Impacts of Lifetime Criminal and Neglect Histories on Father Involvement

Background

A growing body of evidence suggests that there is an association between men’s past engagement in criminal activity, childhood experiences of neglect and subsequent involvement in the lives of their own children. This literature suggests that adverse childhood experiences and engagement in criminal activity compromise the frequency of father-child contact and levels of financial provision. Given the positive association between father involvement and child behavioral and emotional outcomes, it is important to understand the impact of fathers’ characteristics on their parenting behaviors. The current study explored the relationship between lifetime criminal and neglect histories and multiple dimensions of father involvement.

Methods

Baseline self report data were analyzed from 238 Black fathers who participated in a community based responsible fatherhood program. Criminal and neglect histories were measured using two subscales from the Personal and Relationship Profile (PRP). Higher scores indicated greater problems in those areas. Father involvement was measured using two subscales from the Longitudinal Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). These included fathers’ frequency of engagement with their child’s day to day activities and fathers’ level of financial provision. The Inventory of Father Involvement was also used to measure fathers’ perception of paternal role competency. OLS regression models were used to test whether or not criminal and neglect histories were predictors of multiple dimensions of father involvement.

Results

Fathers in the current sample ranged in age from 17-63 years old. They reported having between one and eleven children under the age of 18; 52% of fathers reported living in the same household as their children.  Seventy-two percent of fathers reported being unemployed and eighty-nine percent reported annual income levels that fell below the federal poverty level. Bivariate analyses revealed no significant association between fathers’ neglect history and the day-to-day activities or fathering competence aspects of father involvement. A significant, albeit weak, correlation was found between neglect history and financial provision (r= .15, p=. 05). Significant correlations were found between fathers’ history of criminal behavior and engagement in day-to-day activities (r=-.24, p=. 01), financial provision (r=-.25, p=. 01) and perception of fathering competency (r=-.26, p=. 01).   When controlling for factors known to impact father involvement (i.e. father’s age, employment status, residential status, income level and number of children), fathers’ history of criminal behavior was a significant predictor of financial provision (= -.29, SE= .15, p=. 05) and perceived paternal competence (= -.22, SE= .08, p= .01). Fathers’ history of criminal behavior was not a significant predictor of involvement in day-to-day activities. History of neglect was not a significant predictor of any dimension of father involvement in the current models.

Conclusions and Implications

Given the current focus on responsible fatherhood programing as a means of ensuring engaged fatherhood, it is important for researchers to understand the factors that impact father involvement. Results of this analysis suggest that fathers’ history of engagement in criminal activities has differential impacts on multiple dimensions of father involvement. These results have implications for the development and refinement of responsible fatherhood interventions and policies.