The Relationship Between Observed Paternal Attitudes, Behavior, and Self-Esteem of Black Pre-School Children / John L. McAdoo.

This study examines the relationship between observed behaviors and attitudes of black fathers and the association of these paternal measures with the self-identity of their preschool children. Twenty-one working and middle class suburban black families were studied. Four black male interviewers were trained to collect the parent-child interaction in two interviews. Verbal and nonverbal interactions between the father and child were recorded. Results indicated that the fathers of this study exhibited a warm nurturant attitude in their verbal interactions with their children. The fathers of boys were more nurturant than the fathers of girls. There were very few restrictive kinds of father-child interaction. Fathers interacted verbally more with their sons and more nonverbally with their daughters. The children in this sample had high self concept scores. The fathers' attitudes toward child-rearing practices seemed to fall into the moderately strict categories. These findings contradict the stereotype of black fathers as well as the findings of a number of past studies. (Author/MS)

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