Father-Child Relationship and Children Outcomes
Authors:
Auriana Arabpour, Rana Elbezri, Quinn HowardMentors:
- Melanie Mallers, Assistant Professor of Department of Human Services, California State University Fullerton
- Katherine Bono, Assistant Professor of Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, California State University Fullerton
Parent-child relationships have been known to influence overall well-being in children including both physical and emotional health. Typically, previous studies have examined the significant roles mothers play in their children’s lives while father-relationship studies have not been as profoundly studied individually. The present study focuses on father-child relationships and explores 5th grade children’s physical health, disruptive behaviors, and depression levels. The datasets of NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) provided the necessary details for this study. Father conflict and father closeness was found to be negatively correlated such that higher levels of conflict were connected to lower levels of closeness. However, there was found to be a positive correlation between fathers’ conflict relationships with their children and defiant disorder symptoms. In addition, the findings revealed that conflict was significantly associated with children’s depression. This study demonstrates the importance of maintaining a healthy father-child relationship.