Fatherhood in the twenty-first century

The twentieth century has been characterized by four important social trend s that have fundamentally changed the social cultural context in which chil dren develop: women's increased labor force participation, increased absenc e of nonresidential fathers in the lives of their children, increased invol vement of fathers in intact families, and increased cultural diversity in t he U.S.. In this essay, we discuss how these trends are changing the nature of father involvement and family life, and in turn affecting children's an d fathers' developmental trajectories. WE end with an eye toward the twenty -first century by examining how the children of today will construct their expectations about the roles of fathers and mothers as they become the pare nts of tomorrow. This life-span approach to fatherhood considers the broade r sociohistorical context in which fatherhood develops, and emphasizes the urgent need to consider mothers, fathers, and family structure in future re search as we seek to understand and model the effects of parenting on child ren's development.