation of normative masculinities in a marginalised urban community in Paraguay

Young men often define themselves and their masculine identity through romantic and sexual relationships, and their resulting sexual decisions can affect their successful transition into adulthood, as well as STI, HIV and pregnancy rates. This paper looks at how young Paraguayan men's peer groups, family and masculine identity formation influence their behaviours in sexual and romantic relationships. In Asunción, Paraguay, we conducted five focus-group discussions (FGDs) examining neighbourhood norms in 2010, with male peer groups ranging in age from 14 to 19 years. We then interviewed half the members from each peer group to examine their relationships with friends, family and young women and their beliefs about existing gender norms. Young men described two types of masculine norms, ‘partner/provider’ and macho, and two types of romantic relationships, ‘casual’ and ‘formal’. The language used to describe each spectrum of behaviours was often concordant and highlights the connection between masculine norms and romantic relationships. The perceived norms for the neighbourhood were more macho than the young men's reported behaviours. Norms cannot change unless young men speak out about their non-normative behaviours. This provides evidence for more research on the formation, meaning and transformation of male gender norms.     

Childhood Poverty and the Transition to Adulthood

The authors used the Panel Study of Income Dynamics 2007 Transition to Adulthood data in combination with the 2002 Child Development Supplement to examine social class bifurcation in young adulthood. Results indicate that poor youth possibly take on adult roles “too early” at the same time that high‐income youth may be supported for a long period past their 18^th birthday. Although not all evidence is consistent with this bifurcated story, childhood poverty does play a key role. Young adults from poor families establish financial independence early (e.g., contributing to family bills during adolescence, considering themselves fully responsible for their finances as young adults), whereas young adults from more affluent homes are more likely to receive financial transfers from their parents (who often help them pay for college and other expenses). These findings highlight the ways in which socioeconomic inequality in childhood can differentiate youth's experiences of adolescence and young adulthood.     

Welfare Reform,Work‐Family Tradeoffs,and Child Well‐Being*

Welfare reform and related policy changes have altered the context in which welfare‐reliant women make choices about employment and family care. Using data from longitudinal qualitative interviews, we examined women's experiences of work‐family tradeoffs and how they think their employment affected their children. Women identified multiple co‐occurring costs and benefits of work for themselves and their children. Benefits included: increased income; increased self‐esteem, feelings of independence, and social integration; and the ability to model work and self‐sufficiency values for children. Costs included: working without increased income; overload, exhaustion, and stress; and less time and energy to be with, supervise, and support children. The relevance of these findings for family policy specialists and practitioners who work with low‐income families is discussed.     

Envisioning Fatherhood: A Social Psychological Perspective on Young Men without Kids*

Using in‐depth interviews and a purposive sample of 32 men ages 16–30 who have not yet fathered a child, our grounded theory study examined how men envision aspects of fatherhood. Informed by symbolic interactionist and life course perspectives, our interpretive data analyses yielded two interrelated substantive dimensions: fatherhood readiness and fathering visions. We introduce five interrelated theoretical themes to sharpen our understanding of these dimensions, and discuss how these dimensions and themes inform interventions aimed at heightening young men's procreative responsibility.     

Dating,Sex, and Schooling in Urban Kenya

Completion of secondary school is increasingly viewed as a desirable life goal for young men and women in urban Kenya. Yet achieving this goal often conflicts with other key transitions to adulthood, such as becoming sexually active, marrying, having children, and finding employment. Drawing upon exceptionally rich life‐history calendar data from young people in Kisumu, Kenya, we explore how the timing and sequencing of key transitions affects the likelihood of secondary school completion. Conversely, we also examine how school enrollment and performance affect the timing of sexual initiation. Our findings indicate that sexual activity and the transition toward family formation are largely incompatible with young women's schooling. For men, however, romantic and sexual partnerships have no impact on schooling unless a partner becomes pregnant. Instead, paid employment appears to be least compatible with continued education.     

Former Foster Youth as Fathers: Risk and Protective Factors Predicting Father–Child Contact

This study uses longitudinal data from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth to examine father–child contact between fathers who aged out of foster care and their children (N = 287 children of 150 fathers). The authors examine the effect of remaining in foster care after age 18 and find that it is positively associated with father–child contact when fathers are age 26. Some of this relationship is explained by positive associations between remaining in care, employment, and men's coresidence with the child's mother, and a negative association with criminal conviction. Even among involved fathers, however, criminal convictions and unemployment are common. Findings suggest that extending care from age 18 to 21 benefits young men, and their children, when they become fathers. Child welfare policies and practice should attend to the needs of young men who become fathers, before and after they exit care.     

Why Parenthood,and Why Now? Gay Men's Motivations for Pursuing Parenthood

The current qualitative study of 35 preadoptive gay male couples (70 men) examined gay men's motivations to parent and their reasons for pursuing parenthood at the current time. Similar to heterosexual couples, gay men described a range of psychologically oriented reasons as shaping their decision to become parents. Some of these (e.g., desire to teach a child tolerance) may have been uniquely shaped by their sexual minority status, and others (e.g., desire to give a child a good home) in part reflect their adoptive status. Men named age, finances, and relationship factors, as well as unique contextual factors such as the need to find and move to gay‐friendly neighborhoods, as influencing their readiness to pursue parenthood at the current time. Gay men's motivations to parent echo normative life course decision‐making processes, but also reflect concerns that are uniquely informed by their sexual minority status.     

Married men's first time experiences of early childbearing and their role in sexual and reproductive decision making: a qualitative study from rural Vietnam

Male partners' involvement in women's sexual and reproductive health has been increasingly emphasised in international health. A qualitative approach with open-ended qualitative interviews was used to explore young, married men's first time experiences of early childbearing, their sexual and reproductive decision making and the meanings they make of their role as husbands and fathers. The results offer a nuanced picture of the men's vulnerability in becoming young fathers and having to assume their role as family decision-makers, while still being inexperienced in matters related to the health of their wives and newborn child. Constraints to gender equality and traditional norms and values continue to pose barriers to both young men and women making independent decisions in relation to marriage and childbearing. Men's involvement is necessary in healthcare programmes designed to improve women's sexual and reproductive health and the health of the newborn. Young, first-time fathers, in particular, need support and empowerment.     

Gender Attitudes and Fertility Aspirations among Young Men in Five High Fertility East African Countries

The relationship between women's attitudes toward gender equality and their fertility aspirations has been researched extensively, but few studies have explored the same associations among men. Using recent Demographic and Health Survey data from five high fertility East African countries, we examine the association between young men's gender attitudes and their ideal family size. Whereas several DHS gender attitude responses were associated with fertility aspirations in select countries, men's greater tolerance of wife beating was consistently associated with higher fertility aspirations across all countries, independent of education, income, or religion. Our findings highlight the overlapping values of male authority within marriage and aspirations for large families among young adult males in East Africa. Total lifetime fertility in East Africa remains among the highest worldwide: thus, governments in the region seeking to reduce fertility may need to explicitly scrutinize and address the reproduction of prevailing masculine values.     

Health help‐seeking by men in Brunei Darussalam: masculinities and ‘doing’ male identities across the life course

Using data collected through semi‐structured interviews and focus group discussions with 37 adult men living in Brunei Darussalam, this paper explores how masculinities and expectations about male roles across the life course influence men's perceptions, of and attitudes towards health and health help‐seeking behaviour. Bruneian men gave accounts that consistently spoke of a series of masculine roles and associated attributes and behaviours, which mapped across the life course. Men described health and the steps that they had taken to protect their health in terms of responsibilities associated with being a breadwinner, provider of support for parents, role model and leader of the family. Whilst adherence to Bruneian norms about masculinity could obstruct men's engagement with health help‐seeking, we also found that men mobilised their understanding of Bruneian masculinity such that it provided culturally legitimate way of engaging in health help‐seeking. We conclude by considering implications for further development of conceptualisations of masculinities, particularly responding to the call to consider Connell's theory of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ in the context of the Global South. We also consider the implications of the findings of this research for policy and practice in provision of health promotion and services in Brunei.     

Communication and interpretation of emotional distress within the friendships of young Irish men prior to suicide: a qualitative study

The potential for young men in crisis to be supported by their lay networks is an important issue for suicide prevention, due to the under‐utilisation of healthcare services by this population. Central to the provision of lay support is the capability of social networks to recognise and respond effectively to young men's psychological distress and suicide risk. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore young men's narratives of peer suicide, in order to identify how they interpreted and responded to behavioural changes and indications of distress from their friend before suicide. In‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted during 2009/10 with 15 Irish males (aged 19–30 years) who had experienced the death by suicide of a male friend in the preceding 5 years. The data were analysed using a thematic approach. Through the analysis of the participants’ stories and experiences, we identified several features of young male friendships and social interactions that could be addressed to strengthen the support available to young men in crisis. These included the reluctance of young men to discuss emotional or personal issues within male friendships; the tendency to reveal worries and emotion only within the context of alcohol consumption; the tendency of friends to respond in a dismissive or disapproving way to communication of suicidal thoughts; the difficulty of knowing how to interpret a friend's inconsistent or ambiguous behaviour prior to suicide; and beliefs about the sort of person who takes their own life. Community‐based suicide prevention initiatives must enhance the potential of young male social networks to support young men in crisis, through specific provisions for developing openness in communication and responsiveness, and improved education about suicide risk.     

Low‐Income Mothers' Employment Experiences: Prospective Links with Young Children's Development

This study assessed mothers' employment experiences and links with children's long‐term cognitive achievement and socio‐emotional adjustment using a representative sample of low‐income mothers and children (N = 538) from the Three‐City Study. Maternal employment involvement, quality, and stability were assessed over a 2‐year period when children were aged 24 to 48 months. Cluster analysis of the employment characteristics yielded 4 distinct employment patterns differing by the quality and stability of employment. OLS regression analyses linking these employment patterns with children's functioning at age 9 revealed that high‐quality stable employment was associated with enhanced cognitive skills and behavioral functioning among children. Further analysis suggested the significance of mothers' consistent insurance benefits to the long‐term well‐being of their children.