The following was culled from CNN/Health and it is a study that examines men's role in the family. Happy belated fathers day to all the dads out there. God Bless abd Peace Be Upon All Alasana Bah >>ATLANTA (CNN) -- Just in time for Father's Day, new research shows that >>dads >do make a difference in the lives of their children, and examines what >factors influence men's involvement with their kids. > >Researchers at the University of Maryland determined that children who have >fathers in their lives learn better, have higher self-esteem and show fewer >signs of depression than children without fathers. > >The results shouldn't be surprising, according to one expert. >> "All you have to do is ask any child, frankly," said James Levine of the >Families and Work Institute. "You don't have to ask a child development >researcher if fathers make a difference. All kids will tell you that the >presence of a father makes a big difference." > >Emotional connection key >The researchers interviewed 855 children in five states. All had been >deemed >high risk. Those with fathers in their lives scored higher on basic >learning >skills tests. The findings applied equally to white and minority children. > >The study did not address whether a bad father is better than no father at >all. And the findings don't necessarily mean that children who grow up in >single-parent homes can't be successful. > >"A lot of times these children are getting more attention than they would >in >a two-parent home because the single parent is very conscious of the fact >that it's one person doing the entire job, so they rely on teamwork, >cooperation," said Brook Noel of Single Parents magazine. > >Whatever the family situation, experts stress that a father or father >figure >should stay emotionally connected with his kids. > >"A little is better than nothing," said psychologist Penelope Leach, "and >you >can be really involved with a child on the basis of the talking and playing >and being there emotionally, even if you can't be there physically all the >time." > >Fathers taking on greater role >What makes a dad get involved with his child? A separate study conducted by >the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development focused on >that >question. The study was published in the June issue of the Journal of >Family >Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association. > >Researchers found that how much both parents work plays a role in a >father's >caregiving activities, as does the man's self-esteem. Fathers also tend to >be >more involved with sons than daughters, according to the study. > >The researchers followed hundreds of families from 10 cities across the >United States. The fathers were interviewed about their caregiving >activities >like feeding, bathing and changing diapers when their children were between >six months old and 3 years old. Some of the fathers were also videotaped >playing with their children at age six months and 3 years, to determine >their >level of sensitivity toward the child. > >The study found that fathers were more involved in caregiving when they >worked fewer hours than other fathers, and when the mothers worked more >hours >outside the home. The finding "suggests that mothers' full-time employment >creates demands on family life" that require the father to take on more >responsibility regardless of his attitudes toward child rearing. > >More involved fathers were also younger and had higher self-esteem and >lower >levels of depression and hostility. However, the researchers found that >older >fathers were more sensitive toward their children. > >The researchers concluded that workplace policies that allow fathers more >flexibility would increase their level of involvement with their children. >The authors also suggested developing programs to teach men about their >children's needs as a way of increasing their sensitivity. > ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------