Thanks for the article about Justice Scalia.
You, in turn, might be interested in this piece from today's Globe, which links good fathering to strong community and religious ties. I think there is a common thread in both articles, namely that the influence of religion pervades many critical social issues, whether we like it or not.
Good fathers? It figures
Study says stability, strong ties are keys for successful dads
By Patricia Wen, Globe Staff, 8/12/2002
Conventional men may not be the glamorous male icons of today's society but,
according to a recent study, they have one thing going for them: They make
good fathers.
And if these men have
sons, they may make even
better ones.
A study released last
week shows that men who
have strong community
and religious ties, have a
college diploma, and live
within a nuclear family are
the most likely to show up
at dinner and put their kids
to sleep reading
''Goodnight Moon.'' And
when it comes to spending
time in youth activities,
such as sports and school
events, fathers with sons pitched in most.
The author of the study, which looked at 1,000 fathers nationwide living with their
children, said he doesn't think the son bias comes from old-fashioned patriarchy, but
the tendency of fathers to favor boy activities.
''People have become more egalitarian over the years, but men are still socialized to
pay more attention to sons,'' said W. Bradford Wilcox, a University of Virginia
sociologist who has written extensively on fatherhood. ''These men also do the kinds
of things that boys do more often, such as play sports.''
The study, published by the Journal of Marriage and Family, comes at a time of
heightened public interest in the role of fathers in a child's well-being, sparked by
research showing that children thrive most when both parents are involved.
Religious movements that exalt the role of fathers, such as Promise Keepers, and
new political initiatives, like President Bush's proposal to promote marriage for
welfare mothers, have also drawn increased attention to what makes fathers
participate in day-to-day domestic life.
''For many years, fathers didn't exist in the social science research. Parenting was
simply mothering,'' said William Doherty, a professor of family social science of the
University of Minnesota. ''There's now a growing number of studies that look at
fathers.''
Some fathers at a Cambridge playground last week said they are wary of
generalizations about male behavior in families, given the wide variety of factors that
make for a good father. David Barnes, 28, an organic chemist at Harvard, said he
couldn't fathom his feelings being any different if his 9-month-old daughter, Alyssa,
happened to be a boy. And anyway, he added with a smile, he and his colleagues
have discovered a pattern: ''Male organic chemists have girls.''
Several researchers across the country said the University of Virginia results did not
surprise them, as many other studies often show that men with civic and religious ties
are often the ones who also value family ties.
''It's a matter of being grounded. These men are not bouncing around,'' said Tom W.
Smith, director of the general social survey conducted by the National Opinion
Research Center at the University of Chicago. ''They're integrated members of the
community.''
Smith said today's men struggle to be good fathers at a time when they feel
overworked, their wives are often working, and an array of social pressures bear
down on their children. He said his center conducted a recent study showing that 87
percent of men said children were ''life's greatest joy'' - yet more than half reported
that they spent ''too little'' time with their children.
Wilcox, who did most of the study's research while at Princeton University, said the
results offer clues to social planners about how to encourage and keep fathers
involved, including promotion of civic, community, and religious activities.
Doherty said the study's look at religion was a welcome addition to the research. He
said fathers with religious ties, particularly to more conservative faiths, are often
branded by academics as authoritarian, harsh, and remote. But the study shows that
fathers who identify as evangelical Christian and Catholic, for instance, seemed
particularly attentive to their children. Doherty said he believes that shows just how
some of the more progressive child-rearing practices of American society have
influenced people of faith. (The study did not include enough men of other religions,
such as Jews and Muslims, to evaluate their parental involvement.)
Haji Shearer, director of the Nurturing Fathers Program in Dorchester, said he sees a
connection between religious men and devoted fathers. He said he works with
fathers from a variety of religious backgrounds and domestic arrangements.
''Dads who put God in their lives often have a higher calling to connect to the family,''
said Shearer, whose program runs out of the nonprofit Family Nurturing Center.
Some researchers are quick to point out that other factors play key roles in the
quality of fathering, too, such as the extra involvement of older fathers and of those
who are strongly attached to the child's mother. Also, some researchers say a
father's bread-winning role should not be overlooked as a factor in a family's
well-being.
''The research shows that a father's role in providing economic and social status to
the family is very important,'' said University of North Carolina sociologist Kathleen
Mullan Harris.
Harris also conducted a 1991 study on how the gender of a child influenced a father's
participation, and found that sons had a tendency to pull fathers into domestic life.
She said she found no difference in participation between fathers with a son or
fathers with son-daughter combinations, though participation went down with
all-daughter families. Harris said she doesn't think it has to do with a sexist view, but
with different opportunities for involvement. She said the stereotype - ''fathers do
sports with boys and mothers take the girls shopping'' - still operates in many
American families.
Joanne Szamreta, an associate professor of education at Lesley University in
Cambridge, said mothers' attitudes must also change to encourage more paternal
involvement.
She said many women pay lip service to wanting equality at home, but end up
controlling so many decisions that fathers can't help as much as they would like.
''Even women who work or see themselves as feminists often have trouble letting go
of their traditional role as the major decision-maker for their children,'' she said.
Michael Nakkula, while at a Cambridge playground with his 20-month-old son, Lukas,
said he believes personal values guide men to be good fathers, which may come from
religion, community involvement, or simply heartfelt philosophy. The psychology
professor said he doesn't think his child's gender enhances his interest in the toddler.
''My attention to my son has to do with the fact that I hold deep values of how
children should be brought up,'' he said.
Patricia Wen can be reached at wen@globe.com.
This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 8/12/2002.
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