Editorial.

On behalf of the editorial board, I want to welcome you to the first issue of Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers. This is an exciting time for those of us who have been involved in the fathering field. The quality and quantity of research on fathers has expanded greatly. Researchers and theoreticians have developed more sophisticated ways of thinking about fathers. In the area of practice, programs have not only increased in number throughout the United States and other countries, but they have also fine-tuned their approaches to address the needs of a highly underserved population.

In light of these developments, we think this is a very opportune time to publish a journal on fathers. The new journal, Fathering, offers readers the opportunity to read in one location state-of-the-art articles about fathers. The manuscripts published in the journal represent some of the most current thinking and research about fathers. The journal also offers researchers, theoreticians, and practitioners a place to present their work in a publication read largely by others with a strong interest in fathers. The benefits of the journal are not just a matter of convenience to the reader or researcher. I hope that the journal will also contribute to the continued development of the fathering field and ultimately to an improved quality of life for fathers, families, and children.

The journal has recruited an outstanding editorial board. The associate editors, Drs. Alan J. Hawkins and Kerry Daly, and the book editors, Drs. Rob Palkovitz and Glen Palm, are highly accomplished scholars and/or practitioners. All members of the 35-member board have published extensively and made critical contributions to the fathering field. Several members of the board were highly influential in helping to establish the field and in bringing awareness to the need for scholarship on fathers. I believe we have succeeded also in bringing together a diverse interdisciplinary editorial board. The disciplines represented by the board include family studies, history, law, marriage and family therapy, parent and family life education, sociology, social work, speech and language therapy, theology, and psychology.

Fathering will publish a broad range of articles. The journal invites submissions of original scholarly articles and essays that are theoretical, empirical, practice-oriented, or based on comprehensive reviews of the literature. The journal will publish full-length papers, approximately 20 double-spaced pages, and brief reports, approximately 10 pages. Reviews of books and other relevant materials will also appear regularly in the journal. Some of the possible topics included in the journal are fathers' roles in dual-earner families, paternal involvement in divorced families, stepfathers' roles in blended families, father presence/absence and its impact on children, child-custody issues, measures of father involvement, fathering in the context of marital relationships, co-parenting issues, consequences of becoming a father for men, outcomes of intervention programs on fathers and families, the history of fatherhood, fathers' participation in social services and schools, and fathers' social-emotional involvement with their children.

Special-topic editions of Fathering will be published on occasion. Possible topics include Head Start fathers, work and fatherhood, and community practice approaches to enhance responsible fathering. All special and regular editions of the journal will include only peer-reviewed papers. Scholars interested in serving as guest editor of a special edition are encouraged to contact the general or associate editors.

In closing, I want to invite readers to submit their comments about the journal. Please let us know your reactions to the first issue or what you hope to gain from future issues. I also want to take this opportunity to recognize the founder of this journal, Dr. James Doyle, Publisher of Men's Studies Press and General Editor of The Journal of Men's Studies. It was Dr. Doyle's visionary thinking that resulted in the creation of this journal.

Correspondence concerning this editorial or any editorial business should be addressed to Jay Fagan, Editor, Temple University, School of Social Administration, Ritter Hall Annex, 5th Floor, 13th Street & C.B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122. Electronic mail: [e-mail].

JAY FAGAN

Temple University