This study uses data (N = 3,088) from the first two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to explore the effects of the transition to fatherhood and the addition of subsequent children on men’s psychological and physical health, contacts with extended family, social interactions, and work behaviors. The results sugget that new children lead to changes in men’s well-being and social participation, but the effects are conditioned by the structural context of fatherhood and men’s initial fatherhood status. Overall, the evidence indicates that the transition to parenthood and the addition of subsequent children primarily transform the organization of men’s lives, especially when they become coresident fathers. Men making the transition to parenthood are most likely to be affected. Fatherhood encourages men to increase intergenerational and extended family interactions, participation in service-oriented activities, and hours in paid labor—at the expense of spending time socializing.
Allison, P. (2002). Missing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2.
Amato, P., & Rivera, F. (1999). Paternal involvement and children’s behavior. Journal of Marriage and Family, 61, 375-384.
3.
Belsky, J., & Pensky, E. (1988). Marital change across the transition to parenthood. Marriage and Family Review, 12, 133-156.
4.
Belsky, J., & Rovine, M. (1990). Patterns of marital change across the transition to parenthood: Pregnancy to three years postpartum. Journal of Marriage and Family, 52, 5-19.
5.
Bianchi, S. M., Milkie, M. A., Sayer, L. C., & Robinson, J. P. (2000). Is anyone doing the housework? Trends in the gender division of household labor. Social Forces, 79, 191-228.
6.
Bird, C. (1997). Gender differences in the social and economic burdens of parenting and psychological distress. Journal of Marriage and Family, 59, 809-823.
7.
Blankenhorn, D. (1995). Fatherless America: Confronting our most urgent social problem. New York: Basic Books.
8.
Bronfenbrenner, E. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by design and nature. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
9.
Christiansen, S. L., & Palkovitz, R. (2001). Why the “good provider” role still matters. Journal of Family Issues, 22, 84-106.
10.
Coltrane, S. (1996). Family man: Fatherhood, housework, and gender equity. New York: Oxford University Press.
11.
Cowan, C. P., & Cowan, P. A. (1992). When partners become parents. New York: Basic Books.
12.
Cowan, C. P., & Cowan, P. A. (1995). Interventions to ease the transition to parenthood: Why they are needed and what they can do. Family Relations, 44, 412-423.
13.
Doherty, W. J., Kouneski, E. F., & Erickson, M. F. (1998). Responsible fathering: An overview and conceptual framework. Journal of Marriage and Family, 60, 277-292.
14.
Eggebeen, D. J. (1992). Family structure and intergenerational exchanges. Research on Aging, 14, 427-447.
15.
Eggebeen, D. J. (2002). The changing course of fatherhood. Journal of Family Issues, 23, 486-506.
16.
Eggebeen, D. J., & Hogan, D. P. (1990). Giving between the generations in American families. Human Nature, 1, 211-232.
17.
Eggebeen, D. J., & Knoester, C. (2001). Does fatherhood matter for men?Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 381-393.
18.
Erikson, E. (1963). Childhood and society. Toronto, Canada: Norton.
19.
Hawkins, A. J., & Dollahite, D. C. (1997). Generative fathering: Beyond deficit perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
20.
Hochschild, A. R. (1989). The second shift: Working parents and the revolution at home. New York: Viking.
21.
Kaufman, G., & Uhlenberg, P. (2000). The influence of parenthood on the work effort of married men and women. Social Forces, 78, 931-949.
22.
King, V., & Heard, H. E. (1999). Nonresident father visitation, parental conflict, and mother’s satisfaction: What’s best for child well-being?Journal of Marriage and Family, 61, 385-396.
23.
Knoester, C. (2003). Transitions in young adulthood and the relationship between parent and offspring well-being. Social Forces, 81, 1431-1457.
24.
Knoester, C., & Haynie, D. L. (2005). Community context, social integration into family, and youth violence. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 767-780.
25.
Marsiglio, W. (1998). Procreative man. New York: New York University Press.
26.
Marsiglio, W., Amato, P., Day, R., & Lamb, M. (2000). Scholarship on fatherhood in the 1990s and beyond. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 1173-1191.
27.
McLanahan, S., & Adams, J. (1987). Parenthood and psychological well-being. Annual Review of Sociology, 5, 237-257.
28.
McLanahan, S., & Sandefur, G. (1994). Growing up with a single parent: What hurts, what helps. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
29.
Myers, S. (1997). Marital uncertainty and childbearing. Social Forces, 75, 1271-1289.
30.
Nock, S. (1998). Marriage in men’s lives. New York: Oxford University Press.
31.
Nomaguchi, K., & Milkie, M. (2003). Costs and rewards of children: The effects of becoming a parent on adults’ lives. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65, 356-374.
32.
Palkovitz, R. (1996). Parenting as a generator of adult development: Conceptual issues and implications. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 13, 571-592.
33.
Palkovitz, R. (2002). Involved fathering and men’s adult development. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
34.
Parke, R. (1996). Fathers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
35.
Pleck, J. H. (1985). Working wives, working husbands. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
36.
Pleck, J. H. (1997). Paternal involvement: Levels, sources, and consequences. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (3rd ed., pp. 66-103, 325-332). New York: John Wiley.
37.
Popenoe, D. (1993). American family decline: 1960-1990: A review and appraisal. Journal of Marriage and Family, 55, 527-556.
38.
Radloff, L. A. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401.
39.
Sanchez, L., & Thomson, E. (1997). Becoming mothers and fathers: Parenthood, gender, and the division of labor. Gender & Society, 11, 747-772.
40.
Schoen, R., Astone, N. M., Kim, Y. J., & Nathanson, C. A. (1999). Do fertility intentions affect fertility behavior?Journal of Marriage and Family, 61, 790-799.
41.
Seccombe, K., & Ishii-Kuntz, M. (1994). Gender and social relationships among the never-married. Sex Roles, 30, 585-603.
42.
Snarey, J. (1993). How fathers care for the next generation: A four decade study. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
43.
Stolzenberg, R. M., Blair-Loy, M., & Waite, L. J. (1995). Religious participation in young adulthood: Age and family life cycle effects on church membership. American Sociological Review, 60, 84-103.
44.
Teachman, J., Tedrow, L., & Crowder, K. (2000). The changing demography of America’s families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 1234-1246.
45.
Townsend, N. W. (2002). The package deal: Marriage, work, and fatherhood in men’s lives. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
46.
Waldfogel, J. (1998). Understanding the “family gap” in pay for women with children. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12, 137-156.
47.
Woo, H., & Raley, R. K. (2005). A small extension to “Costs and rewards of children: The effects of becoming a parent on adults’ lives.”Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 216-221.
