From the editor

Fathering, June, 2003 by Jay Fagan

The mission of Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers is to publish high quality papers on fathers from a variety of disciplines. The second issue of Fathering contains four very different papers. David Jensen's paper, "Playful Fathering: The Burden and Promise of Horace Bushnell's Christian Nurture," is an example of the journal's interdisciplinary commitment. Dr. Jensen provides a critical analysis of a classic text that has had a profound influence on American religious thought and practice. As the author states, scholars have written extensively about Bushnell's understanding of children, families, and motherhood, but no scholars have addressed his conception of fatherhood.

Beaton, Doherty, and Rueter address an important and understudied aspect of fathering--the relationship between expectant fathers' family of origin experiences and their current attitudes about father involvement. They extend the work of previous researchers by examining fathers' experiences of closeness with their own fathers and mothers, perceptions of their father's parenting competence, and perceptions of their parents' marital relationships. The authors' findings suggest a complex pattern of relationships between intergenerational variables and current attitudes about fathering.

Maurer, Pleck, and Rane's paper addresses methodological issues in measuring paternal identity. As the authors state, most studies examine paternal involvement or behavior. Although research on paternal identity has increased in the recent past, few studies have focused on measurement considerations of this construct. The authors compare the efficacy of a scale measure versus a pie-chart instrument, and they examine domain as well as role-level measures of paternal identity.

The fourth paper is Edythe Krampe's "The Inner Father." Dr. Krampe writes about a much understudied topic in the field of fathering--the process of internalizing one's experience with father as well as the image of father from the broader social environment. According to the author, the inner father comprises three components, the sense of father, the personal father, and the father image. The insights gained from this paper are sure to have an impact on clinicians working with fathers and families and researchers of fatherhood.

On behalf of the editorial board, I hope that Fathering is meeting your expectations for a high level of scholarship and research. We are always in need of quality manuscripts and research papers. Please pass the word on to colleagues and peers about the journal as a possible venue for publishing articles on fathers.

Correspondence concerning this editorial or any editorial business should be addressed to Jay Fagan, Editor, Temple University, School of Social Administration, Ritter Hall Annex, 5th Floor, 13th Street and C.B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19122. Electronic mail: JayFagan@mensstudies.com.