ABSTRACT

This study examined whether various types of father-figure presence in Mexican (n = 414)- and Dominican- American (n = 336) households measured at baseline predicted child mental health functioning one year later. Results of linear regression analyses showed that the impact of household structure on child functioning was significant and differed by ethnicity. For Mexican-American children, residing with a step-father or other adult male predicted increased externalizing problems compared to children residing their biological father. For Dominican-American children, residing with no father figure predicted increased externalizing problems compared to children residing with a biological father. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

摘要

这项研究检查了在基线测量的墨西哥 ( n = 414) 和多米尼加裔美国人 ( n = 336) 家庭中各种类型的父亲形象是否能预测一年后的儿童心理健康功能。线性回归分析结果表明，家庭结构对儿童功能的影响显着，且因种族而异。对于墨西哥裔美国儿童，与与生父同住的儿童相比，与继父或其他成年男性同住预示着外化问题会增加。对于多米尼加裔美国儿童来说，与有亲生父亲居住的儿童相比，没有父亲的生活预示着外化问题会增加。讨论了对实践和未来研究的影响。