The Center for Family Involvement
Dept. of Human Development
College of Education

The CFI is a diverse group of researchers interested in family relationships and the roles that ethnicity/culture, policy, individual characteristics, and other factors play in creating dynamic family groups.

Previous Research Projects and findings have included:

Child Development and Fathers

A study involving a diverse group of children enrolled in Early Head Start programs found that a father's education and income level had a direct impact on how well their children did in the program. The father's education level even helped to predict how well moms and their children got along. The study also looked at how a toddler's language and knowledge development improved while interacting with their father, and separately, with their mother.

Inner City Dads and Their Children

This study looked at the positive impact inner-city dads can have on their children. Fathers who responded to their 24 month-old children, and use what is called "quality language" were nearly 5 times more likely to have children able to test at the same "normal" level as other children.

Dads Who Love Their Child's Mom

Low income fathers who are romantically involved with their child's mother are more likely to see their children, interact with them, and take responsibility for them. This study also showed that dads who don't live with their children still made an effort to remain at least moderately involved in the children's lives. Another finding showed that minority non-resident fathers were more likely to be financially responsible for, and were willing to take care of their young children than White, poor, non-resident fathers.

Fathering from the Dad's Point of View

This on-going study is part of a research project involving parents with children under 3-years-old who are in an Early Head Start program. The goal is to understand the fathering experience from fathers who are part of low-income, at-risk families. The study is looking at how these fathers can positively impact the development of their young children despite their circumstances. Mothers are part of the mix as well, so that comparisons can be drawn between the two parents. The research includes a visit to a family's home to interview the parents, and observe them playing with their children at two different times. The research team hopes to better understand the process of what it takes to be a father in a low-income family. The result will be to develop programs and intervention strategies to help these fathers stay with their families and more importantly, be engaged in the raising of their children.

Teen Fathers

Just how involved are teen dads in the raising of their children? This study centered on teens with children enrolled in Early Head Start. It turns out that most low-income, adolescent fathers were very involved leading up to the birth of their child. Afterwards, they saw their new child on an average of once every two weeks. Importantly, teen fathers who had higher levels of prenatal involvement had a higher level of involvement for up to two years after their child was born.

For more information about CFI:
Contact Prof. Natasha Cabrera at (301)-405-2827

The National Fatherhood Forum
Current Fatherhood Research at Maryland
Maryland's Experts on Fathers and Fatherhood