World of teen fathers explored during Faculty Scholarship Series lecture

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Dr. Mark Kiselica

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (02/21/2014)(readMedia)-- Though society demonstrates compassionate concern for adolescent mothers, little positive attention is devoted to teen fathers, who tend to experience significant educational, emotional and socioeconomic difficulties. Young fathers, aged 13 to 19, are more likely to have been victims of physical and sexual abuse, be poor and come from fragile families; less likely to finish high school; and more likely to be involved in criminal behavior and alcohol and drug abuse than males who wait until their adult years to have children.

Dr. Mark Kiselica, an American Council on Education Fellow at Elizabethtown College, hopes to raise awareness about how adolescent fatherhood is both the cause and consequence of several serious social problems.

He speaks on the subject at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Susquehanna Room of Elizabethtown College's Myer Hall.

His Faculty Scholarship Series lecture, "The Complicated Worlds of Adolescent Fathers: Implications for Clinical Practice, Public Policy and Research," explores the complex hardships of teen fathers and features gripping digital clips of actual adolescents describing their experiences.

Based on a critique of pertinent literature, Kiselica will recommend future clinical practices, public policies and research regarding adolescent fathers.

Kiselica, a psychologist, professor of counselor education, vice provost and former dean of the School of Education at The College of New Jersey, joined Elizabethtown College as an American Council on Education Fellow for the 2013-2014 academic year. He is author of more than 100 conference presentations and 150 publications, including five peer-reviewed books. His most recent volume is "When Boys Become Parents: Adolescent Fatherhood in America," published by Rutgers University Press.

A former president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity, Kiselica has served as a consulting scholar for the Federal Fatherhood Initiatives of the Clinton, G.W. Bush and Obama administrations, and he headed an award-winning campaign to confront racism and anti-Semitism in Pennsylvania. In recognition of his national impact on the science and practice of psychology, he has been named a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and in honor of his work on many social issues, he received the American Counseling Association's Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person.

The Faculty Scholarship Series lecture is free, with a reception preceding at 7 p.m.

Contact: Nancy Kaufhold at kaufholdn@etown.edu or 717-361-1416.

Read about additional events at Elizabethtown College.

Elizabethtown College, located in historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a private coed institution offering more than four dozen liberal arts, fine and performing arts, science and engineering, business, communications and education degrees. Learn more: http://www.etown.edu/about/

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