Content area
Full Text
ABSTRACT
Research on the highest-achieving members of a population can be instructive in assisting those who are less successful. The authors present findings from a study of 29 fathers of academically successful African American males, an untapped area of study, to illustrate how such findings can be used to guide interventions. Six parenting practices were observed among the fathers, most notable of which were their strong identity as a Black male and the support they received from the broader community. Implications for practice and research are suggested.
Virtually none of the little research available in the social work and psychological literature on African American fathers focuses on fathers who are highly successful parents. Information about this population would be helpful for several reasons: First, the public's perception of African American fathers is often negative and reflective of a deficit model, which leaves clinicians with an unbalanced view of Black families; second, African American fathers remain an elusive research target; and third, clinicians traditionally have had difficulty engaging men in treatment, particularly men of color.
Information about at-risk populations that are successful at the highest levels may provide a new area of study. Strengths-based research with such populations has focused on coping, adaptation, or resilience, that is, behaviors that members of these populations have displayed to maintain equilibrium with others or to survive. This article, drawing on a new study of fathers of academically high-achieving African American males, uses the characteristics of this group of fathers to draw attention to this underresearched population and to draw implications for practice and research. Focusing on the highestachieving members of a population provides insight into that group and can be used to help members of that population who are struggling. In essence, by seeing how the "experts" succeed, practitioners can design interventions modeled on the experts' behavior. The data presented here are meant to be illustrative of the type of research that can be undertaken.
The obstacles that African American males, particularly fathers, face are well-known. African American fathers typically have the public's attention for their absence from the family rather than their presence in the family and community. The U.S. Bureau of the Census (1996) reports that only one third of Black children live with both...