Persistence is learned from fathers, study shows

When the going gets tough, the tough ought to thank their fathers.

New research from Brigham Young University shows that dads are in a unique position to help their develop .

BYU professors Laura Padilla-Walker and Randal Day arrived at these findings after following 325 families over several years. And over time, the persistence gained through lead to higher engagement in school and lower rates of delinquency.

"In our research we ask 'Can your child stick with a task? Can they finish a project? Can they make a goal and complete it?'" Day said. "Learning to stick with it sets a foundation for kids to flourish and to cope with the and pressures of life."

The scholars from BYU's School of Family Life report their findings June 15 in the Journal of Early Adolescence.

"There are relatively few studies that highlight the unique role of fathers," Padilla-Walker said. "This research also helps to establish that traits such as persistence – which can be taught – are key to a child's life success."

The key is for dads to practice what's called "authoritative" parenting – not to be confused with authoritarian. Here are the three basic ingredients:

  • Children feel warmth and love from their father
  • Accountability and the reasons behind rules are emphasized
  • Children are granted an appropriate level of autonomy
About 52 percent of the dads in the study exhibited above-average levels of authoritative parenting. Over time, their kids were significantly more likely to develop persistence, which lead to better outcomes in school and lower levels of .

This particular study examined 11-14 year olds residing in two-parent homes. Yet the study authors suggest that single parents still may play a role in teaching the benefits of persistence, which is an avenue of future research.

"Fathers should continue to try and be involved in their children's lives and engage in high quality interactions, even if the quantity of those interactions might be lower than is desirable," Padilla-Walker said.

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freethinking
5 / 5 (1) Jun 15, 2012
What fathers are important. Who would have thought. Progressives have for so many years been trying to tear down traditional families - 1 mother 1 father - only to find that traditional families are best for children.

Any policy that does not promote traditional families is basically child abuse.
DarkHorse66
not rated yet Jun 19, 2012
My circumstances were pretty much the opposite to what is being described here. I had an absent father. I learnt persistence from my mother. However, she was anything but authoritative. She was authoritarian and didn't really display the above parenting attributes. (ie often 'cold'parenting style,'do as you're told (or 'cos I said so')and an overfondness for controlling behaviour, usually on me. Instead, I learnt it by observing how she displayed and applied persistence when faced with certain situations. I saw that it was a useful trait and chose to emulate her, in that sense at least. I wouldn't have minded having my father around, but that wasn't an option. Sometimes though, we can follow a different path to get there, by making conscious choices, even as young children. Regards, DH66

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