CALL FOR PAPERS
A One Day Conference: May 6, 2010
Fathering Urban Youth: The Role of Fathers in Adolescent Well-Being

The Section of Family Planning and Contraceptive Research and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at The University of Chicago invite paper proposals for a one day conference on Fathering Urban Youth: The Role of Fathers in Adolescent Well-Being, which will be held at The University of Chicago on May 6, 2010. This conference will highlight research and interventions that increase our understanding of the role of low-income urban fathers in raising their adolescent children.

This conference will consider qualitative, quantitative, conceptual and theoretical paper presentations on the roles that urban fathers play in the lives of their male and female children. This conference will also highlight programs that support fathers in parenting adolescents. Featured research will place fathers and father figures in the larger context of family, neighborhood, and social and political structures in order to deepen our understanding of the relationship between adults and adolescents. Such contextually-based scholarship on fatherhood among low-income families can transcend simple comparative frameworks which can undervalue diverse family structures and processes.

This conference is critical as urban youth face health challenges in their transition to adulthood whether due to violence, low graduation rates, infections or early parenting. Through this conference, we seek to better understand the role of fathers in raising healthy urban youth. We are interested in papers related to low-income urban fathers’ involvement and: (1) adolescent health, including mental well-being; (2) sexual behaviors; (3) adolescent risk reduction; (4) barriers and challenges to effective parenting of adolescents; (5) family involvement; and (6) adolescent outcomes of early childhood involvement. For presentations on programs, we are interested in critical appraisals of how interventions are framed, implemented, and evaluated. Programs grounded in theory or evidence-based practice and rigorously evaluated are strongly preferred.

Proposals must be sent electronically to each of the following email addresses by March 23, 2010: rwebster@babies.bsd.uchicago.edu and sorzalli@babies.bsd.uchicago.edu. Proposals should not be more than two single-spaced pages and should be accompanied by a two-page CV for the Principal Investigator or Project Director who will present at the conference. For research projects, the proposal should include the following sections: study objectives, methods, findings, and conclusions. For program descriptions, the proposal narrative should include the following sections: background of organization, target populations, project description, outcomes and lessons learned. Similar to 2009’s conference, we expect longer versions of accepted papers to be published in a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal. All domestic travel and accommodation expenses for presenters will be paid by The University of Chicago.

This conference is Free & Open to the Public.