Findings from a national telephone survey of 701 American men selected to be representative of American fathers age 18 and older with at least one biological or adopted child (not a stepchild) under the age of 18.

INTRODUCTION
One of the more important developments in American society in recent years has been the growth of awareness of the importance of responsible fatherhood to the well-being and proper development of children and to the health of the society as a whole.

It would be an exaggeration to claim that a consensus has emerged on this issue–there remains a few “family diversity” advocates who deny the importance of fathers and what they do for children. But those who deny the importance of fatherhood seem to be increasingly irrelevant in the public discourse.

Important unanswered questions remain, however, about the bases of responsible fatherhood and how those who would promote it can best attain that goal. The telephone survey that yielded the findings reported here was conducted to help answer those questions.

We, the authors of this report, designed the survey in collaboration with advisors at National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), the organization at the forefront of efforts to promote responsible fatherhood, in order to provide information useful to NFI, its partners, and the many individuals and organizations that serve fathers and families.

Our primary purpose in conducting the survey was to gauge the fathering-related attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of fathers age 18 and older in the United States in a sample as representative of that population as can be attained for a telephone survey. Many of the questions pertain to how the respondents viewed fatherhood in general, but many others relate to the respondents’ relationship to one of their children under age 18.

Every father in the sample had at least one child (not a stepchild) under age 18, and if the respondent had only one child in that age range, that child was designated the “focal child,” about which many questions were asked. If the respondent had more than one child under age 18, the focal child was the one with the most recent birthday.

More specifically, our purpose was to provide insight into why some fathers perform their fatherhood role more effectively than others, to assess what the fathers perceived to be major obstacles to good fathering, and to provide promoters of responsible fatherhood with information about how they can more effectively accomplish their task.

Visit Pop's Culture: A National Survey of Dads' Attitudes on Fathering Download Page

“Ninety-nine percent of the fathers agreed that being a father was a very important part of who they are...”

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary 2
Introduction 4
A Profile Of The Survey Respondents
The Respondents’ Attitudes
About Fatherhood and Themselves as Fathers 6
The Replacability of Fathers
How Marriage Affects Fathering
Attitudinal Support for Government Help to Fathers
Belief in a Father-Absence Crisis
Other Attitudes and Perceptions
Respondents’ Perceptions Of
Obstacles To Good Fathering 16
The Respondents’ Performance As Fathers 20
Sources To Aid Fathering 24
Conclusions 26
Endnotes 28
Technical Appendix 29

Visit National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) Website

National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) was founded in 1994 to stimulate a society-wide movement to confront the growing problem of father absence. NFI’s mission is to improve the well-being of children by increasing the proportion of children growing up with involved, responsible, and committed fathers in their lives.

A non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization, NFI pursues its mission through a three-E strategy of educating, equipping, and engaging all sectors of society on the issue of responsible fatherhood.

NFI educates and inspires all people, especially fathers, through public awareness campaigns, research, and other resources, publications, and media appearances centered on highlighting the unique and irreplaceable role fathers play in the lives of children. NFI’s national public service advertising campaign promoting fatherhood has generated television, radio, print, Internet, and outdoor advertising valued at over $460 million at the time this study was published.

NFI equips fathers and develops leaders of national, state, and community fatherhood programs and initiatives through curricula, training, and technical assistance. Through its National Fatherhood Clearinghouse and Resource Center, NFI offers a wide range of innovative resources to assist fathers and organizations interested in reaching and supporting fathers.

NFI engages all sectors of society through strategic alliances and partnerships to create unique and effective ways to reach all fathers at their points of need. NFI seeks partnerships through the three pillars of culture—business, faith, and government—to create culture change around the issue of fatherhood.

For more information on the contents of this report, or for general information about NFI, call 301-948-0599 or visit www.fatherhood.org.

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