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Gender and Couple Relationships pp 161–168Cite as

Why Do Fathers Matter for Children’s Development?

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Part of the book series: National Symposium on Family Issues ((NSFI,volume 6))

Abstract

Evidence regarding whether fathers are “essential” for or contribute substantially to children’s development over and above their financial contributions is still emerging. The question of how exactly fathers matter for children’s development has dominated much of the emerging research on fatherhood and has produced some promising findings. In this chapter, I briefly review the theoretical underpinnings of what fathers do and how it matters for children’s development. I then examine current findings on the association between fathers’ involvement and children’s outcomes over time, and conclude with suggestions for future research.

“Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents” Attributed to Margaret Mead in H. A. Minden’s (1982) Two hugs for survival (p. 22).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maryland Population Research Center, University of Maryland, Benjamin Bldg 3304, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Dr. Natasha Cabrera

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  1. Dr. Natasha Cabrera
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Correspondence to Natasha Cabrera .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Social Science Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Susan M. McHale

  2. Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Valarie King

  3. Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jennifer Van Hook

  4. Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Alan Booth

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Cabrera, N. (2016). Why Do Fathers Matter for Children’s Development?. In: McHale, S., King, V., Van Hook, J., Booth, A. (eds) Gender and Couple Relationships. National Symposium on Family Issues, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21635-5_9

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