A father's influence makes for better grades

Counselors and educators should involve fathers from low-income settings more in their children's education

                                                   

The warmth of a father's love has a special influence on young people, and makes them feel optimistic and determined to strive for greater things. It also boosts the math grades of teenage girls and the language ability of boys, says Dr. Marie-Anne Suizzo of the University of Texas in the US, in an article in Springer's journal Sex Roles.

Adolescents from low-income families in particular are more likely than their middle-class peers to underachieve and to drop out of school. Studies have shown, however, that a positive attitude towards school work and the support and encouragement from their parents can help at-risk youngsters to overcome the economic barriers and lack of resources they face. Most of the evidence about the effects of parental involvement comes from research on mothers. Little is known, however, about how adolescents experience their fathers' warmth and the beliefs and behaviors that are most affected by it.

This new study is part of a larger one focusing on low-income, ethnic minority families conducted in four middle schools in the southwestern United States. Data were analyzed from questionnaires completed by 183 sixth-graders about how optimistic and motivated they were about their schoolwork, and how they experienced their fathers. The questionnaires were completed primarily by respondents of Mexican American, African American and European American descent. Their maths and language arts grades were also obtained. They were analyzed together with the questionnaire data. The research team took into account the influence that mothers have on their children's well-being in their analyses.

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