Pregnancy Intention and Father Involvement in Guatemala

INTRODUCTIONIt is well documented that fathers' absence or involvement can greatly impact the health and social well-being of their children (McLanahan and Carolson, 2002; Duncan and BrooksGunn, 1997; Lamb, 1997). Moreover, in recent years, greater expectations have been placed on fathers to be involved in the lives of their children, especially in cases of separation or divorce. A study conducted in the U.S. by the Urban Institute found that $1000 in child support each year was positively associated with higher grades, fewer school problems, and overall child well-being (McLanahan and Sandefur, 1994). Father involvement has also been associated with less-frequent child and adolescent behavioral problems, including delinquency, substance abuse, anxiety and depression (Amato and Rivera, 1999; Floyd and Morman, 2000). The strength of this association varies greatly, in terms of both size and significance, based upon the quality and quantity of father involvement (Lamb, 1997; Simons et al., 1994).Given the importance of father involvement, it is useful to examine the factors that contribute to greater father involvement. We hypothesize that pregnancy intention influences father involvement. As conventionally defined, an intended pregnancy is a pregnancy that is reported by the mother or father to have happened at the desired time or later than desired. In contrast, an unintended pregnancy is one that is either unwanted (occurred when no (more) children are desired) or mistimed (occurred earlier than desired) (Santelli et al., 2003). Early unintended childbearing is often associated with a lack of father involvement. For example, researchers in Chile found that by age 6, approximately 40% of children born to unmarried adolescent couples are unacknowledged and abandoned by their fathers (UNFPA, 2005).Father involvement is also associated with family formation. Recent shifts in family formation have led to single-mother families being more common today than ever before. Self-reported data from Guatemala indicates that 22% of households in urban areas are headed by women and in rural areas, 16% of households are headed by women (Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, 2003). Changes in household formation in Latin America, including later marriages and greater incidence of informal consensual unions, contribute to increasing rates of female household headship. With increased migration especially of men from Central America to the United States, there has been a rise in father-absent households in the region (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2002). Moreover, the role of men as husbands and fathers has also undergone changes as Latin America has experienced economic, social, and political shifts, including a growing feminist movement, civil wars, inflation, migration, and globalization (Vigoya, 2001). Where men solely were the patriarchs and heads of households, women are now sharing these responsibilities and are taking control over their reproductive health decisions, education, and participation in the labor market (World Bank, 2005).While prior research has demonstrated that type of union is associated with father's involvement, this association is an ex post facto argument and does not address whether a man wants to be involved in the life of his child(ren). The intentionality of the pregnancy, a measure of involvement prior to the birth of a child or in some cases the establishment of formal unions, may in fact better predict the degree of father involvement. If a man is interested in the pregnancy and accepting of his role as a father, the type of union may matter less to his continuing support for the child. From the onset of a pregnancy, the attitudes and behaviors of the father can affect child health and developmental outcomes. For example, a study in rural Guatemala shows that father involvement in a pregnancy is associated with a healthy birth simply because the father is the primary decision-maker who can facilitate access to care (Carter, 2002). …