The ecological approach is simply a theory stating that the different social and environmental levels with which one interacts, has in turn an overall affect on one’s growth. Through analysis of the NICHS study, which was performed with the basis of 68 biological fathers and 68 step-fathers to determine whether contextual factors associated with involvement and interaction patterns differed between the two, several differences were observed overtime. To preface, it was stated that mere contact between the father and the child is insufficient, and it is proven that quality of time is greater than the quantity of it. The level of involvement of a father is truly measured “in terms of the division of work between the mother and the father himself, and his perception of his contribution to child-related tasks within the family”; although it was analyzed that stepfathers assumed to have similar levels of responsibility for childbearing actives as biological fathers did, it was also proven that stepfathers are less engaged and less emotionally close with their stepchildren than biological fathers. Overall, proving that although both do not differ in their initial levels of involvement, stepfathers do differ in their quality of interactions with their stepchildren. The best way to use the ecological approach to observe fatherhood would be by accounting for Bronfenbrenner’s four facets including: person, process, context, and time to observe development.
Person:
When assessing
Demographically, over 90% of the participants strongly agreed that fatherhood is crucial in our society. A little over 47% of fathers, that encouragement from the mothers of their children matters because of the obstacles they faced with finance, and their duties on the job. The final results of marital status statistics is over 80% married fathers, nine percent divorced, and six percent never married. One surprising statistic was 90% cohabitate with the mother and focal child (Glenn & Popenoe, 2006).
The article “The Distinct, Positive Impact of a Good Dad” focuses a lot on the basic impact of how much of an influence a dad is to a child’s life. It explains the difference between how the father impacts the child’s life in a more “open arms” way whereas, a mother has a more “closed arms” impact. Having a good dad around in a child’s life is more likely to make for a better future for the kid, compared to a child who doesn’t have a good dad in their life or little to no dad at all they have a less likely chance for a better future as studies have shown. Studies have shown that mental health is a huge issue with both genders when they have a strong relationship with their father as to being in a household with a
It is during this time a father needs to be present to father, shape and mold his children (Jones, Kramer, Kim A., Teresa L., Armitage, Tracey, Williams, Keith, as cited in Wallerstein, 1980, 1987). On their 10 year follow up, Wallerstein and Kelley found that regardless of the time spent with a father or not, the father continued to be a significant presence psychologically to adolescents, particularly to boys (Jones et al., as cited in Wallerstein, Kelley, 1974). On Kelley and Wallerstein’s 25 year follow up of their now adult participants in their longitudinal study, they have found that the effects of fatherlessness and divorce during their adolescents were long lasting. The participants in the study by Wallerstein et al. (2000) noted that “The impact of divorce hits them most cruelly as they go in search of love, sexual intimacy, and commitment” (p. 299). These same participants also stated in an interview that they had anxiety issues about relationships and intimacy problems into adulthood (Jones et al., as cited in Wallerstein et al., 2000). Wallerstein et al. (2000) participants of the research also stated that they had resentment towards their parents, particularly the fathers who were seen “selfish and faithless” (p. 300).
Family is the first contact an infant experiences and the environment child is raised determines their behaviors and social development. Father figures just like mother figures are important in raising and socializing children in becoming responsible people as they grow. Numerous researches to determine importance of fathers in early child development have been carried out and majority of them found out that just like mothers, the role fathers play in early childhood development including mental, psychological and physical development are crucial. The studies show that, children raised by single mothers are likely to have problems such as drug abuse, engagement in early sexual behaviors and other unsocial behaviors as compared to those raised by both parents. The paper will explore the role of fathers in child rearing, discussing strategies in raising children and exploring pros and cons of such strategies.
Ecosystems is the dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment that work together to form a functional unit and they are constantly changing due to the fluctuating equilibrium from natural stress and human action which has had adversarial impacts on ecosystems. This is evident in Minnamurra rainforest as human induced modifications and environmental stresses had resulted in a vulnerable ecosystem. Furthermore, the removal of factors that contribute to the vulnerability of an ecosystem is important as it affect the functioning of the ecosystem as processes are accelerated, biodiversity is decreased which greatly affects humans. Despite the negative effects caused by humans, they have discovered that ecosystems are susceptible from harm caused by natural environmental factors or human impacts and realised the importance of protecting and managing ecosystems therefore have implemented management strategies that are supposed to prevent further detriment and as a consequence may induce resiliency.
Lastly, Vogel, Bradley, Raikes, Boller, and Shears (2006) conducted a study to explore whether or not a fathers presence in their children’s
For various reasons, many children in the United States are living without their fathers in their homes or absent from their lives entirely. This is an issue all across the world and the children are having to deal with the disadvantages caused by the lack of support from their fathers. This issue has a significant effect on society and can be viewed and interpreted from the three sociological perspectives. As a result of many studies, it was found that children raised in father absent homes almost universally experience disadvantages such as: worse health, poorer academic achievement, and a less enjoyable educational experience. There are many variables that need to be taken into effect when considering
Throughout this entire I have learned so much about men, and the variety of behaviors they possess in different social contexts. Out of all the ideas I learned I found one extremely important and interesting, father-child relationship. Specifically, the differences between a traditional and an involved dad. I always knew that not every parenting style was the same among fathers, and how some were more involved than others. I never thought there was a category of these two types of fathers. After breaking down each category, a lot of it made so much sense. The most important thing between the two was the emphasis on how the traditional dad tends to deflect the responsibility of parenting, while the involved dad has a committed
In infancy, parental influence impacts how an infant develops. Fathers are not actively involved in the raising of children. Mothers are often the care taker of children. Family is considered very important. For example, uncles can be considered baba or dad. Many first, second, third, and even fourth cousins are all considered close family. This would be considered an extended family. A family structure includes the grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, where they are all involved. Extended families have been found to offer support with caring for the child (Boyd and Bee, 20). Many extended members of family are actively involved in the raising of children, which may make up for the lack of the paternal parent. With fathers who are not present in regular father-infant play engagements, it can lead to the infant developing behavioral issues.
There are several parenting styles which guide children throughout their life. These parenting styles can be either good or bad and this will have an effect on the child; either a positive or a negative one. This essay investigates the parenting styles from which emerge questions about the role of the mother and the father. It also focuses on the ways that either too much mothering or too much fathering might have an effect on the child’s identity later on in its life.
Just like a biological father, a stepfather helps raise the child. When a stepfather makes the promise to love and take care of the mother, he is also making the promise to love and take care of the child. A stepfather will go to the ends of the earth to make sure the child has what he or she needs, even when the biological father doesn’t care about anything except himself, his women, and his money. Having a stepfather that does more than a biological father is very rare. A stepfather will love his stepchildren unconditionally, even when it is not mandatory.
Because the participants in this study were found using newspaper advertisements and recruiting at child centers, it is likely that the study is not representative of the whole population of fathers, but of a subset that are relatively well-off and believe they are heavily engaged with their children. In addition, essential aspects of this study, such as parenting style and personality of the child, were obtained using self-report measures. People subjected to self-report measures have a tendency to provide inaccurate information because they are unable to provide the correct information or they wish to give the researcher a more desirable answer. Because of the presence of self-report measures in this study, there is a chance that inaccurate information has affected the study results, especially because of the tendency of the fathers in the study to think of themselves as engaged with their children. Finally, the both the Risky Situation and the Strange Situation procedures used in this study are observational methods of research. While it is stated in the research that a small team of students observed the experiment, there is still a possibility that observer bias, or the inclination of researchers to observe events that they anticipate seeing, contributed to the
Parents need to maintain the daily schedule. This is most difficult for the parent who does not have primary custody of the child. The non custodial parent must try to accomplish a schedule of their own that must include the needs and wants of the child. Depending on the work situation of this parent, it can be a quite difficult task. “The finding that decreased income was associated with higher divorce adjustment for men but not for women was inconsistent with findings that divorced women suffer financially to a greater extent than divorced men” (527 Plummer). With this fact, it is known that single-parenting affects a woman more heavily that it would a man. If the custodial parent is constantly trying to keep up with the demands of their job, this will affect how much time the parent and child will spend together. The attachment many children develop with their father by the preschool years makes them sensitive to changes in the amount of time they spend with him and interact with him. A younger child cannot always understand who their father really is. This leaves fathers feeling desperate for time with their child. When the father spends time with his children, he is liable to stretch the time they have together by taking the children home later, which causes stress for the mother because she has such negative feelings toward the father. This becomes “fuel” for confrontations with the father.
Fatherhood has rapidly evolved over the years. Before the mother of the child was the most important player in the game of pregnancy. Now, the fathers have taken on just as big of a role as the mothers (Fägerskiöld, 2008). One of the
A parent-child relationship is a special relationship that has a huge effect on the way that the child will turn out. This relationship is formed through pregnancy, adoption, and step parenting. Parenting requires a great deal of adaptation. The parents want to develop a strong bond with their child but they also want to maintain a healthy marital relationship and adult friendships. Potential parents often ask themselves what they will be like when they are parents and try