Absent Fathers as Providers: Race/Ethnic Differences in Support for Adolescent Mothers

Parenting by an adolescent mother is more effective when she has strong social and emotional support from her family and the child’s father (Elster, McAnarney, & Lamb, 1983 ; Lamb, 1981 ; Parke, Power, & Fisher, 1980; Seymore, Frothingham, MacMillan, & DuRant, 1990; Unger & Cooley, 1992 ). In fact, partner support is associated with higher maternal self-esteem (Unger & Wandersman, 1988 ) and inversely correlated with depressive symptomatology (Turner, Grindstaff, & Phillips, 1990 ). In addition, paternal participation may directly influence a mother’s ability to parent through shared care taking responsibilities and the provision of financial support, and may indirectly influence it through decreased maternal stress and improved maternal satisfaction (Elster et al., 1983 ; Lamb, 1981 ; Parke et al., 1980 ; Rivara, Elster, & Panzarine, 1981 ). However, fewer than half of adolescent mothers receive any type of financial support from their babies’ fathers (Roye & Balk, 1996 ).