Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Adolescent Fathers: What We Know and What We Need to Know

  • Published:
Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Research into adolescent parenting involvement has focused primarily on mothers while neglecting fathers. This article concentrates on factors that influence the parental involvement of adolescent fathers. These factors must be acknowledged and addressed by practitioners working with adolescent parents. Issues relevant to the parental involvement of African-American adolescent fathers are highlighted in order to balance the negative portrayal this particular group continues to experience. Implications and suggestions for social work practitioners, policy makers, and social researchers are also discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, N. L. R. (1990). Pregnancy resolution decisions in juvenile detention. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 4(5), 325–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anthony, I., & Smith, D. L. (1994). Adolescent fathers: A positive acknowledgment in the school setting. Social Work in Education, 16(3), 179–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barret, R. L., & Robinson, B. E. (1982). A descriptive study of teenage expectant fathers. Family Relations, 31, 349–352.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barret, R. L., & Robinson, B. E. (1985). The adolescent father. In S. M. H. Hanson & F. W. Bozett (Eds.), The dimensions of fatherhood (pp. 353–368). USA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barth, R. P., Claycomb, M., & Loomis, A. (1988). Services to adolescent fathers. Health and Social Work, 13(4), 277–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battle, S. F. (1990). African-American male responsibility in teenage pregnancy: The role of education. In D. J. Jones & S. F. Battle (Eds.), Teenage pregnancy: Developing strategies for change in the twenty-first century (pp. 71–81). USA: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., & Miller, B. C. (1986). Adolescent fatherhood in the context of the transition to parenthood. In A. B. Elster & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Adolescent fatherhood (pp. 107–122). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. V. (1983). The commitment and concerns of black adolescent parents. Social Work Research and Abstracts, 19(4), 27–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cervera, N. (1991). Unwed teenage pregnancy: Family relationships with the father of the baby. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 72(11), 29–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christmon, K. (1990a). Parental responsibility of African-American unwed adolescent fathers. Adolescence, 25(99), 645–653.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christmon, K. (1990b). The unwed adolescent father's perception of his family and of himself as a father. Child and Adolescent Social Work, 7(4), 275–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coates, D. L. (1987). Gender differences in the structure and support characteristics of black adolescents' social networks. Sex Roles, 17(11/12), 667–687.

    Google Scholar 

  • Earls, F., & Siegel, B. (1980). Precocious fathers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 50(3), 469–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elster, A. B., & Lamb, M. E. (1982). Adolescent fathers: A group potentially at risk for parenting failure. Infant Mental Health Journal, 3(3), 148–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elster, A. B., & Panzarine, S. (1983). Adolescent fathers. In E. R. McAnarney (Ed.), Premature Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood (pp. 231–252). NY; Grune & Stratton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, E. M. (1988). Teenage fathers and the problem of teenage pregnancy. Social Work in Education, 11(1), 36–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, E. (1989). Adolescent fathers in urban communities: Exploring their needs and role in preventing pregnancy. Journal of Social Work and Human Sexuality, 8(1), 113–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fry P. S., & Trifiletti, R. J. (1983). Teenage fathers: An exploration of their developmental needs and anxieties and the implication for clinical-social intervention and services. Journal of Psychiatric Treatment and Evaluation, 5, 219–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furstenberg, F. F. (1976). The social consequences of teenage parenthood. Family Planning Perspectives, 8(4), 148–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath, D. T., & McKenry, P. C. (1993). Adult family life of men who fathered as adolescents. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 74(1), 36–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendricks, L.E. (1980). Unwed adolescent fathers: Problems they face and their sources of social support. Adolescence, 15(60), 861–869.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendricks, L. E. (1988). Outreach with teenage fathers: A preliminary report on three ethnic groups. Adolescence, 23(21), 711–720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendricks, L. E., Howard, C. S., & Caesar, P. P. (1981). Black unwed adolescent fathers: a comparative study of their problems and help-seeking behavior. Journal of the National Medical Association, 73(9), 863–869.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, R. B. (1988, March). Adolescent male responsibility in African-American families. National Urban League Conference on Manhood and Fatherhood: Adolescent Male Responsibility in Black Families, Atlanta, GA.

  • Johnson. W. E. (1995). Paternal identity among urban adolescent males. African American Research Perspectives. An Occasional Report, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, D. J. (1990). Strategies for alleviating teenage pregnancy in the twenty-first century. In D. Jones & S. F. Battle (Eds.), Teenage pregnancy: Developing Strategies for Change in the Twenty-first Century (pp. 5–10). USA: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiselica. M. S., & Sturmer, P. (1993). Is society giving teenage fathers a mixed message? Youth & Society, 24(4), 487–501.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leashore, B. R. (1979). Human services and the unwed father: The “forgotten half.” The Family Coordinator, 28(4), 529–534.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzi, M. E., Klerman, L. V., & Jekel, J. F. (1977). School-age parents: How permanent a relationship. Adolescence, 12(45), 13–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Males, M., & Chew, K. S. Y. (1996). The ages of fathers in California adolescent births, 1993. American Journal of Public Health, 86(4) 565–567.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsiglio, W. (1987). Adolescent fathers in the United States: Their initial living arrangements, marital experience and educational outcomes. Family Planning Perspectives, 19(6), 240–251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsiglio, W. (1993). Adolescent male's orientation toward paternity and contraception. Family Planning Perspectives, 25(1), 22–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masters, W., Johnson. V., & Kolodny, R. (1986). Masters and Johnson on Sex and Human Loving. Boston: Little, Brown, & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAdoo, H. P. (1988). Foreword. In B. E. Robinson (Ed.). Teenage Fathers (pp. ix–xi). Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAdoo, J. L. (1993). The roles of African American fathers: An ecological perspective. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 74(1), 28–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. B. (1993). A study of the factors influencing the parental involvement of African-American adolescent fathers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

  • Miller, D. B. (1994). Influences on parental involvement of African American adolescent fathers. Child and Adolescent Social Work, 11(5), 363–378.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakashima, I. I., & Camp, B. (1984). Fathers of infants born to adolescent mothers. American Journal of Diseases of Children, 138(5), 452–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pannor, R. D. (1971). The teen-age unwed father. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 14(2), 466–472.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, M. F. (1988). Parenting in black families with young children: A historical perspective. In H. P. McAdoo (ed.), Black Familes, 2nd Ed. pp. 228–241. USA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Redmond, M. (1985). Attitudes of adolescent males toward adolescent pregnancy and fatherhood. Family Relations, 34, 337–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, M. D., Chambliss, S. A., & Blum, R. Wm. (1993). Health and risk behaviors of urban adolescent males involved in pregnancy. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 74(6), 366–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, M. D., Wattenberg, E., & Brewer, R. (1994). The fate of the non-marital child: A challenge to the health system. Journal of Community Health, 19(4), 285–301.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rivara, F. P., Sweeney, P. J., & Henderson, B. F. (1985). A study of low socioeconomic status: Black teenage fathers and their nonfather peers. Pediatrics, 75(4), 648–656.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rivara, F. P., Sweeney, P. J., & Henderson, B. F. (1986). Black teenage fathers: What happens when the child is born? Pediatrics, 78(1), 151–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, B. E. (1988). Teenage pregnancy from the father's perspective. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 58(1), 46–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, B. E., & Barret, R. L. (1985, December). Teenage fathers: Many care about their babies whether they walk away or are pushed away from fatherhood. Psychology Today, 66–70.

  • Sullivan, M. L. (1985, April). Teen fathers in the inner city: An exploratory ethnographic study. A Report to the Ford Foundation Urban Poverty Program, Prudence Brown Program Officer.

  • Thomas, V. G., Milburn, N. G., Brown, D. R., & Gary, L. E. (1988). Social support and depressive symptoms among blacks. The Journal of Black Psychology, 14(2), 35–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaz, R., Smolen, P., & Miller, C. (1983). Adolescent pregnancy: Involvement of the male partner. Journal of Adolescent Heath Care, 4(4), 246–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, B. J., Rowe, C. L., & Jones, D. J. (Summer 1988/Winter 1988). Dispelling myths about teenage pregnancy and male responsibility: A research agenda. The Urban League Review, 12(1&2), 118–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westney, O. E., Cole, O. J., & Munford, T. L. (1986). Adolescent unwed prospective fathers: Readiness for fatherhood and behaviors toward the mother, the expected infant. Adolescence, 21(84), 901–911.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westney, O. E., Cole, O. J., & Munford, T. L. (1988). The effects of prenatal education intervention on unwed prospective adolescent fathers. Journal of Adolescent Health Care, 9, 214–218.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams-McCoy, J. E. & Tyler, F. B. (1985). Selected psychosocial characteristics of black unwed adolescent fathers. Journal of Adolescent Health Care, 6(1), 12–16.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, USA

    David B. Miller

Authors
  1. David B. Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Miller, D.B. Adolescent Fathers: What We Know and What We Need to Know . Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 14, 55–69 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024544930648

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024544930648

Keywords

Search

Navigation