African-American fathering of young children in violent neighborhoods: paternal protective strategies and their predictors

Fathering, Oct, 2003 by Bethany L. Letiecq, Sally A. Koblinsky

Using an ecological framework, this study investigated African-American fathers' use of five protective strategies to keep their preschool children safe from community violence. Father, child, and contextual predictors of fathers' protective strategies were also examined. In-depth interviews with 61 African-American Head Start fathers and father figures revealed that participants were most likely to adopt the strategy of monitoring and teaching personal safety, followed by teaching neighborhood survival tactics, reducing exposure to violent media, engaging in community activism, and instructing children to fight back. Overall, parenting practices, social support, and psychological functioning were the best predictors of these strategies, with one exception. Child's gender was the best predictor of the strategy "reduce exposure to violent media," with fathers of sons more likely to limit such exposure. Implications of these findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Key Words: African-American fathers, community violence, preschool children

**********

Community violence is a national epidemic that is exposing growing numbers of families to crime, drug activity, and homicide (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). Parenting in violent neighborhoods is an especially challenging task as parents cannot rely on many of the child rearing practices used in safer contexts. Allowing children to play on the playground or in their yard, walking children to school, or encouraging children to explore their environment may be dangerous and place children at risk of harm. The constant threat of community violence forces many parents to find alternative parenting strategies that will ensure their children's safety at all times.

Over the past decade, researchers have begun to investigate the strategies mothers and female caregivers use to protect their preschool and school-age children from violence exposure (Garbarino, Kostelny, & Dubrow, 1991; Hill, Hawkins, Raposo, & Cart, 1995; Holland, Koblinsky, & Anderson, 1995; Jarrett, Jefferson, & Roach, 2000; Mohr, Fantuzzo, & Abdul-Kabir, 2001; Randolph, Koblinsky, & Roberts, 1996). These studies reveal several common behavioral coping strategies used by mothers, including keeping children physically close, providing constant supervision/chaperonage, teaching practical household safety skills (e.g., not sitting by windows), and restricting neighborhood activities (e.g., the use of community playgrounds). Some mothers also report the use of spiritual or cognitive strategies (e.g., prayer and positive thinking) and community-based strategies (e.g., reliance on informal neighborhood leaders and local institutions) to keep their children safe.

Most of the research on maternal strategies to protect children living in violent neighborhoods is qualitative in nature and focuses on low-income African-American families (e.g., Hill et al., 1995; Jarrett et al., 2000; Randolph, Koblinsky, & Roberts, 1998). African-American families are 10 times more likely than European-American families to live in neighborhoods where at least 30 percent of residents are poor (Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, & Klebanov, 1994) and where there are high levels of joblessness (Chase-Lansdale & Gordon, 1996). African-American families are also disproportionately represented in neighborhoods characterized by high violence, crime, and drug activity (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997).

Father absence appears widespread among low-income African-American families, as many fathers have never married or lived in the same household as their child's mother (Ventura & Bachrach, 2000). However, recent evidence from the Fragile Families study has begun to challenge the "absent father myth," suggesting that--at least early on--many unwed fathers are involved in their children's lives regardless of their residential status (Carlson & McLanahan, 2002). In another study of urban African-American families, approximately half of nonresidential fathers had regular contact and provided some financial support during their children's preschool years (Coley & Chase-Landsdale, 1999).

Qualitative studies of low-income African-American fathers reveal the complexities of these men's roles in family life (Anderson, Kohler, & Letiecq, 2002; Hamer, 1998; Jarrett, Roy, & Burton, 2002), suggesting that definitions of fatherhood comprise both economic and relational aspects (such as visiting children and spending "quality time") and that many fathers endeavor to fulfill their roles "in the face of tremendous sociocultural barriers" (Nelson, Clampet-Lundquist, & Edin, 2002, p. 552). While a majority of African-American fathers are nonresidential, approximately 40% live in the same home as their children, including 4% who are the sole parent (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Such evidence suggests that many fathers are present in young children's lives in some capacity; yet little is known about the parenting practices of these men--especially in violent neighborhoods. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate African-American fathers' use of various strategies to keep their young children safe from community violence. A second purpose was to examine the extent to which selected father, child, and contextual factors predicted the use of fathers' protective strategies.