Associations between Paternal Co-residence and Child Health among African American Children.
Veronica Barcelona, Ambre Flowers, Billy A Caceres and 2 others
PMID 35897162WHAT IT FOUND
Living with their father was not associated with better asthma, obesity, or blood pressure outcomes in 250 African American preschoolers.
The study was underpowered to detect small effects, so clinicians should not assume co-residence alone guarantees physical health benefits.
Key findings
01Paternal co-residence was not significantly associated with child asthma, obesity, systolic blood pressure, or diastolic blood pressure after adjusting for confounders.
02The study had a small sample size, making it difficult to detect small effects that are likely present in young children.
03Paternal data were limited because they were based on maternal self-report in a study designed for mothers and children.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample size of 250 was small, which reduced the power to detect small effects. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot establish cause and effect or temporal relationships. Paternal information, including co-residence status, was based entirely on maternal self-report. The study used co-residence as a proxy for paternal involvement, ignoring non-resident fathers who may still be highly involved. Data on environmental factors and paternal incarceration were limited or not analyzed.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the non-significant results as proof that father involvement has no health benefit. The study was underpowered and used a crude measure of involvement (co-residence), so it likely missed subtle effects or the impact of involved non-resident fathers.