Examining Factors Associated with Different Dimensions of Economic Stability Among Disadvantaged Fathers

Background and Purpose: Low-income communities of color are profoundly affected by the criminal justice system. Fathers have closely associated economic stability and successful fathering. To promote positive father-child relationships, understanding social-ecological correlates to economic stability among low-income fathers of color with incarceration histories is important.

Methods: Men enrolled in fatherhood programming completed surveys assessing characteristics specific to fathering, relationships, economic stability, and other related individual, interpersonal, and environmental characteristics. This study employed bivariate correlations with these data to identify potential risk and protective factors of three dimensions of economic stability: difficulty paying bills (one item; 1= never to 4= very often), job readiness (5-20; higher scores indicating greater job readiness), and unemployment (dichotomous). Factors with significant correlation values on at least one dimension were included. Depression, social isolation, and resilience were measured using validated scales. Count variables were employed for perceived barriers (0-5; e.g., access to medical services) and community/social network (0-8; people men could count on outside of family/friends). Violence victimization while incarcerated was measured dichotomously and income in the last 30 days was measured with eight options ranging from $0 to >$5,000. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple and logistic regressions were employed.

Results: Among 151 men, the majority were Black (67.8%) with a history of incarceration (71.3%). Over half were unemployed (50.7%) and reported having difficulty paying bills somewhat often (21.9%) or often (28.5%). In the past 30 days, 68.4% of respondents reported earning less than $1,000. Men averaged 16.23 (SD = 2.39) on the job readiness scale, indicating moderately high levels of perceived job readiness. Model 1 (n=151) regressed income, depression, perceived barriers, social network, and resilience onto difficulty paying bills, explaining 16.1% of the variance (R² = 16.1, p < .001), demonstrating a moderate effect. Depressive symptoms were independently predictive (p= .03), linking higher depressive symptoms with increased difficulty paying bills. Model 2 (n=122) regressed violent victimization while incarcerated, social isolation, and community/social network onto job readiness. The model accounted for 15.5% of the variance (R² = .155, p= .004), demonstrating a medium effect. Violent victimization while incarcerated significantly predicted poorer job readiness (p= .018), explaining 6.4% of its variance, while community/social network significantly predicted greater job readiness (p= .049), accounting for 4.3% of the variance. Model 3 (n=134) showed a 10.5% classification improvement for unemployment when including incarceration history, social isolation, and barriers. No predictors were significant at <.05; however, social isolation (p=.05) may be associated with higher odds of unemployment.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings indicate that mental health, violent victimization while incarcerated, and community/social network significantly influence the economic stability of these predominantly Black fathers. Policies and programs strengthening community support systems and screening for trauma, including violence during incarceration, could help better prepare fathers for employment. Meanwhile, integrating mental health services with employment support is crucial to address potential challenges of economic capability.