Fatherhood and carework:
New CDC survey tracks men's fertility and parenting activity

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a comprehensive report on fertility, contraception, and fatherhood indicators among U.S. men. The current data is from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. While the NSFG has studied women's reproductive experiences since 1973, this is the first time the large-scale, nationwide survey includes men age 15 to 44. The survey found that as with women, men's reproductive experiences vary significantly by characteristics such as education, income and race.

The 246 page report is chock full of information (for example, 60 percent of U.S. men say there is a "50-50" to "almost certain" chance that they would feel less pleasure if they use a condom the next time they have sex), but one of the most interesting sections tracks men's parenting behavior and attitudes about gender, work and family. Since this is the first comprehensive health survey on U.S. men's reproductive behavior, it's impossible to speculate on developing trends. No matter -- data geeks and info addicts will find plenty of juicy data on dads in this report.

Number of fathers in U.S.:
In 2002, there were 61 million men between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States. Among these, 30 million (49 percent) had children younger than nineteen. 22 million (37 percent) lived with their children, 4 million (7 percent) did not live with their children, and 3 million (6 percent) live with some of their children but not with others.

Intention to have children:
Of both men and women who had no children at the time of the survey, 77 percent planned to have at least one child. Of men and women who already had children, men were slightly more likely than women to intend to have another child. College-educated men expected to have fewer children than those with less education.

Wanted and unwanted conception:
Based on reporting from fathers, 65 percent of births in the 5 years prior to the survey were wanted at the time of conception. 25 percent were mistimed, and 9 percent were unwanted at the time of conception. The percentage of births that men reported to be wanted at conception was higher for more highly educated men, men with higher incomes, and men who were married or cohabiting. This distribution is similar to that based on women’s report of the wantedness of their births during the same time period.

Marriage and men's fertility:
Among men who have had at least one biological child, nearly two-thirds (66 percent) were either currently or formerly married to the child’s mother when their first child was born. Among the remaining one-third whose first child was born before their first marriage, 18 percent were cohabiting with the child’s mother and 16 percent were living alone or apart from the child’s mother.

Making family a priority:
Men age 30 to 44 (80 percent) and those with four or more years of college education (83 percent) were most likely to agree with the statement "It is more important for a man to spend a lot of time with his family than to be successful at his career." (74 percent of adult women also agreed.)

Fathering aptitude:
90 percent of men with children younger than nineteen feel they do a good or very good job as a father. Men who do not live with their children were less satisfied with their parenting -- only 56 percent of non-residential fathers felt they did a "good" a "very good" job of parenting.

Non-resident fathers:
The majority of nonresident fathers have only one child who is living apart from them (60 percent), 27 percent have two children living apart from them, and 13 percent have three or more children living apart from them. 73 percent of non-residential fathers have contact with their children, but fewer than one-half are moderately to very satisfied with their visits with children. Non-resident fathers with higher earnings were more likely to have contact with their children than poor non-resident fathers (83 versus 65 percent). 76 percent of non-resident fathers provide some amount of child support on a regular basis. Of fathers who do pay child support, 59 percent contribute less than $5,000 a year.

Fathers' interaction with young children:
Of the 13.9 million men who have and live with children under five, 74 percent fed or ate meals with their child everyday, and 53 percent diapered, dressed or bathed their child daily; another 30 percent did so several times a week. 81 percent of fathers living with young children reported playing with their child every day, and 56 percent read to their child at least several times a week. For all activities, college-educated fathers were more likely to care for their children every day than those with a high school education or less.

Fathers' interaction with school-age children:
Of the 18.2 million fathers living with children aged 5 to 18, 87 percent had conversations with their children about things that happened during the day several times a week or more often, and 54 percent took their children to or from activities at least several times a week. 78 percent of dads with school-age children help with or check homework at least several times a week.

Non-resident fathers' interaction with children:
Of the 1.9 million fathers not living with their pre-school age children, 34 percent played with their children several times a week or more often, and 26 percent bathed and dressed their children at least several times a week. 27 percent of non-resident fathers with children younger than five fed or ate a meal with their kids at least once a week. Non-resident fathers were less likely to spend frequent parenting time with school age children; 9 percent helped with homework more than once a week, and 26 percent had conversations with their children about things that happened during the day several times a week or more often.

Men's attitudes about maternal employment:
The survey also found a continuing divergence in men's and women's attitudes about mothers and employment. 27 percent of U.S. men age 25 to 44, and 23 percent of those with a college degree, disagreed with the statement “A working woman can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work.” Overall, 37 percent of U.S. men, and 28 percent of those with a four-year or advanced college degree, agree that “It is much better for everyone if the man earns the main living and the woman takes care of the home and family.”

Women's attitudes about maternal employment:
By comparison, 14 percent of U.S. women age 25 to 29, and 16 percent of those age 30 to 44, believe that a mothers relationship with her children suffers when she works for pay. Mothers with a high school diploma or college education were less likely to believe that employment affects the quality of a mother's relationship with her children than those who did not complete high school (15 -16 percent versus 24 percent). Overall, 33 percent of U.S. women, and 26 percent of those with four-year or advanced college degree, agree that “It is much better for everyone if the man earns the main living and the woman takes care of the home and family.”

The rewards of parenting:
95 percent of U.S. women, and 94 percent of U.S. men, agree that "The rewards of being a parent are worth it, despite the cost and the work it takes." Parents were somewhat more likely than non-parents to agree that the work of raising children is worth it (97 versus 91 percent).

CDC National Center for Health Statistics
www.cdc.gov/nchs/

Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood:
Data on Men and Women from the National Survey of Family Growth
Press release with highlights of report, 31.may.06

Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood:
Data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth
CDC Series Report 23, Number 26, May 2006
Full report, 246 pages in .pdf

Fertility, Family Planning, and Reproductive Health of U.S. Women:
Data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth
CDC Series Report 23, Number 25
Full report, 174 pages in .pdf