First published in 1987. After many years of neglect, research on fathers is proliferating. Rapid changes are now taking place; new aspects of fathers' behavior are being examined; new issues are being raised; and new methods are being devised. In the spring of 1984, a 2-day conference was organized by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to explore theoretical and methodological questions concerning men's development of parental attitudes, behaviors, and roles from their children's prenatal period through early infancy. Most of the researchers who participated in the conference are still working with longitudinal projects that continue to trace the development of fathers throughout their children's early years. This book presents the work of eight of these investigators.

Chapter 1 Introduction: A Perspective on Research Concerning Fatherhood, Frank A. Pedersen; Chapter 2 Predicting Strain in Mothers and Fathers of 6-Month-Old Infants, S. Shirley Feldman; Chapter 3 Mothering, Fathering, and Marital Interaction in the Family Triad During Infancy, Jay Belsky, Brenda L. Volling; Chapter 4 Father-Infant Interaction Among Men Who Had Contrasting Affective Responses During Early Infancy, Frank A. Pedersen, Martha J. Zaslow, Richard L. Cain, Joan T. D. Suwalsky, Beth Rabinovich; Chapter 5 Separate and Together, Frances Kaplan Grossman; Chapter 6 Interrelationships Within the Mother-Father-Infant Triad, Jane R. Dickie; Chapter 7 Men's Involvement in Parenthood, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Philip A. Cowan; Chapter 8 1Portions of this chapter have appeared previously as The Father's Role with Preterm and Fullterm Infants by ., Michael W. YogmanM.D; Chapter 9 Fathers and Their At-Risk Infants, Ross D. Parke, Edward R. Anderson; Chapter 10 Research on Men's Transitions to Parenthood, Phyllis W. Berman, Frank A. Pedersen;