Rural Environments, Social Networks, and Paternal Contributions to Infant Development

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Project Summary The proposed study is designed to investigate the healthy development of young Black children growing up in resource-poor rural environments. The long-term goal is to provide information on family relationships, with a focus on fathering behaviors that will inform the development of effective programs and policies to deter health and educational disparities observed among rural Black children in the Southern United States. During the first 2 years of life, crucial development in neurocognitive and affective systems occurs through social interactions with caregivers. Maternal contributions to development are well known; emerging research also indicates that father-infant relationships are important contributors. This research, however, focuses primarily on couples who are married or are in marriage-like relationships. Most Black men in rural communities transition to fatherhood outside of marriage or stable cohabitating relationships. Exposure to economic and other contextual stressors can take a toll on family relationships, undermining fathers’ relationships with their infants. Despite these challenges, recent research indicates that the majority of unmarried Black fathers find ways to remain involved in their children’s lives. The processes associated with their success in surmounting barriers to fathering have not been investigated. Our approach is informed by the premise that research on fathering in high-poverty, rural environments cannot be understood outside the social networks that emerge in response to the challenges of poverty. Therefore, the first aim of this study is to examine the influence of protective social networks on fathers’ relationships with their infants. A second aim is to investigate the fathering behaviors that are most likely to facilitate infant development. Assumptions regarding Black fathers’ purported disengagement from their children has sponsored a focus on the amount of time Black fathers spend with their children. Emerging research suggests that increasing the quantity of fathers’ time with children is of limited value in facilitating infant development. Rather, the quality of proximal father-infant interactions is particularly salient. We are aware of no studies in which researchers have collected (a) detailed, prospective data on fathers’ caregiving behavior or (b) observational data on father-infant interactions with this population. We propose to recruit 250 young Black couples from rural Georgia communities who are unmarried and expecting their first child. Expectant mothers and fathers will be enrolled during the third trimester of pregnancy (Baseline). Fathers, mothers, and co-caregivers will participate in 3 follow up data collection visits when infants are 3 months, 12 months, and 24 months of age. We will implement a multi-informant and multi-method data collection strategy with self-reports from parents and co-caregivers, observations of parent-infant interactions and infant development, and social network data from mothers and fathers.