Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/07
Outputs
My primary research activities included analyzing survey data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a 20 city study of unmarried parents and their children. I also examined data from qualitative interviews I conducted with a sub-sample of parents in the study in the Oakland, California site. I presented findings from this analysis at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting (2004-7), the Population Association of America Annual Meeting in New York (2007), the Association of Policy Analysis and Management Annual Meeting (2006), the New Data on Fathers: An Examination of Recent Trends in Fatherhood and Father Involvement, Cornell University (2006), the National Poverty Center (2005), the National Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference (2004), the Cornell Policy Perspectives Seminar in Albany, NY(2004), and and the Incarceration and Fatherhood Conference at Cornell University (2007). I also helped co-organize two national conferences around
the themes of marriage and father and a seminar series on the topic of the Evolving Family.
Impacts
I had three articles accepted for publication, one conditional acceptance, and an invitation to revise and resubmit a manuscript in 2007. Below, I discuss how three of articles which are forthcoming contribute to a change in knowledge. Confining Fatherhood (with Ray Swisher) shows that unmarried fathers' current incarceration presents serious obstacles to maintaining contact with children and interferes with the establishment of informal financial support agreements with mothers. Recent and past incarceration are strongly and negatively associated with how often non-Latino White fathers see their children, while having a considerably smaller effect for African American and Latino fathers. A similar pattern of racial and ethnic differences is observed with respect to mothers' trust of fathers to take care of their children. Findings suggest the continued need for fathering programs in prisons and for re-entry programs for fathers in communities following their release.
How Do Disadvantaged Parents View Tensions in their Relationships examines the narrative frames through which stable and unstable couples who have had a child outside of marriage view tensions over domestic responsibilities, economic and housing issues, personal problems, communication, trust, and their social networks. Information from these interviews suggests that stable couples framed tensions as manageable within the context of a relationship they perceived to be moving forward, whereas unstable couples problematized tensions when their relationship trajectory was viewed as volatile and uncertain. Three years later, couples continued to apply these narrative frames to new and ongoing tensions if expectations about their relationship trajectories were met. However, some couples changed narrative frames to account for unexpected positive or negative developments in their relationships. These findings have implications for policies and programs designed to strengthen the
relationships of low-income couples. Understanding Power Talk (with Jocelyn Crowley and Margaret Watson) examines the discourse patterns of two very different groups of fathers as they discuss their problems with the child support enforcement system: fathers' rights members and fathers with children on welfare. Although we find that there is broad overlap in terms of the general nature of fathers problems with the child support system, each group's members use very different language to describe their difficulties. Fathers' rights members are much more likely to remain connected to the system, and while challenging current policy, do not champion lawbreaking as a viable means of demonstrating their opposition. Fathers with children on welfare, on the other hand, speak in terms that reflect their disconnection from these policies, and frequently reveal their subsequent choice to engage in evasive and even illegal behavior as viable means of expressing their dissatisfaction. We conclude
that these different ways of speaking about public policy problems can have important implications for policymaker responsiveness, and ultimately, each group's political inclusion in a democratic society.
Publications
- Swisher, R. and Waller, M.R. 2008. Confining Fatherhood: Incarceration and Paternal Involvement among Unmarried White, African-American and Latino Fathers. Journal of Family Issues (forthcoming).
- Waller, M.R. 2008. How Do Disadvantaged Parents View Tensions in their Relationships? Insights for Relationship Longevity among At-Risk Couples. Family Relations (in press).
- Crowley, J.E., Watson, M. and Waller, M.R. 2008. Understanding "Power Talk": Language, Public Policy, and Democracy. Perspectives on Politics 6(1):71-88.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
During 2006, I published an article entitled Fathers Risk Factors in Fragile Families: Implications for Healthy Relationships and Father Involvement in Social Problems. In this article, Raymond Swisher and I find that close to half of unmarried fathers in the Fragile Families Study have a risk factor such as domestic violence, substance use problems, or incarceration. These fathers are less likely to be involved with their young children and their relationships with mothers mediate this involvement. Qualitative evidence helps us interpret these findings by illustrating the processes through which these relationship and parenting outcomes unfold. I was also invited to revise and resubmit two other articles that use survey data from the Fragile Families Study. The first paper, co-authored with Elizabeth Peters, examines how unmarried parents fear of divorce is related to marriage within about three years of their child s birth. We find that unmarried parents who had a
high likelihood of divorce are much more likely to delay marriage, even after taking other factors strongly associated with marriage into account. A second paper with Raymond Swisher shows that fathers' current incarceration presents serious obstacles to maintaining contact with children and interferes with the establishment of informal financial support agreements with mothers. The effects of past incarceration, however, vary significantly by race and ethnicity. Finally, I submitted two articles to journals using qualitative data I collected from low-income parents which focus on fathers co-parenting and views of the child support system respectively. I presented findings from these papers at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting in Montreal and at the New Data on Fathers: An Examination of Recent Trends in Fatherhood and Father Involvement Conference at Cornell University.
Impacts
Research about factors that encourage and discourage paternal involvement and marriage in families headed by unmarried parents is highly relevant for new welfare reform and child support initiatives. It also informs academic research on marriage, fatherhood, poverty, and nonmarital childbearing.
Publications
- Waller, M.R. and Swisher, R.R. 2006. Fathers Risk Factors in Fragile Families: Implications for Healthy Relationships and Father Involvement. Social Problems 53 (3): 392-420.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
During 2005, I published an article entitled His and Her Marriage Expectations: Determinants and Consequences (with Sara McLanahan) in the Journal of Marriage and Family. This analysis uses nationally representative data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine how the marriage expectations of unmarried mothers and fathers are related to marriage and union dissolution about one year after their child s birth. We find that unmarried parents are much more likely to formalize their relationships and maintain their unions when one or both partners expect to marry. Other factors related to marriage and union stability include having children from previous relationships, distrust, conflict, and shared activities. I was also invited to revise and resubmit two articles that use survey data from the Fragile Families Study as well as qualitative data I collected from a sub-sample of new, unmarried mothers and fathers in the study. The first paper,
co-authored with Elizabeth Peters, examines how unmarried parents fear of divorce is related to marriage within about three years of their child s birth. We find that unmarried parents who had a high likelihood of divorce are much more likely to delay marriage, even after taking other factors strongly associated with marriage into account. The second paper, co-authored with Raymond Swisher, examines paternal involvement among fathers with risk factors. We find that close to half of unmarried fathers in the Fragile Families Study have a risk factor such as domestic violence, substance use problems, or incarceration. These fathers are less likely to be involved with their young children and their relationships with mothers mediate this involvement. Qualitative evidence helps us interpret these findings by illustrating the processes through which these relationship and parenting outcomes unfold. I presented findings from these papers at the American Sociological Association Annual
Meeting, the Association for Policy Analysis and Management Annual Meeting, the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan, and the Cornell University Department of Sociology.
Impacts
Research about factors that encourage and discourage marriage and paternal involvement in families headed by unmarried parents is highly relevant for new welfare reform and child support initiatives. It also informs academic research on marriage, fatherhood, poverty, and nonmarital childbearing.
Publications
- Waller, M.R. and McLanahan, S.S. 2005. His and Her Marriage Expectations: Determinants and Consequences. Journal of Marriage and Family 67: 53-67.
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