New Study Measures Benefits of More Involved Fathers

Children face greater risk when agencies focus only on moms, overlook dads

New Study Measures Benefits of More Involved Fathers...

"I wish that all fathers of households stand forth and practice their role. They will use the rod and not permit their children to go astray. Firmness is needed in your world that is filled with laxity, permissiveness, and degradation.
"Your children have been misled by many who shall answer to the Father. As teachers they have failed in their role. Therefore, as parents you must succeed in yours.” - St. Joseph, March 18, 1973

LifeNews.com reported on August 10, 2009:

Family service agencies are missing huge opportunities to help children by focusing only on mothers and ignoring fathers, according to a groundbreaking study by some top U.S. family and child development researchers.

The scientific study, which is being published today in the Journal of Marriage and the Family, found that when mothers and fathers enrolled together in 16-week sessions to work on their relationships as parents and partners, their children were much less likely to show signs of depression, anxiety and hyperactivity.

“The vast majority of family services — from parenting classes to home visits — are really aimed at mothers, while fathers are almost completely overlooked,” explained Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and a co-author of the study. “The research is clear that the best way to create a healthy environment for children is to engage dads and moms together.”

An executive summary of the research and the full research paper are available for the public.

According to the most recent census statistics, one in three children grow up without fathers. For low-income families, that percentage is even greater. Previous research has found that kids with absent fathers are more likely to suffer from psychological problems, drug addiction or incarceration in their lifetime. The new study is especially relevant at a time when President Odama is calling on fathers to take more responsibility and when economic distress is expected to put more pressure on young fathers and their families.

The Supporting Father Involvement study represents the first randomized, controlled clinical trial focused on encouraging father involvement in low- and middle-income families.

The study compared father-only and father-mother interventions with each other, and against a control group, and evaluated the impacts on parents and children. Highlights from the research include:

The behavioral and psychological involvement of fathers significantly increased when fathers were given the tools to be more effective parents alone or with the mothers.

Parenting stress decreased when fathers and mothers participated in the groups together.

While distress in couple relationships grew predictably in both the control and fathers-only groups, when fathers and mothers went through the groups together, the quality of their relationships as couples remained stable for more than a year after the groups ended.

Children of fathers who went through the program alone or with the mothers were much less aggressive, hyperactive, depressed or socially withdrawn than children of fathers in the control group.

The research was funded by the California Department of Social Services Office of Child Abuse Prevention, with additional support from The Stewart Foundation, and gathered evidence from family resource centers in five California counties: Yuba, Tulare, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo. The researchers note in their paper that the factors that contribute to more violent behavior in the home are exacerbated when families experience greater economic stress, as they do today, making this research especially timely and relevant.

“The transformation that some of the men went through because we gave them the tools and encouragement to be involved as parents is amazing,” said Roy Martin, a director of the Supporting Fatherhood Program in Yuba County. “Some of the couples have been so enthusiastic about supporting each other that they continue to meet as a group, even after their participation in the program concluded.”

“Public and private agencies would get more bang for their buck if their programs that already focus on mothers were retooled to include fathers as well,” said Richard S. Atlas, founder of the Atlas Family Foundation, which focuses on early child development and parent education. “Essentially, what we need is a First Five for Fathers, or, better yet, a First Five for both parents.”

Visit the Supporting Father Involvement website.

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Top 10 father facts...

The following is taken from the National Fatherhood Initiative website:

24 million children (34 percent) live absent their biological father.

Nearly 20 million children (27 percent) live in single-parent homes.

1.35 million births (33 percent of all births) in 2000 occurred out of wedlock.

43 percent of first marriages dissolve within fifteen years; about 60 percent of divorcing couples have children; and approximately one million children each year experience the divorce of their parents.

Over 3.3 million children live with an unmarried parent and the parent's cohabiting partner. The number of cohabiting couples with children has nearly doubled since 1990, from 891,000 to 1.7 million today.

Fathers who live with their children are more likely to have a close, enduring relationship with their children than those who do not. The best predictor of father presence is marital status. Compared to children born within marriage, children born to cohabiting parents are three times as likely to experience father absence, and children born to unmarried, non-cohabiting parents are four times as likely to live in a father-absent home.

About 40 percent of children in father-absent homes have not seen their father at all during the past year; 26 percent of absent fathers live in a different state than their children; and 50 percent of children living absent their father have never set foot in their father's home.

Children who live absent their biological fathers are, on average, at least two to three times more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents.

From 1960 to 1995, the proportion of children living in single-parent homes tripled, from 9 percent to 27 percent, and the proportion of children living with married parents declined. However, from 1995 to 2000, the proportion of children living in single-parent homes slightly declined, while the proportion of children living with two married parents remained stable.

Children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior, and avoid high-risk behaviors such as drug use, truancy, and criminal activity compared to children who have uninvolved fathers.

"They will do as they have done in the past in honor of the Father; and in the path of the Father, they will listen to their husbands and honor their husbands within the home. If they do thus, they will receive honor from their children. The example in the homes is very, very poor.
     "So husbands, now, you will act with love to your wives, but you will keep them in discipline. Many of them have lost their way. Discipline. And wives, honor your husbands and do your role as mothers in honor to your God. We see the example of the homes is very poor....
     "Womanhood must be returned to the state in which the Father created it. Right at this moment a great chastisement is coming upon you, for you have cast aside your role as women. This you will not do without receiving great chastisement.
     "There will be division in homes unless the fathers stand forth as examples to their sons and daughters, and the mothers return to their roles as mothers in the light of God, the Father." - Our Lady of the Roses, April 13, 1974

Our Lady of the Roses awesome Bayside Prophecies... https://www.tldm.org/../Bayside/ These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995.

MAN ALWAYS HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD
"My child, you understand well why this direction is no longer accepted upon earth. You have now a new rebellious group called ERA, 'equal rights for women.' O My children, what a delusion this is among you! Do you not recognize that you will lose more than you shall ever gain because you defy the direction of the Eternal Father.
"Paul the Apostle wrote down the words given to him by My Son, Jesus. Adam was created in the image of God as man, and woman was given unto him as his helper. As such, My children, man must always be the head of the household. There shall not be strength in a home divided." - Our Lady, July 15, 1978

HUSBAND AND WIFE GOING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS
"A foul situation has come about in the schools, both public and private. They are now teaching sex education, My children. And this is a debauchery of your young souls. Parents, are you so blind that you do not investigate, or ask your children what has happened in their classes today at school? Show you no interest as you go about the world gathering materialism, and seeking to break your home apart by husband and wife going in both directions; neither do they work together to hold the home together, but they work apart, many leaving the children astray by not having counsel over them.” – Our Lady, September 27, 1986

TO BE WITH HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD
"The Eternal Father set up women not to be priests and not to be murderers, but to be with the head of the household a guiding light for their children. Each child to the Eternal Father is a pure blessing upon mankind, but all this has been lost in the name of modernism. Immodesty reigns in your country. There are many reasons why the Eternal Father feels that it is now time to do something about all of these abnormalities.” – Jesus, October 1, 1988

LOVE AND GOOD LEADERSHIP
"Please, I ask you mothers, monitor your children's lives. Do not be an escapist, running from home and finding pleasures of the world. Bring a prayer life back to your children before it is too late. You will be held accountable for the fall of the souls of the children. Therefore, I ask parents throughout the world--with love and good leadership in the household, your children will not fall as prey to satan." – St. Theresa, June 18, 1991

WOMAN MUST BE SUBSERVIENT TO MAN
"A woman must be subservient to man. She is not a chattel; she is a helper of man and husband. But a woman must speak to man. She must not assert herself unrightly in the houses of God.” – St. Theresa, October 2, 1975

PSYCHOLOGISTS/PSYCHIATRISTS RATIONALIZING SIN
"Much, My children, you must accept in faith. Scientists of your world and your psychologists and psychiatrists rationalize everything, until sin is accepted as a way of life--scientists who are ever searching but never coming to the truth! The supernatural cannot be rejected, because if you reject the supernatural, you do not have the armor to fight it. It is a crafty plan of satan to make himself unknown, so that he may go among you, and destroying like a ravenous wolf.” – Our Lady, December 7, 1977

KEEPERS OF THEIR SOULS
"My children, you will keep a firm foundation of faith in the hearts of your children. You cannot expect others to do this fatherly and motherly obligation. You as mothers and fathers are the keepers for the souls of your children, and as such you are held accountable in the eyes of all Heaven for the fall of your children's souls. You will also as parents battle satan as he seeks to destroy your families. It will be father against son and mother against daughter, division in the homes, as satan becomes stronger in his conquest.” – Our Lady, April 1, 1978

MAJOR MARTYRS
“My children, do not allow the enemies to take from you the knowledge of the existence of Heaven, hell, and purgatory. Your children are the major, now, the major martyrs--and I say martyrs. Be it not for the laxity of the parents, the schools, and many in My Son's Church, many of you parents would not be shedding this evening tears of remorse and grief at the loss of your children, knowing not whether they have been saved or lost forever. I say unto you, from the merciful heart of your Mother: Cry not, mother. The Eternal Father is most pitiful upon you. He has opened His heart to many of your children, not judging them by false leaders." – Our Lady, November 25, 1978

READ BIBLE TO CHILDREN
“You will all keep a constant vigilance of prayer going throughout your country and the world. I admonish all parents now to spend at least fifteen minutes of your day reading the Bible to your children and your family. It is now a command from the Eternal Father! For the little children no longer know or recognize the angel guardians. The little children have no conception of the truth of the Divinity or the existence of My Son. The little children are now being taught the ways of satan.” – Our Lady, November 21, 1977

FIRM FOUNDATION OF FAITH
“My children, you will keep a firm foundation of faith in the hearts of your children. You cannot expect others to do this fatherly and motherly obligation. You as mothers and fathers are the keepers for the souls of your children, and as such you are held accountable in the eyes of all Heaven for the fall of your children’s souls. You will also as parents battle satan as he seeks to destroy your families.” – Our Lady, April 1, 1978

PROGRAMMED TO KILL
“Your children are being programmed to kill! Your children will be unrecognizable if you as parents do not act to stop this evil!
“Satan has an advantage, My children. He has convinced many that he is not there or around or even exists. He has convinced many that he is a myth. How clever he has been in his operation, My children!” – Our Lady, December 31, 1977

ENCOURAGED BY SCHOOLS, TEACHERS
"Children will continue to rise up against their parents, being encouraged by their schools, their teachers, their news medis, and all the medias that have been well planned to seduce the souls of your children." – Jesus, July 25, 1979

LEFT TO WANDER
“There must be a constant vigilance within the homes. Parents must not be caught up in the cares of their worldly living, in their pursuit of pleasure and entertainment, and leave their children to wander, undisciplined, unguided, and falling into sin and the loss of their souls." – Our Lady, September 7, 1976

SUPERVISE TEACHING
"Parents must have firm discipline in the home. Parents must supervise the teaching of their children." – Our Lady, August 5, 1977

VICTIMS OF YOUR LAXITY
“My children, your children, parents, are the victims now of your laxity. They are the victims of their elders. All foul manner of acts are being taught them in their schools, in their secret societies. And why? Because you as parents are too lax in your duty. You flitter to and fro looking for pleasures and gathering the materials of your world. And for what? For I shall soon make them as naught, nothing." – Our Lady, November 1, 1977

Directives from Heaven... https://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm

D16 - Role of Parents PDF
D17 - Fall of Education PDF
D138 - Permissiveness PDF
D167 - The Family - Part 1 PDF
D168 - The Family - Part 2 PDF
D218 - Children, Part 1 PDF
D219 - Children, Part 2 PDF

D235 - Disciplining children PDF
D248 - Man's authority
D249 - Fathers

Articles...

Fathers:
The Holy Bible on man's authority in the household
https://www.tldm.org/News7/BibleOnMan'sAuthority.htm

Feminism:
Vatican warns that feminism is "lethal" to families
https://www.tldm.org/news7/feminism.htm

Marxist roots of radical feminism
https://www.tldm.org/news5/radical.htm

Robert Bork on radical feminism
https://www.tldm.org/news5/bork%5Ffeminism.htm

Reflections on "women's liberation"
https://www.tldm.org/news5/reflections.htm

Discipline:
Helping your children grow in maturity through discipline
https://www.tldm.org/news7/ChildDiscipline2.htm

Spare the rod, spoil the child
https://www.tldm.org/news6/child.discipline.htm

Dr. Laura advises parents to use "swift and terrible" correction for defiant children
https://www.tldm.org/news7/DrLaura2.htm

Other:
The dangers of Ritalin
https://www.tldm.org/news6/ritalin.htm

Are you an "escapist" parent?
https://www.tldm.org/news6/parents1.htm

A major source of today's parenting problems is the psychologizing of our culture
https://www.tldm.org/news6/children2.htm

Links...

Research shows that fatherhood really matters, Tallahassee.com, April 20, 2002
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/opinion/3100697.htm

Air-brushing dads out of the picture, Carey Roberts, June 8, 2004
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/roberts/040608

Yes, fathers are essential, Carey Roberts, July 15, 2004
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/roberts/040615

Turning men into milquetoasts, Chuck Baldwin, April 5, 2005
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/baldwin/050405

We encourage everyone to print or email copies of this web page to all the Bishops and all the clergy. Also, email or send this web page to the news media and as many people as possible.

"My children, My little humble children, I appeal to you as your Mother, go forward on foot, knock on the doors; bring the light to your brothers and sisters. For those who have been given great grace, much is expected of them." - Our Lady of the Roses, May 26, 1976

"As disciples of the latter days, My children, much shall be asked of you, but I assure you: all that you give in faith and charity shall be returned to you threefold." - Jesus, June 1, 1978

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