TY - JOUR
PY - 2016//
TI - Who are the men caring for maltreated youth? Male primary caregivers in the child welfare system
JO - Child maltreatment
A1 - Ayer, Lynsay
A1 - Woldetsadik, Mahlet A.
A1 - Malsberger, Rosalie
A1 - Burgette, Lane F.
A1 - Kohl, Patricia L.
SP - 278
EP - 287
VL - 21
IS - 4
N2 - The goal of this study is to better understand the characteristics of men who act as primary caregivers of maltreated children. We examined differences between male primary caregivers (fathers) for youth involved in the child welfare system and female primary caregivers (mothers). We conducted secondary data analyses of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being-II baseline data. Overall, primary caregiving fathers and mothers were more similar than different, though a few differences were revealed. Compared to mothers, fathers tended to be older and were more likely to be employed, with a higher household income and older children. Fathers and mothers did not differ in terms of depression or parenting behavior, but there was evidence that mothers have more problems with drug use compared to fathers. Compared to fathers, mothers reported higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems in their children. Children with male primary caregivers were more likely to have experienced physical abuse but less likely to have experienced emotional abuse or witnessed domestic violence than children with female primary caregivers. These findings may help to inform researchers, practitioners, and policy makers on how to address the needs of male caregivers and their children.
© The Author(s) 2016.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1077-5595 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077559516664985 ID - ref1 ER -