This collection of empirical and theoretical articles presents new theoretical models and the results of current research on the role of fathers in families. The articles cover differences in culture, class, nationality and custodial status and focus on legal, economic and policy questions.

Shifting marriage and divorce patterns, transformation in the workplace, the growth of the women′s movement and the development of the men′s movement, all these social and cultural changes have changed fathers′ traditional family roles and forced a reexamination of how fathers and children interact. Progress in this new understanding of fathers is highlighted in Fatherhood, a volume of empirical and theoretical research on fathers in families. The research pieces, written by such well-known scholars as Furstenberg, Seltzer, and Greif, examine differences in culture, class, nationality, and custodial status. The chapters focus on legal, economic, and policy questions, as well as on the interaction between fathers and children within the family. Some of the topics explored are fathers′ involvement in child care, fathering in the inner city, and single fathers who have custody of their children. Fatherhood is the most current assessment of our research base on fatherhood available for professional, scholarly, and classroom use and is important reading for those interested in men′s studies, family studies, gender studies, sociology, psychology, and social work.

Foreword - Michael S Kimmel
PART ONE: OVERVIEW OF FATHERHOOD SCHOLARSHIP, THEORY, AND SOCIAL POLICY
Fatherhood Scholarship - William Marsiglio
An Overview and Agenda for the Future
Reshaping Fatherhood - Kerry J Daly
Finding the Models
Rethinking Fathers′ Involvement in Child Care - Alan J Hawkins et al
A Developmental Perspective
Developing a Middle-Range Theory of Father Involvement Postdivorce - Marilyn Ihinger-Tallman, Kay Pasley and Cheryl Buehler
Fathers′ Diverse Life Course Patterns and Roles - William Marsiglio
Theory and Social Interventions
PART TWO: FATHERHOOD RESEARCH AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE
Paternal Involvement and Perception toward Fathers′ Roles - Masako Ishii-Kuntz
A Comparison between Japan and the United States
Fathering in the Inner-City - Frank F Furstenberg Jr
Paternal Participation and Public Policy
Fathering Behavior and Child Outcomes - Jane Mosley and Elizabeth Thomson
The Role of Race and Poverty
What Fathers Say about Involvement with Children after Separation - Judith A Seltzer and Yvonne Brandreth
Single Fathers with Custody - Geoffrey L Greif and Alfred DeMaris
Do They Change over Time?
Stepfathers with Minor Children Living at Home - William Marsiglio
Parenting Perceptions and Relationship Quality
The Fathers′ Rights Movement - Carl Bertoia and Janice Drakich
Contradictions in Rhetoric and Practice
The Future of Fatherhood - Scott Coltrane
Social, Demographic and Economic Influences on Men′s Family Involvements