What difference can fathers make? Early paternal absence compromises Peruvian children's growth
Abstract Considerable evidence suggests that fathers' absence from home has a negative short‐ and long‐term impact on children's health, psychosocial development, cognition and educational experience. We assessed the impact of father presence during infancy and childhood on children's...
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| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Maternal and Child Nutrition |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00347.x |
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| author | Kirk Dearden Benjamin Crookston Hala Madanat Joshua West Mary Penny Santiago Cueto |
| author_facet | Kirk Dearden Benjamin Crookston Hala Madanat Joshua West Mary Penny Santiago Cueto |
| author_sort | Kirk Dearden |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Considerable evidence suggests that fathers' absence from home has a negative short‐ and long‐term impact on children's health, psychosocial development, cognition and educational experience. We assessed the impact of father presence during infancy and childhood on children's height‐for‐age z‐score (HAZ) at 5 years old. We conducted secondary data analysis from a 15‐year cohort study (Young Lives) focusing on one of four Young Lives countries (Peru, n = 1821). When compared with children who saw their fathers on a daily or weekly basis during infancy and childhood, children who did not see their fathers regularly at either period had significantly lower HAZ scores (−0.23, P = 0.0094) after adjusting for maternal age, wealth and other contextual factors. Results also suggest that children who saw their fathers during childhood (but not infancy) had better HAZ scores than children who saw their fathers in infancy and childhood (0.23 z‐score, P = 0.0388). Findings from analyses of resilient children (those who did not see their fathers at either round but whose HAZ > −2) show that a child's chances of not being stunted in spite of paternal absence at 1 and 5 years old were considerably greater if he or she lived in an urban area [odds ratio (OR) = 9.3], was from the wealthiest quintile (OR = 8.7) and lived in a food secure environment (OR = 3.8). Interventions designed to reduce malnutrition must be based on a fuller understanding of how paternal absence puts children at risk of growth failure. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1e0459f34d5a40aaaf0cd165668995ae |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1740-8695 1740-8709 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Maternal and Child Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj-art-1e0459f34d5a40aaaf0cd165668995ae2025-08-20T02:52:34ZengWileyMaternal and Child Nutrition1740-86951740-87092013-01-019114315410.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00347.xWhat difference can fathers make? Early paternal absence compromises Peruvian children's growthKirk Dearden0Benjamin Crookston1Hala Madanat2Joshua West3Mary Penny4Santiago Cueto5Department of International Health and Center for Global Health and Development, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USADepartment of Health Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USAGraduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USADepartment of Health Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USAInstituto de Investigación Nutricional, Lima, PeruGrupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo, Lima, PeruAbstract Considerable evidence suggests that fathers' absence from home has a negative short‐ and long‐term impact on children's health, psychosocial development, cognition and educational experience. We assessed the impact of father presence during infancy and childhood on children's height‐for‐age z‐score (HAZ) at 5 years old. We conducted secondary data analysis from a 15‐year cohort study (Young Lives) focusing on one of four Young Lives countries (Peru, n = 1821). When compared with children who saw their fathers on a daily or weekly basis during infancy and childhood, children who did not see their fathers regularly at either period had significantly lower HAZ scores (−0.23, P = 0.0094) after adjusting for maternal age, wealth and other contextual factors. Results also suggest that children who saw their fathers during childhood (but not infancy) had better HAZ scores than children who saw their fathers in infancy and childhood (0.23 z‐score, P = 0.0388). Findings from analyses of resilient children (those who did not see their fathers at either round but whose HAZ > −2) show that a child's chances of not being stunted in spite of paternal absence at 1 and 5 years old were considerably greater if he or she lived in an urban area [odds ratio (OR) = 9.3], was from the wealthiest quintile (OR = 8.7) and lived in a food secure environment (OR = 3.8). Interventions designed to reduce malnutrition must be based on a fuller understanding of how paternal absence puts children at risk of growth failure.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00347.xfather–child relationsfatherhoodhealth and illnesssingle‐parent families |
| spellingShingle | Kirk Dearden Benjamin Crookston Hala Madanat Joshua West Mary Penny Santiago Cueto What difference can fathers make? Early paternal absence compromises Peruvian children's growth Maternal and Child Nutrition father–child relations fatherhood health and illness single‐parent families |
| title | What difference can fathers make? Early paternal absence compromises Peruvian children's growth |
| title_full | What difference can fathers make? Early paternal absence compromises Peruvian children's growth |
| title_fullStr | What difference can fathers make? Early paternal absence compromises Peruvian children's growth |
| title_full_unstemmed | What difference can fathers make? Early paternal absence compromises Peruvian children's growth |
| title_short | What difference can fathers make? Early paternal absence compromises Peruvian children's growth |
| title_sort | what difference can fathers make early paternal absence compromises peruvian children s growth |
| topic | father–child relations fatherhood health and illness single‐parent families |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00347.x |
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