Intergenerational transmission of fathering roles in at risk families

The purpose of this article is to examine the long-term consequences of paternal involvement for a sample of young men, with the intent being to examine whether patterns of fatherhood are transmitted across generations. Initially, a theoretical framework is discussed that has led researchers to expect that patterns of fatherhood will be produced across generations. Data from the Baltimore Parenthood Study were used, a 30-year longitudinal study that has followed the reproductive patterns of teenage parents and their children. A subsampie of 110 males were examined with an occasional reference made to a subsample of females. Results indicated that a strong link existed between the stable presence of a biological father in the histories of the young men and the timing of their own family formation. Early fatherhood, both during the teen years and early twenties, is much more likely to occur if young men did not grow up living with their own fathers. Moreover, early fatherhood is somewhat more likely to occur if the young men did not have a stepfather in the past who was a stable presence in the home. Young fathers also were less likely to be living with their children if their own fathers had not lived in residence with them throughout childhood.