Abstract
This essay introduces an issue of Research in Human Development devoted to understanding “The Consequences of Fatherhood for Men's Lives,” highlighting its often counterintuitive findings and explanations. The opening field-building article (by Richard A. Settersten, Jr. and Doris Cancel-Tirado) is followed by three empirical articles built around the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and its offshoots. These articles explore the consequences of fatherhood for relationships with partners and parents (by Jaslean J. La Taillade, Sandra Hofferth, and Vanessa R. Wight), employment (by Kevin Roy, Colleen K. Vesely, Megan Fitzgerald, and Nicolle Buckmiller Jones), and assets (by Jeffrey Dew and David J. Eggebeen).