A new paper published in the Journal of Family Issues uses the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing dataset to examine whether fathers experiencing individual and family risk (e.g., drug and alcohol abuse, incarceration, unemployment) in their childrens first few years of life were less likely to be engaged with those children at age 9. Findings suggest that establishing early patterns of engagement is important for low-income fathers and that early and consistent supports to reduce fathers risk levels can support the maintenance of paternal engagement through childhood.
