title: Pathways to prevention: improving nonresident African American fathers' parenting skills and behaviors to reduce sons' aggression.
abstract: This study describes a test of the Fathers and Sons Program for increasing intentions to avoid violence and reducing aggressive behaviors in 8- to 12-year-old African American boys by enhancing the parenting skills satisfaction and parenting behaviors of their nonresident fathers. The study included 158 intervention and 129 comparison group families. Structural equation model results indicated that the intervention was effective for improving fathers' parenting skills satisfaction, which was positively associated with sons' satisfaction with paternal engagement. Sons' paternal engagement satisfaction was positively associated with their intentions to avoid violence. Although aggressive behaviors were lower for comparison group sons, the intervention effectively reduced sons' aggressive behaviors indirectly by enhancing fathers' parenting behaviors. Support for family-centered youth violence prevention efforts is discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Michigan.
authors.forename: Cleopatra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Howard Caldwell
authors.forename: Cathy L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Antonakos
authors.forename: Shervin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Assari
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kruger
authors.forename: E Hill
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: De Loney
authors.forename: Rashid
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Njai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome