Father-figure presence and externalizing and internalizing problems in Mexican and Dominican American children

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.

KEYWORD:

• Household structure
• father figures
• Mexican American
• Dominican American
• externalizing problems
• internalizing problems

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded in part by Grant R01HD066122 from the National Institutes of Health.