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

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12273
• Author: Steven M. Kogan,Geoffrey L. Brown,Jihyoung Kim
• Date: 01 March 2018
• Published date: 01 March 2018

From Fathers to Sons: The Intergenerational

Transmission of Parenting Behavior among African

American Young Men

GEOFFREY L. BROWN*

STEVEN M. KOGAN*

JIHYOUNG KIM

†,‡

This study examined the intergenerational transmission of fathering among young , Afri-

can 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 control -

ling 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.

Keywords: Father Involvement; African American Parents; Intergenerational

Transmission

Fam Proc 57:165–180, 2018

INTRODUCTION

Over the past several decades researchers have documented the profound role that

fathering plays in child development (e.g., Flouri & Buchanan, 2004; Sarkadi, Kris-

tiansson, Oberklaid, & Bremberg, 2008; Tamis-LeMonda, Shannon, Cabrera, & Lamb,

2004). An initial generation of fatherhood research focused on the impact of fathers’ resi-

dential status. These studies found that compared to children with residential fathers,

children growing up in homes without a father were more likely to show deficits in both

cognitive and socio-emotional functioning (McLanahan, Tach, & Schneider, 2013;

Paschall, Ringwalt, & Flewelling, 2003). Children growing up in father-absent households

demonstrate poorer grades and higher levels of aggressive behavior than children whose

*Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

†

Pyeongtaek University, Pyeongtaek, Korea.

‡

Department of Child and Youth Welfare, Pyeongtaek University, Pyeongtaek, Korea.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Geoffrey L. Brown, Department of

Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, Family Science Center 1, 403 Sanford

Dr., Athens, GA 30602. E-mail: glbrown@uga.edu.

This research was supported by Award Number R01 029488 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Family Process, Vol. 57, No. 1, 2018 ©2016 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12273

fathers live with them (Howard, Lefever, Borkowski, & Whitman, 2006; Osborne &

McLanahan, 2007). In adolescence and young adulthood, children in father-absent homes

have lower high school graduation rates, higher incarceration rates, and a greater likeli-

hood of drug and alcohol abuse than those raised in two-parent households (Harper &

McLanahan, 2004; Hoffmann, 2002).

More recent research has focused on the concept of father involvement—or how much

time fathers spend engaged with—or accessible to—their children. These studies acknowl-

edge that father involvement may vary considerably among both residential and non-resi-

dential fathers. Although residential fathers are in general more involved than

nonresidential fathers, involvement in either case has a positive influence on children’s

development. For example, when nonresidential fathers remain positively involved with

their children those children show heightened social and emotional well-being and greater

academic achievement (Adamsons & Johnson, 2013). Similarly, high quality relationships

between non-residential fathers and their children predict fewer externalizing and inter-

nalizing behavior problems (King & Sobolewski, 2006).

Among the rural, African American fathers who are the focus of this study, there is an

elevated risk of disengagement from their children’s lives. The majority of rural, African

American children are raised in single-parent homes (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2014).

Although most biological fathers are involved around the time of a child’s birth, studies

suggest that over time a variety of factors—including economic distress, few community

resources, and racial discrimination—combine to reduce many of these men’s involve-

ment. For example, Barton, Kogan, Cho, and Brown (2015) reported that among young,

rural African American men, more than a third reported little or no contact with their

fathers growing up. Low levels of father involvement in the lives of African American chil-

dren are associated with decrements in school readiness, emotion regulation, social compe-

tence, and psychological well-being (Downer & Mendez, 2005; McHale et al., 2006).

Studies documenting the impact of father involvement on African American children

underscore the vital importance of understanding the factors that promote father involve-

ment in general and among rural African American families in particular (Barton et al.,

2015; Caldwell et al., 2014). One factor that has been proposed as a potential influence is

men’s experience of supportive relationships with their own fathers. The intergeneration al

transmission of parenting perspective suggests that the nature and quality of parenting

are intergenerationally transmitted, with parents in one generation parenting in a man-

ner similar to that which they experienced growing up (Serbin & Karp, 2003). Support for

this perspective comes largely from studies documenting associations between mothers’

parenting and their children’s parenting in the subsequent generation (e.g., Belsky, Con-

ger, & Capaldi, 2009). The intergenerational transmission of fathering suggests that

fathers’ parenting in one generation may also be linked to the parenting behavior of their

sons in the next generation. Although men’s exposure to close, nurturing relationships

from their fathers has been proposed as a causal factor in their own behavior as fathers,

empirical data on this conjecture are lacking. In this study, we address this gap, examin-

ing the influence of supportive father–child relationships in the family of origin on father

involvement in the next generation among a sample of young, rural, African American

men.

CONCEPTUAL AND EMPIRICAL SUPPORT FOR THE INTERGENERATIONAL

TRANSMISSION OF FATHERING

The vast majority of studies linking parenting across generations has focused on the

influence of mothers on their children’s later parenting behavior (Belsky et al., 2009; Kerr,

Capaldi, Pears, & Owen, 2009). This work has shown that mothers’ positive and

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