Dr. Armon Perry
Professor, BSW Program Director
Research indicates that increased paternal involvement is associated with improved outcomes for children and families.
Dr. Perry’s research efforts center on the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and external factors that influence men's involvement in the lives of their children and families, as well as the impact of that involvement on the well-being of the family. The findings of his research have pointed to the tools, resources, and experiences that shape men’s ability to be involved fathers, the role that mothers play in facilitating or truncating fathers’ involvement, and social service providers’ attitudes toward engaging fathers. The findings of Dr. Perry’s research have also highlighted the relationship between fathers’ provision of instrumental and affective support and positive outcomes for families, such as fewer behavioral problems in children and lower levels of reported maternal stress.
With regard to the potential impact of his work, Dr. Perry is interested in not only understanding the factors that encourage or discourage fathers' involvement in the family, but ultimately, participating in projects to enhance the quantity and quality of their involvement. Consistent with his interest, Dr. Perry’s most recent project involves him serving as the PI on 4 Your Child, a federally funded project that provides responsible fatherhood, healthy relationship, and economic self-sufficiency services to non-resident fathers across several counties in Kentucky. To date, over 1000 fathers have been recruited into the program and preliminary data analysis indicate that fathers increase their parenting knowledge and report more empathy for their co-parents over time.