The Influence of Black African American Fathers’ Parenting Styles on Young Adult Children’s Attachment Styles: the Roles of Gender and Fathers’ Residence
Parenting Black African American (BAA) fathers in the United States are frequently mischaracterized as absent or uninvolved, reinforcing deficit-based narratives rooted in historical and systemic racism. Such portrayals obscure the meaningful and sustained roles many BAA fathers play in their families and fail to account for the cultural, structural, and contextual conditions that shape paternal involvement and parenting practices. Although a growing body of research has documented the importance of father involvement for child development, comparatively limited empirical attention has been given to how BAA fathers’ parenting styles influence their children’s attachment—particularly as a function of fathers’ co-residency histories. This gap in the literature underscores the need for culturally specific research that examines the nuanced dynamics of BAA father–child relationships and critically challenges dominant, Eurocentric assumptions embedded in parenting and attachment scholarship. Method This correlational study examined the associations between BAA young adults’ attachment styles and their perceptions of their fathers’ parenting styles, with particular attention to the contextual role of fathers’ living arrangements. Data were collected via SurveyMonkey from a sample of 214 BAA young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. Participants completed the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) and the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS), which served as the primary instruments for assessing perceived paternal parenting styles and attachment orientations, respectively. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to examine whether perceived paternal parenting styles and attachment dimensions differed based on fathers’ residential status (living with or away from their children) and participant gender. The analysis was intended to evaluate group-level mean differences across the dependent variables rather than to assess predictive or causal relationships among the constructs. In addition, path analysis within a structural equation modeling framework was employed to evaluate the proposed conceptual model and to examine associations among perceived parenting styles, attachment styles, and fathers’ co-residency history. Fathers’ living arrangements were examined as a contextual moderating variable, rather than as a mediating mechanism, to determine whether the strength or pattern of associations between perceived parenting and attachment differed as a function of co-residency exposure. Moderation was evaluated through group comparisons and model-based interaction testing, consistent with the study’s theoretical framework. Results The findings of this study highlight the importance of father–child co-residency as a meaningful contextual factor associated with perceived paternal parenting styles among BAA young adults. Participants who reported living with their fathers for any duration—even relatively brief periods of one to five years—demonstrated notable differences in their perceptions of paternal parenting compared to those who reported no history of co-residence. Specifically, participants with no history of co-residence (0 years) reported lower levels of perceived permissive parenting (M = 2.92, SD = 0.92) compared to those who lived with their fathers for one to five years (M = 3.34, SD = 0.79). A similar pattern emerged for authoritarian parenting, with higher mean scores reported among participants who experienced one to five years of co-residence (M = 3.60, SD = 0.80) compared to those with no co-residence (M = 3.00, SD = 1.02). Likewise, perceptions of authoritative parenting were higher among those with one to five years of co-residence (M = 3.39, SD = 0.85) relative to those with no co-residence (M = 2.80, SD = 0.94). Taken together, these findings suggest that even limited periods of father–child co-residency may meaningfully shape how young adults perceive their fathers’ parenting styles across multiple dimensions. These patterns suggest that attachment styles are associated with paternal presence, though the directionality and developmental mechanisms underlying these associations cannot be inferred from the present cross-sectional design. While these findings are conceptually consistent with attachment theory’s emphasis on relational availability and proximity (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1988), they should be interpreted as correlational rather than causal. Perceptions of paternal parenting style also varied as a function of co-residency. Authoritarian parenting was rated highest overall, and extended periods of father co-residency were associated with higher endorsements of both authoritarian and authoritative parenting dimensions. These findings suggest that sustained paternal presence may be linked to greater exposure to structure, discipline, and behavioral expectations, alongside relational involvement. Importantly, these patterns do not imply that any single parenting style is inherently adaptive or maladaptive; rather, they reflect how paternal behaviors are perceived and categorized by young adults within specific relational and cultural contexts. Regression modeling was conducted within the structural equation modeling (SEM) framework through path analysis, rather than through a separate SPSS linear regression procedure. The SEM results revealed differentiated relationships between perceived paternal parenting styles and attachment orientations. Specifically, authoritarian parenting was positively associated with both avoidant and anxious attachment dimensions, whereas permissive parenting demonstrated the strongest positive association with secure attachment. These findings align with prior scholarship suggesting that BAA parenting practices often integrate multiple dimensions of control, warmth, and protection, and that their psychological correlates cannot be fully understood using rigid or singular typologies (Edin & Nelson, 2013; Nobles, 2006). Gender was tested as a moderator within the initial structural equation model (SEM) to determine whether the relationships between perceived paternal parenting styles and attachment outcomes differed across male and female participants. Moderation was evaluated in two ways: first, through interaction terms incorporated directly into the SEM model, and second, through multigroup SEM analyses comparing structural relationships across gender groups. The findings indicated that gender did not significantly predict attachment style or perceived parenting style, nor did it significantly moderate the relationships between parenting perceptions and attachment outcomes. These results suggest that the associations between perceived paternal parenting styles and attachment dimensions were generally consistent across gender groups within this sample. This null finding suggests that, within this sample, paternal parenting perceptions and attachment orientations were reported similarly across gender groups. Rather than indicating the absence of gendered experiences, this result may reflect shared cultural frameworks of fathering within BAA families or limitations related to measurement sensitivity and sample composition. Taken together, these results emphasize the importance of examining fatherhood within culturally and structurally informed frameworks. The findings challenge deficit-based assumptions of paternal disengagement by demonstrating meaningful associations between father co-residency, perceived parenting practices, and attachment-related outcomes, while underscoring the need for cautious interpretation and future longitudinal research. Conclusion. This study challenges deficit-based narratives surrounding BAA fatherhood by demonstrating that many BAA fathers are perceived by their adult children as actively and consistently involved, regardless of residential arrangements. Findings suggest that parenting behaviors often labeled as authoritarian may be interpreted within BAA contexts as protective strategies oriented toward safety, structure, and resilience in the face of systemic inequities. Additionally, attachment patterns such as avoidant orientations may reflect adaptive responses to environmental stressors rather than indicators of relational dysfunction. Collectively, these findings underscore the importance of culturally contextualized research that attends to how parenting behaviors and attachment orientations are perceived and interpreted within historically marginalized communities. The results further highlight the limitations of applying Eurocentric parenting and attachment frameworks without consideration of cultural, historical, and structural influences. Future research would benefit from longitudinal and mixed-methods approaches that further examine children’s perceptions of paternal involvement across developmental stages and explore how dominant societal narratives shape understandings of BAA fatherhood. Such work is essential for advancing culturally responsive theory, research, and practice, and for amplifying authentic and strengths-based representations of BAA families.
Parenting, African American Fathers, Gender, Young Adult Children, Counseling, Family, Life Course, and Society
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