Fatherhood reconsidered: a critical review.

The purpose of this critical review is to examine the three central foci around which the research on North American fatherhood has been concentrated. These foci include socialization theories relating to father's role enactment, development theories relating to the growth and development of fathers and children; and descriptions of actual paternal conduct. Since past decades have been marked by an unprecedented paradigm shift in expectations for fathers, a commentary on cultural images of fatherhood examining the empirical research on participatory and absent fathers is included. A research approach based on the social construction of gender, including avenues for future theory development, research, and social policy is proposed.