How Fathers Help their Children Develop

Fathers influence their children’s development in many ways, including financially and emotionally, but the literature revealing how and why is limited. This book brings together theoretical orientations and different disciplinary lenses to the study of how and why fathers matter for children’s development. It challenges the commonly held view that fathers are only economic providers and points to the complex interplay between the love fathers have for their children and the money they have (or not) to support them. By integrating developmental science with economics, and drawing on real-life examples from qualitative research, the authors argue that fatherhood is a tale of two stories: love and money.

Author Biography

Natasha J. Cabrera is Professor of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland, USA. She received the National Council on Family Relations award for Best Research Article regarding men in families in 2009. She is the co-editor of the Handbook of Father Involvement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (2013), co-author of Parenting Matters (2016) and co-PI of the National Center for Research on Hispanic Families and Children. Ronald B. Mincy is the Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice at Columbia University, USA. He is the recipient of the Social Policy Researcher Award from the Society for Social Work and Research in 2021, the Frank R. Breul Memorial Prize for the Best Research Article in 2013 and the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management’s Raymond Vernon Memorial Prize for the Best Research Article in 2009.