Dr. Volling is the Lois Wladis Hoffman Collegiate Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on early social and emotional development, parent-child interaction, and family relationships. She has conducted extensive research on the role of fathers and children's development and continues to work with international collaborators, students, and post-doctoral fellows to advance research in father-child relationships.
Parents significantly shape men's mental health through upbringing and socialization. Positive, nurturing parenting can foster emotional resilience, self-esteem, and open communication, equipping men with effective coping skills. Conversely, parenting styles marked by emotional neglect or societal pressures can contribute to mental health struggles, highlighting the crucial role parents play in influencing their sons' emotional well-being. Josh and Casey ask Dr. Volling about these relationships.
To start, Casey asks Dr. Volling about her background including why she wanted to study parenting before Josh asks how fathers can affect the mental health of their children as well as the impact of fatherhood on young dads. Dr. Volling's remarks cause Casey to bring up if parental anxiety/depression can spread to children before the guys ask how having one vs. two parents can affect your mental health. Staying on topic, Josh asks if there are differences in single mothers vs. fathers before discussing why there has been an increase in single-parenting. Continuing forward Casey asks if we should encourage co-parenting and if there are any drawbacks to having unmarried parents. Switching gears, Dr. Volling gives her best advice on raising a child to fathers before answering how testosterone levels and traditional masculinity norms can affect fatherhood.
