Good or bad experiences alike, most of us parent the way we were parented. That's irrespective of a parent's presence or absence. Of the 73 million children (less than 18 years) 18.4 million or 25% (1 in 4 children) live without a biological, stepdad, or adoptive father in the home where they reside. David Blankenhorn, President of the Institute for American Values, stated in 1996 that the U.S. is becoming an increasingly fatherless society. Moreover, unless we reverse the trend of fatherlessness no other set of accomplishments--not economic growth or prison construction, welfare reform, or better schools--will succeed in arresting the decline of child well-being and the spread of male violence. Research has produced insufficient and inadequate information about the importance of fathers in families. Much of the extant correlational research has focused on father absence and its association with negative outcomes for children. How do fathers contribute to the well-being of their children and what are the factors that may increase and sustain father involvement? This presentation will examine father-child involvement, beginning with the concept of cognitive conception, variables associated with increased involvement by custodial and noncustodial fathers, and discuss the significant contributions fathers create in families.
A reception will follow this presentation, which all guests are invited to!
Location: Erie Center for Arts & Technology (ECAT)—650 East Ave. Suite 120, Erie, PA 16503.
Date/Time: Thursday, June 16 @ 6 p.m.
Admission: FREE
Parking: lot at front entrance, street parking
What to bring: Proof of full vaccination (this includes booster shot) and identification. Please read our full Covid-19 policy here (updated April 1, 2022).
Parris J. Baker, PhD., MSSA, Associate Professor and Director, Social Work, Mortuary Science, and Gerontology Programs, Department of Criminal Justice & Social Work, Gannon University. He received his undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees in social work from Gannon University, Case Western Reserve University, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and the University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work, respectively. In 2011, Dr. Baker became the first African American tenured professor at Gannon University. He most recently became a Jefferson Education Society Scholar-In-Residence and Harry T. Burleigh and Beyond Fellow.