Children benefit from supporting father's involvement

A new scientific study carried out in the US which was published on 01 Aug 09 in the Journal of Marriage and the Family found that when mothers and fathers enrolled together in 16-week sessions to work on their relationships as parents and partners, their children were much less likely to show signs of depression, anxiety and hyperactivity. New Study Measures Benefits of More Involved Fathers http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-31-2009/0005069573&EDATE= Children face greater risk when agencies focus only on moms, overlook dads

SAN FRANCISCO, July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Family service agencies are missing huge opportunities to help children by focusing only on mothers and ignoring fathers, according to a groundbreaking study by some of the nation's top family and child development researchers. The article quotes one of the study co-authors as follows: "The vast majority of family services -- from parenting classes to home visits -- are really aimed at mothers, while fathers are almost completely overlooked," explained Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and a co-author of the study. "The research is clear that the best way to create a healthy environment for children is to engage dads and moms together." An executive summary of the research can be accessed via http://www.supportingfatherinvolvement.org/and The full research paper can be accessed via: http://www.supportingfatherinvolvement.org/jmf-2009-article.pdf