Intimacy Achievement Effects on Young Fathers

Unique developmental and social issues influence the formation of interpersonal relationships during adolescence. Adolescence is a time of transition and growth when struggle for autonomy, develop peer relationships, and renegotiate their roles in family, school, and cultural environments (Rodriguez and Moore, 1995). Erikson (1968) believed that peer relationships and youthful romances likely serve as mechanisms for identity development and relational success later in life.

For adolescent fathers, interpersonal relationships during adolescence can be especially rewarding. They can find fulfillment on physical, emotional, and cognitive levels through these interactions as both parents and romantic partners. For all adolescents, this can be a trying task, especially if they are experiencing considerable stress. In particular, adolescent fathers in urban settings may face unique stressors such as low income, job difficulties, gang violence, and emotional problems. Furthermore, the development of healthy interpersonal relationships for adolescent fathers may be hindered by exposure to high-risk environments. Many times, psychological, social, and contextual risk factors combine to influence the level of intimacy and involvement between the adolescent father and the mother of his baby. Failure to cope with these risk factors may hinder adolescent fathers' development of interpersonal skills such as intimacy, mutual trust, and open communication.

If adolescent fathers do not adequately learn the skills necessary for intimacy achievement, the negative consequences for them and their families could be far reaching. Often society labels adolescent fathers as negligent and irresponsible in the absence of empirical research. Currently, few research studies have focused on adolescent romantic relationships, much less the role that psychosocial stress and relational intimacy may have on paternal involvement. Research is needed to gain a more accurate understanding of how psychological and social factors relate to the development of relational intimacy for young fathers. This study examined how specific psychosocial risk factors, including family income, individual socioeconomic status, neighborhood crime, interpersonal empathy, and psychopathology, collectively relate to the intimacy achievement of urban adolescent fathers-to-be.

Intimacy Achievement: A Critical Developmental Task

Intimacy has been described as a process that develops over time. As such, many developmental theorists include intimacy as a vital component in their hierarchy of needs (Erikson, 1950; Maslow, 1954; Sullivan, 1953). Erikson included intimacy as a dimension in his hierarchy of development and referred to it as a critical task in the transition from adolescence to adulthood (Schaefer and Olson, 1981, p. 19). Sullivan associated the beginning need for intimacy with adolescence and called the establishment of relationships the "crux of our existence from the cradle to the grave."

The development of intimacy for adolescent fathers is critical to their present and future interpersonal relationships. People who have established an intimate status within interpersonal relationships are characterized by the desire to engage in close, warm, and communicative interactions with others (McAdams, 1982). Furthermore, these individuals have several close friends as well as involvement in a committed love relationship illustrated by the expression of affectionate feelings, mutual respect, and perspective taking (Orlofsky et al., 1973). Unfortunately, some adolescent fathers are faced with personal, social, and environmental obstacles to their development of intimacy expression. For many young urban adolescents, the desire to make positive changes in their lives is thwarted by overwhelming concerns about psychosocial stressors such as racism, violence, and death (Way, 1998). It is possible that early romantic relationships may play a role in the consolidation of identity and may affect subsequent r omantic relationships and marital life (Shulman and Collins, 1997).

Contextual and Psychosocial Influences on Adolescent Intimacy

Adolescent relationships, specifically the process of intimacy development, are shaped by many external factors. Adolescents' families and communities jointly influence their levels of relational intimacy and closeness. More specifically, Bronfenbrenner (1979; 1986) described four environmental systems within which children develop: (a) the microsystem, which refers to the child's primary settings (e.g., home); (b) the mesosystem, which refers to the interaction of primary settings (e.g., school and home); (c) the exosystem, which refers to environments indirectly affecting the child's development (e.g., parent's work); and (d) the macrosystem, which refers to the larger societal morals, values, and philosophies. Bronfenbrenner indicated that to comprehend a child's development, one must understand the adolescent's interaction within multiple contexts. Adolescent intimacy achievement, a key developmental process, is similarly affected by these various ecosystems.

Although microsystem models are important for understanding specific aspects of children's environment, an understanding of mesosystemic factors is essential and advocates a comprehension of the interactions among children's multiple environments. Other theorists have proposed the use of an ethnographic framework for the systemic and developmental study of racially diverse urban adolescents. Adolescents residing in a high-risk environment may begin an accelerated life course characterized by becoming "adult-like" too soon (e.g., working multiple jobs, multiple pregnancies) as well as living in numerous high-risk neighborhoods to obtain various social supports (Burton, 2001; Burton et al., 1995, 1996). This study examined the larger systemic interactions between personal characteristics, family income, neighborhood composition, and adolescent relationships.

Family Socioeconomic Status

Family income has been shown to have a large impact on adolescent development. An, Haveman, and Wolfe (1993) found that family socioeconomic status (SES) is an independent risk factor for adolescent childbearing and an indication of the severity of exposure to deleterious familial environments. Furthermore, child maltreatment and negative developmental outcomes are concentrated among socially and economically "high-risk" families (Garbarino and Sherman, 1980). It is possible that adolescents living in economically challenged households may learn inappropriate interpersonal skills and intimacy expression because of a scarcity of parental role models.

Neighborhood Characteristics

Families with low household incomes may reside in high-risk neighborhoods because of their financial situation. These high-risk neighborhoods are characterized by poverty, joblessness, and high crime rates (Wilson, 1987). The economic character of neighborhoods can affect families in many different ways. Lower SES neighborhoods may have low-quality public and private resources, such as schools, parks, sports organizations, and police protection. Low SES adolescent fathers who reside in high-risk, economically deprived neighborhoods may frequently spend time away from the mothers of their babies while working to support them. Young fathers who spend most of their day away from home working may have difficulty establishing an intimate relationship with the mothers of their babies because of lack of quality time together. Furthermore, studies addressing contextual influences on adolescent psychosocial development have found that neighborhoods with fewer socioeconomic resources have higher levels of family and co mmunity stress (Allison et al., 1999).