News Category: family wellbeing

Family court cases, including divorce and custody issues, account for approximately one-half of all civil cases in Texas. Research has repeatedly demonstrated the negative effects of divorce on children, yet little is known about how the family court system minimizes or exacerbates child trauma from divorce.

The state of Texas recognizes the important role that fathers play in the lives of their children and families. Involved fatherhood is linked to better outcomes on nearly every measure of child wellbeing from cognitive and emotional development and academic success, to reduced delinquency, and improved mental health. In addition to fathers’ direct involvement with their children, fathers’ provision of financial resources, either formally or informally, reduces material hardship for families and mitigates the negative impacts of poverty on child wellbeing and outcomes. 

Our expectations of fathers have changed over time, for the better. Though the father’s role in child-rearing has traditionally been understood solely in terms of financial support, research now shows that fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives is critical to healthy child development. The Child and Family Research Partnership (CFRP) aims to better understand the role that fathers play in shaping their child’s health and wellbeing through rigorous research focused on fathers.

The U.S. is a can-do nation. So why has child wellbeing in the U.S. fallen to 26th out of 29 nations? How does what Paul Kershaw calls the “growing squeeze” on parents and caregivers for time, money, and resources alter the architecture of the developing brain of our infants? What are the potential consequences for individual learning, earning, and mental and physical health? For the future health, prosperity, and equity of the nation? And how might we do better?