INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

THE GROUP'S OPINION
Nowadays, adolescent fathers are very rampant. In our time, many boys are becoming fathers at a very young age because of many reasons such as lack of education, exposure to sex education, and even the kind of environment they’re exposed to. This subject matter is becoming one of the biggest issues in all of the teenage boys. No teenage boy wants to become a father at their very young age. But why is that this matter still occurs? And why is this topic really important to embark upon?

Usually, teenage moms are always the one who gets all the care and guidance when it comes to this situation. The main reason for this is because the women should know how to take care of their children no matter what. Women think that once they become a mom, their lives will never be the same again. But what about the adolescent father? One of the reasons why adolescent fathers are becoming rampant is because since they think that they don’t have much of the responsibilities in taking care of their child/children, they don’t take fatherhood seriously. They think that they still have the choice to either go on with their usual lifestyle even if they already have baby/babies. They don’t have proper education when it comes to their responsibilities, obligations, and specially their role as the father.

It is best to focus in this issue mainly because the rate of adolescent father is increasing over time. This also has a big effect on their children in the future even family values is slowly being forgotten by young people. Adolescent fathers needs guidance in order to orient them to the new life they’re into. This trend is unavoidable. We cannot stop this phenomenon. The only thing we can do is to give attention and guidance to all the teenage fathers.


COMPILATION OF RESEARCHES
Data from the National Center for Health Statistics suggests that about 17.4 per 1,000 males ages 15-19 years became teen fathers in 2002. Longitudinal studies suggest this number might be even higher. While the incidence of teen fatherhood is lower than that of teen motherhood, these young men are a potential resource for their child, as well as individuals with their own unmet needs. This introductory article to the topic of teen fatherhood, explores the challenges adolescent fathers experience.
Teen fathers face a developmental dilemma. They need to transition into parenthood while simultaneously going through adolescence and becoming an adult. Their fatherhood is impacted by both their ethnicity and cultural norms. Teenage fatherhood grows out of both personal and social contexts which influence young men's decisions regarding being sexually active, whether to use contraception, and pregnancy outcomes. Despite common stereotypes, there is increasing evidence that teen fathers want to be (and are) involved with their children in some ways. Teen parent programs which help young fathers with the legal aspects of fatherhood, help them become self-sufficient, teach effective parenting skills, and promote healthy lifestyles have shown to be effective.
Source:http://www.tpronline.org/articles.cfm?articleID=263

Concern about adolescent fathers has been fueled by a number of factors. First is the finding that many adolescent fathers become progressively less involved with their children over the course of time (Marsiglio, Amato, Day, & Lamb, 2000). Second, and perhaps most important, is the growing body of research showing the significant impact of fathers' involvement with their children on children's outcomes (Amato, 1998; Fagan, 2000). Fathers who stay involved with their children and who provide good quality parenting, even when those men do not reside with their children, are more likely to have children who succeed academically, have fewer behavior problems, and relate well with peers in social situations. Third is the consistent finding that women raising children without the presence of a residential father are more likely to be poor and stay poor over time (Bartfeld & Meyer, 2001).
Little is actually known about the involvement of adolescent unwed fathers (Achatz & MacAllum, 1994; Lerman & Ooms, 1993). Unwed fathers of children born to teenaged mothers are least likely to pay child support (Bumpass & McLanahan, 1989). Young couples frequently express positive intentions about father involvement with the adolescent mother and her child. Data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study reveal that 82 percent of new unwed parents are still in romantic relationships, 80 percent predict they will marry, and more than 90 percent of mothers want the father's continued involvement with the child (McLanahan, Garfinkel, Reichman, & Teitler, 2001). Despite these intentions, it appears that many adolescent fathers and teen mothers do not stay together, do not marry, and do not maintain relationships whereby the father is actively involved with his children. It is also noteworthy that researchers and policymakers have not uniformly suggested that unwed fathers should be more involved with the adolescent mother and the child. McLanahan et al. (2001) suggest that many unwed fathers are violent toward the mother or abuse drugs or alcohol, and programs should be cautious about encouraging these young fathers to be more involved with the mother and child.
The present study focuses on factors that are associated with adolescent unmarried, nonresident fathers' prenatal involvement with the teenaged mother. Few studies have examined the involvement of these young men prior to the birth of their children. Yet it is well known that fathers' positive experiences during this period of time are significant for developing bonds with their children following birth. For example, Rivara, Sweeney, and Henderson (1986) found that frequency of young father prenatal contacts was related to frequency of contacts with children nine and 18 months postpartum. Research has also shown that when adolescent fathers are included in decision-making during pregnancy and birth, they are more likely to report increased involvement with their children following birth (Elster & Lamb, 1982; Redmond, 1985). The transition to parenthood is difficult for parents under the best of circumstances. It is that much more difficult when parents are unwed, poorly educated, young, and unemployed or underemployed.
Source:http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PAV/is_3_1/ai_111268934